The Warennes, Earls of Surrey from the Norman Conquest until 1347, may not be as familiar to us as some other great medieval families. But, as historian Sharon Bennett Connolly tells Historia, for three centuries they were at the heart of English power and had an important role in the politics of their day. As […]
Shadow of the Hawk by David Gilman
Thomas Blackstone, Edward III’s Master of War takes to Spain in the seventh instalment of David Gilman’s chronicle of the Hundred Years’ War. Winter, 1364. The King is dead.Defeated on the field of Poitiers, Jean Le Bon, King of France, honoured his treaty with England until his death. His son and heir, Charles V, has […]
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. […]
A Plague on your Business by Michael Jecks: part 2
Historia’s serialisation of A Plague on your Business by Michael Jecks continues with the second and final part. This is an exclusive extract from By the Sword, the new HWA collection of short stories set in the medieval period. The cook was a lugubrious, scrawny fellow, like a man whodid not enjoy his own food. […]
Historia interview: Alis Hawkins
Alis Hawkins writes fiction based in two centuries and two places: England in the 14th century and West Wales in the 19th. But, as she tells Historia, shuttling between the two is easier than you might think. Congratulations on The Black and the White being published! Tell us a bit about your latest novel. My […]
Opus Anglicanum: the beauty of medieval English embroidery
Some of the most prestigious fabrics of the 13th and 14th centuries were produced by women, in secular workshops as well as in religious orders throughout England. Carol McGrath writes about the luxurious garments that gave her the background for one of the characters in her latest novel, The Silken Rose. English embroidery was once […]
Cross of Fire by David Gilman
Winter, 1362. After years of successful campaigning in France, Thomas Blackstone, a common archer knighted at Crécy, has rised 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 – are dead, slaughtered; his enemies […]
Review: The Bone Fire by SD Sykes
It’s a nerve-wracking thing, a series, warns Catherine Hokin. The author commits to a character, the reader buys in; everyone steels themselves against the nightmare moment when a shark will appear and be thoroughly jumped. Well, fear not, Oswald de Lacy fans, this is a shark-free zone: SD Sykes’s latest outing for her medieval crime-solver […]