Sarah Ann Waters is a Welsh novelist renowned for her compelling narratives set in Victorian society, often featuring lesbian protagonists. She gained significant recognition with her debut novel, Tipping the Velvet, released in 1998, exploring themes of lesbianism in the Victorian era. This novel was adapted into a BBC television series by Andrew Davies.

Her subsequent work, Affinity (1999), set within a women's prison in Victorian London, earned the Stonewall Book Award. The story delves into themes of love, betrayal, and spiritualism, and was also adapted for television in 2008.

Waters further established her literary prominence with Fingersmith (2002), intertwining themes akin to popular novels like child abduction and same-sex love. This novel earned an adaptation by BBC in 2005 and inspired the South Korean film The Handmaiden (2016) by director Park Chan-Wook.

The Night Watch (2006) features characters sharing secrets in 1940s London, while The Little Stranger (2009) presents a haunting tale in post-war Britain. Waters was named Author of the Year by the Sunday Times in 2003 and received the British Book Award.