London 1667. In the Court of Charles II, it’s a dangerous time to be alive – a wrong move may lead to disgrace, exile or death. The discovery of a body at Clarendon House, the palatial home of one of the highest courtiers in the land, could therefore have catastrophic consequences. James Marwood, a traitor’s […]
The Conviction of Cora Burns by Carolyn Kirby
Birmingham, 1885. Born in a gaol and raised in a workhouse, Cora Burns has always struggled to control the violence inside her. Haunted by memories of a terrible crime, she seeks a new life working as a servant in the house of scientist Thomas Jerwood. Here, Cora befriends a young girl, Violet, who seems to […]
‘Paedo Hunter Turns Prey!’ The ironic fate of the father of tabloid journalism
In the past few years, amateur paedophile hunters have rarely been far from the headlines of Britain’s tabloid newspapers, writes author Carolyn Kirby. “The nation is in the grip of an extraordinary phenomenon involving possibly thousands of have-a-go investigators,” said the Daily Mail in June last year. Sometimes caught on the wrong side of the […]
Review: The Fire Court by Andrew Taylor
“All lines converged on the Dragon Yard case and the Fire Court at Clifford’s Inn.” But in Andrew Taylor’s second book in the James Marwood and Cat Lovett series, set in London just after the Great Fire, those lines tangle and twist fiendishly before coming together, writes Frances Owen. It’s 1667. James Marwood, son of […]
Crime and Punishment under Henry II
E.M. Powell on how Henry II laid the foundations of English Common Law. King Henry II of England is best known in the popular imagination for the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, a murder for which the King was blamed. Four knights broke into Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170 and slew Becket in the most […]
On Writing Agatha Christie
Alison Joseph on bringing a a literary legend to life. Georges Simenon once wrote a playful little volume called Maigret’s Memoirs. It is a witty, insightful piece of work, in which Maigret attempts to put the record straight about what happened when this odd little man called Georges Sim was given permission by the French […]
Read All About It!
Anna Mazzola picks her top five novels based on real crimes and asks, why are we so fascinated? ‘Based on a real story’, ‘Inspired by a true murder’: we have long been fascinated by fiction and drama with their roots in real crimes. Maybe that is partly because we are drawn to what we believe […]
Historical Crime Roundup
Since I told our esteemed editors that I’d do a round up of some of the recent crime fiction published by HWA members, I’ve become overexcited and overwhelmed by the number of superb books that have published this year. It has, at least, made my Christmas shopping a bit easier, but my kindle has overloaded, […]