The German film industry was controlled by Joseph Goebbels from 1933 until his death in 1945. As Catherine Hokin found while researching her new novel, The Lost Mother, this extended further than dictating only the content of films. Joseph Goebbels had an eye for the importance of film, even before he was made Reich Minister […]
Historia giveaway! The 2020 HWA Gold Crown Award shortlist
Historia’s final HWA Crowns giveaway is for all six books on the 2020 Gold Crown shortlist. It’s your chance to win six of the most outstanding historical novels published last year. And you’ve got up to four chances of winning. The Historia HWA Gold Crown 2020 giveaway is open from 2pm on 22 January, 2021, […]
Review: A Prince and a Spy by Rory Clements
Author Carolyn Kirby reviews A Prince and A Spy by Rory Clements, the fifth novel in his Tom Wilde series of thrillers set before and during the Second World War. When it comes to historical accuracy, Kate Atkinson says of her novel Transcription (2018) that the story was created through “…a wrenching apart of history […]
Researching the Palaeolithic
Jennifer Macaire’s latest book, A Remedy in Time, might be the ultimate in dual-timeline novels; the protagonist travels back from the year 3377 to the last Ice Age. She tells Historia what drew her to the Palaeolithic era and how she goes about researching such a distant time. One of the things I love are […]
Books to look for in 2021
Historia has put together a list of books to look out for in 2021 from HWA members – an overview of the best in historical writing published this year. After a difficult and often disappointing year for writers, publishers and booksellers, it’s heartening to see historical writing, both fiction and non-fiction, flourishing in 2021. January […]
A different kind of WWII resistance
There were many ways to resist the Nazi regime. Deborah Swift tells Historia about a quiet, but very effective, form of resistance which she came across while researching her new book, The Lifeline, set in Norway and Shetland during the Second World War. I’ve always been interested in the French Resistance, but when I was […]
Five surprising facts about Charles Edward Stuart
It’s the 300th anniversary of his birth Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie, if you insist) was born 300 years ago on 31 December, 1720 (New Style), in the Palazzo Muti complex in Rome. Why is this surprising? Because, although ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ is one of the most recogisable names in UK history, featuring […]
Reinventing Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was assassinated on 29 December, 1170. He was almost immediately venerated as a martyr and, on 21 February, 1173, Pope Alexander III canonised him. From turbulent priest to Chaucer’s “holy blissful martir”, “stubborn man” to counter-culture agitator, Becket has been reinterpreted over the centuries to suit the purposes of the […]