A thriller inspired by the true story of Nancy Wake, whose husband was kidnapped by the Nazis and who became the most decorated servicewoman of the Second World War. To the Allies she was a fearless freedom fighter, special operations super spy, a woman ahead of her time. To the Gestapo she was a ghost, […]
The Victorian theatrical world of mystery and illusion
With the closure of our theatres, it only seems fair to bring a little old-fashioned footlights-and-greasepaint magic to Historia. So, ladies and gentlemen, I present for your especial enjoyment… the effervescent, the estimable, the essential Essie Fox! There has been quite an upsurge in Victorian-era novels published over the past few years. As a writer […]
On Wilder Seas by Nikki Marmery
April 1579. When two ships meet off the Pacific coast of New Spain, an enslaved woman seizes the chance to escape. But Maria has unwittingly joined Francis Drake’s circumnavigation voyage as he sets sail on a secret detour into the far north. Sailing into the unknown on the Golden Hind, a lone woman among 80 […]
Cross of Fire by David Gilman
Winter, 1362. After decades of successful campaigning in France, Thomas Blackstone, once a common archer, has risen to become Edward III’s Master of War. But the title is as much a curse as a blessing. Success has brought few rewards: his family – bar his son Henry – is dead, slaughtered; his enemies only multiply. […]
Watercolour research: a historical writer’s technique
For Jean Moran, author of Tears of the Dragon and Summer of the Three Pagodas, research is a thing to be applied lightly, like watercolour, not thickly, like oil paint, as she tells Historia. The titles I wrote as Lizzie Lane centred on the early 20th century, and World War Two in particular, and as […]
The HWA/Sharpe Books Unpublished Novel 2020 longlist
The longlist for the first HWA/Sharpe Books Unpublished Novel Award has been announced, with 12 “fresh and vital” manuscripts making it through to the next round of judging. Congratulations to all the authors! They are: Richard Bryson for Five Dark Moons Maggie Humm: Talland House Paula Lennon: The Adventures of Isaiah Ollenu Esquire Tim Oliver: […]
The Foundling by Stacey Halls
London, 1754. Six years after leaving her illegitimate daughter Clara at London’s Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the child she has never known. Dreading the worst, that Clara has died in care, she is astonished when she is told she has already claimed her. Her life is turned upside down as she tries […]
Tokens of love: the moving objects left by mothers at the Foundling Hospital
Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars, writes for Historia about the inspiration behind her latest book, The Foundling: tokens left by mothers to help identify the babies they gave up at the Foundling Hospital in London. Some are beautiful, some simple, but all are poignant reminders of desperation and loss. A pink silk purse. A […]