Antiques Trade Talks – CL Miller

The author Cara (CL) Miller grew up immersed in the world of antiques, courtesy of her late mother, Judith Miller, the antiques expert and co-writer of the esteemed Miller’s Antiques Price Guide. She brings this experience to her hugely popular ‘The  Antiques Hunters’ series, most recently in the latest instalment, The Antique Hunters: Death on the Red Sea – a murder mystery romp set aboard a glamorous antiques cruise.

How did inspiration come about for Death on the Red Sea? 

My late mother, Judith Miller of the Miller’s Antiques Guide and BBC Antiques Roadshow fame, was an antiques expert on a couple of antique specialist cruises that ended in Jordan. So, when I came up with the idea for the Antique Hunter’s series my love of Agatha Christie and all Golden Age murder mystery merged with growing up in the antiques world, and Death on the Nile was one of my favourite books – it was synergy really! 

Tell us about the research you do for your books? 

I loved the research. Most of the antiques in my books are based on real antiques and I don’t need to go far – I have a pile of Miller’s Guides sitting on my desk marked with all the antiques that I have placed in my books. The other brilliant research I did for Death on the Red Sea was a family trip to Jordan. Taking the kids into the Widi Rum desert to see where Lawrence of Arabia lived, riding camels, sleeping in Bedouin tents and then on to Petra visiting the Treasury and the Monastery was the highlight of last year. 

Why do you set stories in the world of antiques and art? 

I grew up in the world of antiques and I’m very fond of it! I also wanted to explore the darker side of the industry one that is worth over $40 billion and is interconnected with all other organised crime. The side that you don’t really see on the Antiques Roadshow and a side that I was aware of growing up. 

What do you think is the unique appeal of antiques? 

I think it is a combination of things, the history of a piece, the craftmanship and the sense of nostalgia that items can evoke in us. I love the way each piece tells a story – the providence can sometimes be as important as the item itself. And then we have the craftmanship – items that are so well made that they have stood the test of time, which is sometimes lacking in modern day pieces.  

Tell us some of your memories of growing up with an antiques expert mother? 

One of my first memories was of the bookshelves in out dining room which were filled with my mother’s blue and white ceramics. I am one of six siblings and there were areas in the house which housed my parent’s collection which we were not meant to go in on our own and we were definitely not allowed to touch anything. But I used to sneak into the room and go and look at my mother’s collection of shipwrecked ceramics. I was fascinated by the barnacles attached to the little teacups and saucers and a couple of the pieces had been fused together at odd angles. It seemed amazing to me that these items had been under the sea for a hundred years, the glaze had dulled as had the designs, but they had survived. I put shipwrecked ceramics in Death on the Red Sea because I’m still fascinated by those pieces. 

What lessons did she teach you about antiques? 

When I was little everything my mother tried to tell me about antiques went in one ear and out the other. I wasn’t interested at all but when I started working on The Miller’s Antique Price Guide in my twenties, I realised that I knew a lot more than I thought – I had learned about antiques without realising I was being taught. We spent a lot of time in antique shops and auction houses and my mother wove stories around the antiques she was telling us about. It was the love of those stories and the power they had over the item which spoke to the avid reader I was. 

How did her passion rub off on you? 

My mother didn’t grow up surrounded by antiques and so she was passionate about demystifying the antiques world and making it accessible. She started with her children by encouraging us to be curious about the items that we encountered.   

What kind of antiques do you have in your home? 

There was a Victorian pine chest of drawers in my childhood bedroom that I could never get to open properly which now resides in my daughter’s bedroom. However, it wasn’t until I was in my thirties, after buying my first home with my husband, that I had the opportunity to consider what I wanted to furnish it with. I now have a collection of mid-century modern G plan furniture. One of my favourite items was brought at an antiques fair in Suffolk. It is two old shop signs—one says ‘books’ and the other says ‘antiques’ they were the perfect find for me as they seem to represent the two worlds—of publishing and the antiques world—that shaped my childhood and my career as an author. 

Do you collect any particular antiques? 

I mainly collect mid-century modern furniture, Royal Copenhagen vases and vintage Georg Jensen jewellery like Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe and Astrid Fogg.  

What antiques/artworks would you buy if money were no object? 

The Italian mid-century modern ‘Pulcino’ Murano glass birds which were designed for the leading Venetian glass-maker firm Vistosi in the 1960s. There are five birds in total. My mother had three of them in her collection and I would buy the other two to complete the set.  

You’re down to your last 50 quid – what antiques/art would you buy? 

My husband just brought a mid-century modern dining table at auction which needs restoring for £56 and he will then sell on. So I guess that I would find him another project.

Where are your favourite antique hunting destinations and why? 

I don’t have specific antique hunting destinations – I’m always on the lookout for a piece. I get my Royal Copenhagen vases and candlesticks from a dealer I know who goes to Denmark each year. They know which pieces I covert. I love looking through online auction catalogues and I can’t drive past a boot fair without popping in.  

What do you think will be the antiques of the future? 

As I’m not an expert I’m probably not in a position to see the market clearly enough to give an informed opinion but for me I will continue to collect mid-century modern. I also believe that we are all growing more ethical in our approach to purchases; the mahogany desk that was once out of fashion my well come back in when its MDF counterpart doesn’t have the same quality and life expectancy.  

Any styling advice for using antiques in the home? 

I think of my home as my sanctuary, and it’s filled with the items that I admire and that hold a story for me. I think that if you’re going to have an antique in your home, if you’re going to see it every day, make sure it’s a piece that you love. It doesn’t matter what’s fashionable or on trend just buy the items that resonate with you. 

What advice would you give to people new to antiques who want to learn more?  

The best advice I have is from my mother. She always said that you had to look for quality – quality of design, quality of construction and quality of decoration. Look for good condition and good provenance.  

What further adventures can we expect from ‘The Antique Hunters’? 

The Antique Hunters: Murder in the Castle will be out in February 2026. This book follows Freya and Carole and their newly established Lockwood Antique Hunter’s Agency to a snowy Scottish castle where a laird has been murdered and his Scottish antiques stolen.