Alumnae Spotlight: Anna Mazzola

Anna Mazzola Class of 1996

Award-Winning Author Anna Mazzola

After leaving Croydon High School in 1996, Anna read English at the University of Oxford before attending the London College of Law.

Anna is a writer of historical thrillers and Gothic fiction. Her novels explore the impact of crime and injustice. She is also a writing coach at The Novelry, a worldwide creative writing school with online courses; a career path for writers to become published authors.

Anna’s debut historical crime novel, The Unseeing, won an Edgar Allan Poe award in the US. Following this, our Croydon High World Book Day 2017 concluded with an evening with Anna, who enthralled the audience with fascinating insights into the world of books and publishing. A memorable photograph was taken with Anna and Croydon High English teachers spanning 34 years – Judith Forshaw, Jonathan Vickery, Gill Sharpe, Janet Pascoe and Veronica Duggan.

Her third novel, The Clockwork Girl, set in 18th century Paris, reached number 11 in the Sunday Times Chart and was a Sunday Times paperback of 2022. Anna’s fourth novel, The House of Whispers, is a ghost story set in Fascist Italy and will be published in April 2023. Anna also writes legal thrillers under the name Anna Sharpe, the first of which will be published in 2024.

Real crimes and scandals often inspire her novels; Anna loves discussing stories and structure and has been workshopping and critiquing for many years. Anna has conducted several workshops for Croydon High pupils, notably as part of our online Arts Week during lockdown.

Anna understands the challenges of fitting writing around work and life. When not writing or tutoring, Anna is a human rights and public law solicitor specialising in cases arising from the criminal justice system. She has over ten years of experience in dealing with civil and judicial review claims against the police and other state bodies, plus inquests and public inquiries, with an emphasis on the rights of victims of crime.

She is also Senior Consultant at Centre for Women’s Justice, a feminist legal charity whose mission is to hold the state to account and challenge discrimination in the justice system around male violence against women and girls.

Anna remembers… “Croydon High nurtured my strange writing and reading instincts. My first attempt at a crime novel was written shortly after joining Croydon High: The Kidnapping of Lucy. The plot centres on the abduction of a baby called Lucy (my little sister’s middle name), and I gave it to my mum on Mother’s Day! I still remember many of my English lessons, particularly those taught by Mr Vickery and the late Susan Loewe. Through the close reading of texts, she was the first person to really show me what language could do. In the Sixth Form, I was awarded a prize for creativity, despite my entry being some bizarre, illustrated poem about trains and pylons!”

Jonathan Vickery, Anna’s former English teacher told us “As well as having an outstanding academic record at school, Anna was a formidable debater – she and her partner were emphatic winners of a very competitive Senior School Championship – and it was not hard to imagine her career as a passionate and highly persuasive advocate. That she would also be a best-selling novelist was perhaps a bit less predictable but is not at all surprising.”

Another former teacher, Gill Sharpe, stated “It’s a real pleasure to hear of Anna’s achievements since she graduated from Oxford. I remember how all of us in the English Department (including Susan Loewe) were very impressed with her creative writing ability from a very young age. It is a real joy to see how this has flourished. I am particularly impressed with how she has used her legal interest and experience in her books. I can remember feeling disappointed when she chose to go on to study at the University of Law; I’m so glad she chose not to follow my advice.”

We asked Anna the following three questions:

What is your fondest memory of Croydon High?
“I’d say my fondest memory is being Wendy in Peter Pan (I can never hear Orinoco Flow by Enya without thinking about it!).”

What would you say to your 15-year-old self?
“To my 15-year-old self, I would say many things, but most specifically, ‘Your weight and appearance are far less important than the other things in life. Focus on learning, friendship and creativity instead.”

What are your aspirations for the future?
“My aspirations for the future are to be able to continue writing and publishing novels about subjects that fascinate me and perhaps also to move into screenwriting. Mainly, I wish for the happiness of my children.”

We are confident that Anna will continue to flourish in her writing and legal careers. Perhaps we will see one of her books adapted for the big screen! We hope to see Anna back at Croydon High soon!

Mrs Roe
Alumnae Relations Manager