Romance is blooming in the book world — though, really, has it ever not? So let’s hear it for full-blooded historical romance, says author Maggie Craig; rooted in history and with handsome, ruffle-shirted heroes. I write historical non-fiction and novels. I’m more than happy to have the latter described as historical romance. They are quite […]
Ship of Thieves by Douglas Skelton
Jonas Flynt’s stepmother, Mercy, has been abducted from Edinburgh and carried back to the West Indies by her former owner. Gideon Flynt his father, has followed in hot pursuit, but Cassie, Jonas’s first love, knows he is not the man he once was and appeals to Flynt for help. Naturally, he agrees. Against Colonel Nathaniel […]
The House of Fallen Sisters by Louise Hare
December, 1765, and in the early hours of the morning, Sukey Maynard flees her home – a brothel in Covent Garden. Her maidenhood is about to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, and she is too frightened to stay. But when she is captured and returned to the house of fallen sisters, she has […]
On the Wings of the Storm by Maggie Craig
It’s Summer, 1745, and Prince Charles Edward Stuart has landed in the Highlands, igniting a rising that will set Scotland ablaze. Redcoat Captain Robert Catto has painful personal reasons for hating all Jacobites with a passion. Except for one. Christian Rankeillor is a fiercely intelligent apothecary in Edinburgh. Her loyalty to the Jacobite cause is […]
The Tarot Reader of Versailles by Anya Bergman
It is the early days of the French Revolution and, on the streets of Paris, terror reigns. Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand is a young woman with an extraordinary power — through her tarot cards, she can commune with the dead, revolutionaries and the aristocracy alike seeking her out to divine their fortunes. Lenormand is loyal […]
Historical books to look out for in 2026
Welcome to Historia’s most popular regular feature, our round-up of historical books published by members of the Historical Writers’ Association (HWA) to look out for this year. In 2026, there are more than 130 books so far — historical fiction, history, and biography. They range from Ancient Greece and Rome to the mid-20th century via the Viking […]
The invention of masculine fashion
Novelist Carolyn Kirby describes how research for her new novel, Ravenglass, led her to wonder what lay behind the apparently radical shift in men’s fashions during the late 18th century. She discusses the invention of the ‘masculine’ style that still dominates menswear. The clothes we wear are more than fashion choices. They tell other people […]
The 2025 HWA Crown Awards shortlists
The Historical Writers’ Association (HWA) has great pleasure in revealing the 2025 Crown Awards shortlists, celebrating the best in historical writing, fiction and non-fiction, published during 2024–2025. There are three awards categories — HWA Gold Crown, HWA Non-fiction Crown, and HWA Debut Crown — and six shortlisted books in each category. The books shortlisted for […]