Imogen studied Archaeology, Anthropology and Art History at UEA’s Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts before going on to work in museums. The Guardian on The Mermaid & Mrs Hancock The story is by turns intriguing, touching, funny, sad and heartwarming. Imogen Hermes Gowar was once a gallery assistant in the British Museum in London. • The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar (Harvill Secker, £12.99). Imogen Hermes Gowar used to work as a gallery assistant at the British Museum. She began to write fiction inspired by the artefacts she worked with, and in 2013 won the Malcolm Bradbury Memorial Scholarship to study for an MA in Creative Writing at UEA. Imogen Hermes Gowar delights in the feminine fakery of mermaids, but as a writer she is the real deal. Imogen Hermes Gowar delights in the feminine fakery of mermaids, but as a writer she is the real deal. 1,398 Followers, 339 Following, 111 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Imogen Hermes Gowar (@girlhermes) Imogen Hermes Gowar studied Archaeology, Anthropology and Art History at UEA's Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts before going on to work in museums. She began to write small pieces of fiction inspired by the artefacts she worked with and around, and in 2013 won the Malcolm Bradbury Memorial Scholarship to study for an MA in Creative Writing at UEA. The story was a finalist in the Mslexia First Novel Competition and was shortlisted for the inaugural Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers' Award. Imogen Hermes Gowar studied Archaeology, Anthropology and Art History before going on to work in museums. “It was a very gothic job,” she says, “with lots of standing around.” To pass the time, she made up stories about the artifacts on display—ancient Roman vases, medieval chess sets, Renaissance table settings. It will make you laugh and it may make you cry. Imogen Hermes Gowar's debut novel is The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, which grew from her Curtis Brown Prize-winning MA dissertation. “Who had She began to write small pieces of fiction inspired by the artefacts she worked with and around, and in 2013 won the Malcolm Bradbury Memorial Scholarship to study for an MA in Creative Writing at UEA.