AD265, and in the shadow of Mount Etna, slaves are rising up. As the rebel leader declares Sicily the new land of the free, men and women are slaughtered, and cities across the island are sacked and burned. When a ship is wrecked off the island’s west coast, all but two survivors are cut down […]
Sex and Sexuality in Ancient Rome by LJ Trafford
From emperors and empresses, poets and prostitutes, slaves and plebs, Ancient Rome was a wealth of different experiences and expectations. None more so than around the subject of sex and sexuality. The image of Ancient Rome that has come down to us is one of sexual excess: emperors gripped by perversion partaking in pleasure with […]
A Beautiful Spy by Rachel Hore
It all began in the summer of 1928… Minnie is supposed to find a nice man, get married and have children. The problem is it doesn’t appeal to her at all. She is working as a secretary, but longs to make a difference. Then, one day, she gets her chance. She is recruited by the […]
The Royal Game by Anne O’Brien
England, 1444. King Henry VI’s grip on the crown hangs by a thread as the Wars of the Roses starts to tear England apart. And from the ashes of war, the House of Paston begins its rise to power. Led by three visionary women, the Pastons are a family from humble peasant beginnings who rely […]
Sands of the Arena and Other Stories by Ben Kane
A collection of short stories by Ben Kane. Sands of the ArenaCan a wet-behind-the-ears gladiator survive a bloody contest ordered by Emperor Caligula? The ShrineCenturion Tullus discovers that Fate will always hold him in her grip. The ArenaLegionary Piso’s much anticipated payday plays out very differently from what he expected. Eagles in the EastCaught up […]
The HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition 2021 longlist
We’re delighted to announce the longlist for the 2021 Historical Writers’ Association Dorothy Dunnett Society Short Story Competition. This impressive list shows “not just talent, but passion and sensitivity and an ability to bring the past and its people to life in rich and vivid prose”. The HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition 2021 longlist: […]
The Sins of the Father by Annie Whitehead
AD658. The sons of Penda of Mercia have come of age. Ethelred, the youngest, recalls little of past wars while Wulf is determined to emulate their father, whose quest to avenge his betrayed kinswomen drew him to battle three successive Northumbrian kings. Ecgfrith of Northumbria is more hostile towards the Mercians than his father was. […]
The Ambassador by Susan Ronald
On February 18, 1938, Joseph P Kennedy was sworn in as US Ambassador to the Court of St. James. To say his appointment to the most prestigious and strategic diplomatic post in the world shocked the Establishment was an understatement: known for his profound Irish roots and staunch Catholicism, not to mention his ‘plain-spoken’ opinions […]