Frances Quinn’s novel The Smallest Man is inspired by the life of Jeffrey Hudson, the ‘court dwarf’ of Henrietta Maria, Charles I’s French wife. But who was this spirited woman who was both dearly loved and deeply unpopular? Frances looks at the friendship between a courtier and a queen who has been all but forgotten […]
Vikings in Georgia: history or myth?
Fans of SJA (Simon) Turney’s Roman novels may be surprised to see that his latest book, the first of a new series, is about 11th-century Vikings. Researching the background to Blood Feud couldn’t have been be more different, he tells Historia, and involved a saga which mixes history with myth, backed up by archaeology, and […]
The uncanny story behind my novel
You might expect a thriller to give you the shivers. But when Alexandra Walsh was writing her latest novel, The Wind Chime, she discovered some parallels between her fictional story and her own family history that were unexpected – even uncanny. The Wind Chime is a timeshift thriller set in the present day and the […]
When the Wars of the Roses got personal
What happens when you discover that an ancestor of yours was involved in the great moments of history which you’re writing about? It makes these events feel closer to you, but also it makes you think again about loyalties, as Nicola Cornick, the bestselling and award-winning historical novelist, tells Historia. In 2019 when I started […]
874 and All That: a short history of a small country
Michael Ridpath, the crime novelist, has a deep interest in the history of Iceland. As a change from his usual books, he turned for his newest publication to a combination of his craft and his enthusiasm: a crime writer’s guide to Iceland. He’s given Historia a brief guide to medieval Iceland, the period of sagas […]
The living history of traditional folk songs
Voices from the past can still be heard today through the living social history of songs passed down through generations, whether they’re still sung by tradition-bearers, recorded by folk song enthusiasts or printed in broadsides or books, says Fiona Mountain. She tells Historia how the story of a murder committed over 200 years ago lives […]
Slashing the face: punishing unfaithful women in Italy
Deborah Swift writes about the background to a scene in her latest book, The Silkworm Keeper: a cruel punishment carried out on women in 17th-century Italy. In my new novel, The Silkworm Keeper, there is a scene in which the sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini sends a servant to slash the face of his unfaithful lover, Costanza […]
Books for history lovers: summer reading 2021
It’s a good year to plan your summer escape in the bookshop or library, since most of us will be taking our break at home or somewhere in these beautiful but rainy islands and may need books to journey any further. We asked historical writers, both fiction and non-fiction, for their suggestions for books for […]