Patricia Cornwell: Writing the hero I needed as a child

Available for over a year

She began life in a chaotic household with a single mother who suffered from severe mental health problems and then with a cruel and abusive foster carer. Through the turmoil Patricia Cornwell longed for someone to swoop in and rescue her but they never came. Eventually she found work in a morgue as a technical writer. It was there, watching her colleague, a medical examiner, that she was inspired to write, creating the character Kay Scarpetta, a crime-fighting forensic pathologist; someone who brings order to horror and chaos. The books became bestsellers and ended up spawning a whole new genre of TV dramas. Patricia Cornwell's latest novel is called Unnatural Death Presenter: Emily Webb Producer: Andrea Kennedy Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo: Patricia Cornwell. Credit: Getty/Tibrina Hobson)