Lesley Downer is a novelist and journalist who has written numerous books, both fiction and non-fiction, about Japan and Asia. She is the author of The Shogun Quartet, four novels telling the stories of four different women who are caught up in the cataclysmic events when the shogunate collapsed and Japan leapt into the modern western […]
Desert Island Books: Victoria Blake
I have absolutely no illusions that I’d last very long. The crabs would be nibbling on my toes in about
July Giveaway!
We’ve got something a bit special for you this month. Win a bundle of children’s and young adult historical fiction, including best-selling and award-winning authors – perfect summer holiday reading for budding historians! Just follow the instructions below to enter. You’ve got four chances to win: 1. Sign up to the Historia mailing list. We […]
Back to the Past
Our guest this month, award-winning author Ally Sherrick, on the complexities of writing historical fiction for a young audience. I’ve been a time-traveller for as long as I can remember. If you set the dial for my own past, you’d find me weaving in and out of ancient stone circles, clambering up the towers of […]
Unseen Auschwitz
William Ryan on the extraordinary photo album that inspired his novel, The Constant Soldier. The Constant Soldier is set at the end of World War 2 in a valley in what was then Nazi Germany, at a time when the war was lost. The novel, about a damaged German soldier seeking redemption, has its origins […]
HWA Crown Shortlists 2017
The Historical Writers’ Association (HWA) are delighted to announce the books that have been shortlisted for their 2017 Gold, Debut and Non-Fiction Crowns. We’re very proud of these shortlists and the outstanding quality of the books selected. These are all works which inspired the judges with their passion, conviction and superb story-telling. They take us […]
Desert Island Books: Cecilia Ekbäck
I am so, so hoping my desert island will be one of the bare, windswept islands in the Baltic Sea off
Reinterpreting the Fall of Granada
“At length they saw the silver cross, the great standard of this crusade, elevated on the Torre de