Claire Heywood is a scholar of the ancient world, with a BA in Classical Civilisation and an MA in Ancient Visual and Material Culture from the University of Warwick. She lives in Bristol.

Her debut novel Daughters of Sparta, a vivid and illuminating reimagining of the story of the Siege of Troy from the perspectives of the infamous Helen and her sister Klytemnestra, was published in 2021 by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and Dutton in the USA. It was a USA national bestseller and has been translated into thirteen languages.

Her second novel, The Shadow of Perseus, was published in 2023 and she is currently writing her third novel which will be published by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and Dutton in the USA in 2024.

Claire Heywood is represented by Sara Keane.