Thirty-six outstanding history and historical fiction books enter the race for the top prizes in three categories as the 2019 HWA Crown Awards longlists are announced. The HWA Crown Awards are divided into three categories: the HWA Gold Crown; the HWA Non-Fiction Crown; and the HWA Debut Crown. The longlisted books are: The HWA Gold […]
Review: The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal
“The wombat is a joy, a triumph, a delight, a madness.” Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The leader of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Rossetti, had a particular affection for wombats, and one of them turns up in a small but key role in Elizabeth Macneal’s much-acclaimed novel The Doll Factory, set in 1850s London around the world of the […]
Review: The Last Czars
Gill Paul, author of two novels about the Romanovs, reviews the Netflix series The Last Czars for Historia
Review: When the Germans Came by Duncan Barrett
The occupation of the British Channel Islands from June 1940 to May 1945 rarely features in the popular narrative of the Second World War nor has it, for the most part, captured the attention of writers, Mary Chamberlain tells Historia in her review of Duncan Barrett’s When the Germans Came, the paperback reprint of his 2018 account, Hitler’s British Isles.
Review: Charles I: Downfall of a King
Charles I: Downfall of a King (BBC Four, 9 July, 2019) reviewed by James Burge for Historia magazine
Good Boye or devil dog? Prince Rupert’s poodle
Boye, a white poodle belonging to Prince Rupert of the Rhine, was killed at the Battle of Marston Moor. Frances Owen looks at the stories that grew up around this famous ‘devil’ dog.
All at sea in Tudor England
The Tudor navy and its complications were an inspiration for award-winning historian and novelist JD Davies. He tells Historia about researching his new novel, Destiny’s Tide.
Five infamous female poisoners
EC (Elizabeth) Fremantle writes about five infamous female poisoners from the past in Historia magazine.