Roberta Kagan is an American novelist who primarily writes historical fiction, most notably set during World War II and the Holocaust, although she has featured other time periods and settings. Her fans have a particular fondness and appreciation for her World War II period books, such as All My Love Detrick and A Flicker of Light, which are inspirational stories of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Her father was of Romany descent, and her mother was Jewish. Her childhood was quite unusual, as the family was wealthy until she was thirteen years old, when her father suffered a reversal of fortune in his business. The family went from being privileged to being poor in a matter of months, and Roberta learned some valuable lessons about true friendship and what really matters in life that have carried over into her books and short stories. The Romany teachings she received from her father have also had a significant impact on her writing, and several of her books feature Romany characters.
