Eagle-stones, holy girdles, cheese and cake and a coral rattle: all were meant to aid childbirth and keep the newborn baby safe. Quaint superstitions to us, perhaps, but sensible approaches when facing the danger of giving birth, Martine Bailey, author of The Prophet, argues. “When a woman conceived she was launched on a roaring wave […]
Finding empathy – the complexities of writing Robert Clive
How can an author find empathy in a historical figure who is necessary to their story, but whose ‘dark character’ we look back on with distaste? Diana Preston tells Historia how she found a way to write about Robert Clive ‘of India’ in all his complexity. The decision to write a novel centring on Robert […]
The Year Without Summer – fact, fiction and the climate crisis today
Author Guinevere Glasfurd tells Historia how a local news story showed her the way to write her sweeping climate change novel, The Year Without Summer, which was shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award in 2020. Up until a couple of years ago, the impacts of climate change often seemed abstract, forever far away; set […]
Sex, swords and incest: the many scandals of ‘Mad Jack’ Byron
The poet Lord Byron wasn’t the only member of his family to be “mad, bad, and dangerous to know”, as Emily Brand found when she wrote The Fall of the House of Byron. She tells Historia about how she tried – but failed – to rehabilitate his notorious father. On 10 July 1823 the notorious […]
How to become a berserker – a historical novelist’s guide
For a historical fiction writer with two successful adventure series and a passing acquaintance with magic under his (sword) belt, writing about berserkers was probably a logical next step for Angus Donald. But what, exactly, is a berserker? And how do you become one? He tells Historia… I was a little taken aback, when I […]
Review: The Lifeline by Deborah Swift
Tom Williams reviews The Lifeline by Deborah Swift, an adventure story with a dash of romance set in German-occupied Norway during a lesser-known episode of resistance to Nazi rule. Deborah Swift’s latest continues the Second World War theme of her latest books. We’re in German-occupied Norway in 1942. We are thrown into the action practically […]
Walking in the footsteps of Florentine history
DV Bishop tells Historia how valuable it is to get your feet on the street when doing historical research, as he found while writing his novel, City of Vengeance, set in Florence in the 1530s. Writing my historical crime fiction debut, City of Vengeance, was a journey of many steps, as with any creative endeavour, […]
Crown winner interviews: Andrew Taylor
Andrew Taylor is a historical crime novelist and won this year’s HWA Gold Crown Award for his book The King’s Evil. The novel is set in the late 17th century and is the third in his James Marwood series. Andrew talks to Historia about his book, the inspiration behind his main character and his favourite […]