From the classroom to the bookshelf - Offaly teacher storms Amazon charts with debut novel

senior infants teacher at St. Colman’s N.S, Mucklagh, has stormed the Amazon charts just twenty-four hours after the release of her debut novel, Lady Dixon’s Niece.

Swapping the classroom for the bookshelves, Ms Crawley made waves on Amazon, yesterday, topping its bestsellers in Ireland. "It was the stuff of dreams. I honestly couldn’t believe it when I saw it start to climb the bestseller table and take the top spot. It’s incredible to see the story I wrote up there at the top of the charts."

Chele Crawley’s romantic historical fiction novel, set in England during the Regency era, follows Annaliese Schmidt as she charts her course into high society.

From the wild moors of Devon to the bustling streets of London, this ambitious debutante will soon learn that social mobility comes at the expense of her moral compass.

Masquerading under a cloak of deception, the protagonist must carefully navigate challenging social conventions whilst quelling the whims of a cunning blackmailer who threatens to expose her secret.

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Chele recalls that the initial idea came to her as a teenager while learning to play sonatas on the piano. She imagined what it would be like to be an impostor in one of Jane Austen’s ballroom scenes and soon found that she had the plot for a story that wouldn’t quite leave her, even twenty years on.

It was while on maternity leave in 2020 that Chele first got serious about putting pen to paper, but it wasn’t until a shock cancer diagnosis in 2023 that made this teacher quite determined to realise her dream. ‘When you receive a health scare, it really focuses the mind on priorities. I didn’t want to keep putting the book on the long finger. I was resolved to finish the book, finish the series, and get it out there.’

Chele, who is thankful to be in remission and returned to her teaching role at school in the spring of 2025, says that writing and editing were utterly cathartic and just the tonic she needed while going through cancer treatment. ‘I’m all about seeing the positives in a bleak situation, so in a strange turn of events, my cancer journey provided me with the gift of time to complete the manuscript and start the publishing journey. It was a major life disruption, but it was also a catalyst spurring me on to stop doubting myself and to be brave and put my work out there.’

When asked who Lady Dixon’s Niece is written for, Chele responded that it is for everyone who enjoys a compelling cat-and-mouse story, a slow-burning romance, and most especially for fans of Bridgerton and Jane Austen.

"I’m extremely grateful to my school for being so supportive of me on this writing journey. I have been so fortunate to job-share this academic year, which has allowed me to pursue my passion."

She continues, "I absolutely adore teaching, but it is extra sweet to have this other side of my life, a creative side that indulges my love of the written word. I’m really looking forward to kick-starting the summer with author events in May at The Maria Edgeworth’s Festival in Edgeworthstown, Longford, and the Mullingar Literary Festival in July, and then attending book festivals and book clubs dotted around the country for book-signings, readings and engagement with readers."

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Chele says that once the summer is over, she’ll be back to her pupils at school, and returning to long evenings at her laptop, beavering away on the sequel in her Of Social Standing series.

Lady Dixon’s Niece is available in paperback and Kindle format on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.ie/Lady-Dixons-Niece-Chele-Crawley/dp/1068359900/ref=zg_bsnr_g_books_d_sccl_2/262-2257891-8553161?psc=1 (Paperback)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lady-Dixons-Niece-Chele-Crawley-ebook/dp/B0DMFL3N8V (Kindle)

Check out www.chelecrawley.com for more details on where to get your copy locally.