Lucy Mallows worked as a European photojournalist, travel writer and translator, moving to Budapest in 1993 with the intention of writing the 'Great Gloomy Eastern European Novel'. She worked for 12 years in Budapest, first as a reporter in the Hungarian Parliament, then as an editor for local newspapers and magazines, and wrote about Hungary and the entire Central European region for all the leading travel publishers – including Bradt, for whom she wrote three guides: Bratislava, Romania: Transylvania and Slovakia. In 2005, she moved to Brussels where she reported from the European Commission. She contributed regularly to many international dailies and magazines, and wrote guidebooks and articles on countries from Iceland to Portugal. An expert on Central European culture, she spoke six foreign languages including Hungarian, Czech and Russian. Sadly, Lucy died in 2018.