1399: Constance of York, Lady Despenser, proves herself more than a mere observer in the devious intrigues of her magnificently dysfunctional family, the House of York. Surrounded by power-hungry men, including her aggressively self-centred husband Thomas and ruthless siblings Edward and Richard, Constance places herself at the heart of two treasonous plots against King Henry […]
A Verse to Murder by Peter Tonkin
A Verse to Murder by Peter Tonkin: about the novel
The Darker Arts by Oscar de Muriel
The Darker Arts, the fifth in the Frey and McGray series of spooky whodunits written by Oscar de Muriel
Summer reading for history lovers
Recommended summer reading books, both history and historical fiction, from Historical Writers’ Association authors,
The Emerald Cross by Jemahl Evans
It’s 1646. Blandford Candy, rake and spy, travels to the colonies on family business. He becomes embroiled in a quest for a priceless emerald cross, once destined for the Pope in Rome but lost in the American wilderness. Our hero has to escape a mutinous pirate crew, warring settlers, and hostile native tribes, but Blandford […]
The Dead Don’t Wait by Michael Jecks
April, 1555. A priest has been stabbed to death in the village of St Botolph, to the east of the City of London, his body left to rot by the roadside – and Jack Blackjack stands accused of his murder. As well as clearing his name, Jack has his own reasons for wanting to find […]
The Bone Fire by SD Sykes
It’s 1361. Plague has returned to England – thirteen years after the devastation of the Black Death. As destruction advances towards his estate in Kent, Oswald de Lacy leads his family to the safety of a remote castle in the marshes – where his friend Godfrey is preparing a fortress to survive the coming disaster. […]
Nemesis by Rory Clements
Can a ruthless spy ring change the course of war? In a great English house, a young woman offers herself to one of the most powerful and influential figures in the land – but this is no ordinary seduction. She plans to ensure his death . . . On holiday in France, Professor Tom Wilde […]