Hi, I’m Ruth Thomason, though I write under the pen name RJ Verity.
I was born and raised in Yorkshire, studied at King’s College London, and went on to spend over twenty years working in financial services across Asia.
These days, I live in Guernsey with my endlessly patient husband and our ageing yet ever-spirited Labradinger. When I’m not writing or reading, I can often be found exploring the island’s rugged coastline.
I write character-led historical fiction: emotionally rich stories about ordinary people and the times that shape them. My trilogy, The Poole Legacy, follows three generations of one family across a century of change – from the coal-dust north and the golden age of cinema to the shifting, secretive world of 1960s London. The first two books, Poole of Light and Poole of Honour, are out now – and the third book, Poole of Eternity, will be published in 2027. Bright Light, a free companion short story, is the perfect place to start.
Where the story began
Poole of Light was sparked by my own family’s story. My grandmother was a housekeeper in a large house in Leeds; my grandfather was the household’s chauffeur before becoming a cinema manager. Within two generations, our family had moved from working class to middle class – and what struck me was the fragility of that change: how much depended on timing, and on seizing an opportunity when it appeared. Those ideas led me to Jem Poole, and to a trilogy about what is carried from one generation to the next. Read the full piece →
This site is where I share the stories behind the stories. I’m glad you’re here.