How much research do I need to do? It’s a familiar question for writers of historical fiction. But author Robert Wilton has a confession to make… Don’t tell anyone, but I do less research than people seem to expect of a historical fiction author. Less than they might think is seemly. One of the reasons […]
Merkins and masochists: a brief history of sex
Sex was just as naughty and inventive in previous centuries as in our lifetimes, despite our perceptions of the past as often prudish, writes author Jemahl Evans. It’s just public attitudes that have changed
Lost and found: remembering William Marshal, the Greatest Knight
Historian and novelist Elizabeth Chadwick writes for Historia about the life of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, soldier, statesman and regent of England, to mark the 800th anniversary of his death in 1219,
Review: Storm of Steel by Matthew Harffy
It’s been an exciting few days for readers of Matthew Harffy’s Bernicia Chronicles, his series set in 7th-century Britain. The fourth book, Killer of Kings, came out in paperback on 2 May, 2019, the same day that its sequel, Warrior of Woden, was published. A week later, Beobrand returns in a “stunning new instalment”, Storm […]
Historia interviews: Elizabeth Macneal
Elizabeth Macneal’s first novel, The Doll Factory, is as full of strange, beautiful and horrifying things as a Victorian curiosity cabinet. Her protagonist, Iris, moves from sweatshop labour making dolls’ clothes to the exotic company of the Pre-Raphaelites, only to become the object of a collector’s obsession. She spoke to Historia about her novel and […]
The Other Conquest – 850th anniversary of the Norman invasion of Ireland
Author Ruadh Butler writes about the Norman invasion of Ireland on its 850th anniversary
How do I convey necessary information without it being clunkingly obvious?
Author Emma Darwin explains how you make sure historical fiction readers get necessary information without it being clunkingly obvious
Historia giveaway: Anna of Kleve by Alison Weir (signed superproofs)
Historia’s April 2019 giveaway is five signed superproof copies of of Alison Weir’s Anna of Kleve, the latest in her best-selling Six Tudor Queens series about the wives of Henry VIII, one copy each to be won by five different entrants.