Having initially applied to read Natural Sciences - in a bid to pursue her early ambitions to be an astrophysicist – Sarah switched to Law. A smart move on her part as she went on to win several University and College prizes, became Chair of the Nicholas Bacon Law Society and was awarded a Foundation Scholarship.  

“I have so many wonderful memories of Corpus – cycling to tutorials, candlelit dinners, early mornings on the river, late nights in the bar, and talking at any hour of the day with friends around their gas fires.”

On leaving Corpus, Sarah trained as a barrister but soon after securing a tenancy in a leading set of London chambers she was offered a position at the European Court of Justice as legal secretary to the UK judge, which, on her return, enabled her to develop a practice in European, Human Rights and Employment law.

For many years Sarah was on the government’s A panel of barristers representing different government departments, frequently working on high-profile litigation. However, while Sarah remained passionate about the law, she had always been drawn to the possibility of writing. So, after 20 years at the bar, she decided to test alternative waters by signing up for an online creative writing course at the Open University - which she loved, leading her to apply for a place on the Creative Writing Masters at the University of East Anglia (UEA), and to her surprise was accepted.

The UEA was only supposed to be a sabbatical from the bar but on graduating with distinction Sarah acquired an agent and a contract for her first novel. The Lost Letters was published in 2018, it explores the impact of war on women and children, inspired by the experiences of Sarah’s parents and grandparents. In contrast her next novel The Couple was a dark psychological thriller, while her third, The English Girl, is set during World War II and is inspired by a true story. Sarah’s fourth book Letters to a Stranger is a piece of wartime fiction and was published in March 2023.

Sarah now combines the best of both worlds by sitting part-time as a judge in both the Employment and the Asylum and Immigration Tribunals, whilst also writing - at present she is working on a fifth novel and a project for a possible TV series.

 “I’m tremendously grateful for the life opportunities Corpus has given me. I actually met my husband at the College dinner on my very first night- even if we didn’t start dating until five years later!”