Santa Montefiore was born Santa Palmer-Tomkinson on 2 February 1970 in Winchester.

Her parents
are Charles Palmer-Tomkinson, formerly High Sheriff of Hampshire,[1] and Patricia Palmer-Tomkinson (née
Dawson), of Anglo-Argentine background. Her father, and other members of her family, represented Great
Britain in skiing at Olympic level. The Palmer-Tomkinson family are substantial land-owners in Hampshire
and Leicestershire.[2]
She had a sister, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, known as a "socialite"[2][3] and charity patron.[4]
Santa Montefiore said that growing up on the family farm gave her an "idyllic Swallows and
Amazons childhood".[5] She also describes her upbringing as "sheltered, Sloaney".[6] She was educated at
the Hanford School from the age of eight to twelve.[7] She then attended Sherborne School for
Girls in Dorset, where, in the sixth form, she became Head of her house (a role of responsibility similar to
a prefect).[6]and later Vice Head of School.

Career
Prior to publishing any novels, she worked in London, first in public relations for the outfitters Swaine
Adeney and later for the jeweller Theo Fennell. She also worked as a shop assistant in Farmacia Santa
Maria Novella, the perfumery, and in events for Ralph Lauren.[6]
She sent her first manuscript to several literary agents, using a nom de plume in order to distance herself
from her sister. Only one agent, Jo Frank of A P Watt, expressed an interest, but this led to a bidding
war between several publishers, with Hodder & Stoughton giving her a six-figure advance.[6] Montefiore has
published at least one novel a year since 2001. Four of her books are set in Argentina, where she spent
1989 as a gap yearteaching English.[5][6] Her books have been characterised as "beach-read blockbusters",
selling over four million copies in 20 translations.[8]
She counts as her literary influences The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas; House of
Mirth by Edith Wharton; Gabriel Garcia Márquez, Mary Wesley, Eckhart Tolle, and Daphne du
Maurier.[5] Isabel Allende is important to her too.[9]
She has co-written with her husband a series of children's books called The Royal Rabbits of London,
which is published by Simon & Schuster. 20th Century Fox have bought the movie rights and are in the
early stages of adapting the series for the big screen.