This week we interview Helen Rappaport, the British author of sixteen highly regarded biographies. Her latest book, In Search of Mary Seacole: The Making of a Black Cultural Icon and Humanitarian, was published by Pegasus Books in September 2022. Rappaport has been a full-time historian and writer for more than twenty-three years, and in 2003 she discovered and purchased an 1869 portrait of Mary Seacole. The painting now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery and it served as the spark for her investigation into Seacole’s life and career. Rappaport’s previous books includes the biographies, The Romanov Sisters and The Last Days of the Romanovs. Helen Rappaport was interviewed by BIO member Jennifer Skoog.

Author photo credit: Mary Zacaroli