In 1135, Stephen of Blois usurped the throne, stealing it from his cousin Empress Matilda and sparking a 19-year civil war that would become known as the Anarchy, one of the bloodiest periods in English history. On the one side is Empress Matilda. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for […]
Historia interview: 2023 HWA Gold Crown shortlist: Rebecca Stott
Rebecca Stott’s novel Dark Earth was shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award in 2023. The judges described it as “spellbinding… Filled with folklore and myth and evocative world-building, an immersive and endlessly vivid novel.” It follows two sisters’ fight for survival in post-Roman ruined London: a place filled with violence and superstition. Congratulations on […]
Historical books to look out for in 2024
Welcome to Historia’s most popular regular feature, our round-up of books published by members of the Historical Writers’ Association (HWA) to look out for during the coming year. For 2024, there are nearly 140 books covering history, biography, and historical fiction and spanning eras from Ancient Greece and Egypt to the 1980s. They sweep around […]
True love (why the greatest love stories are the ones that actually happened)
The historian Emily Hauser explains why tales of true love – love that really happened – make the greatest love stories of all. “I’m in love”: it’s a phrase that’s been said since the beginning of time. We all care about love, and all of us want more of it in our lives — whether […]
Two Houses, Two Kingdoms by Catherine Hanley
The 12th and 13th centuries were a time of personal monarchy, when the close friendship or petty feuding between kings and queens could determine the course of history. The Capetians of France and the Angevins of England waged war, made peace, and intermarried. The lands under the control of the English king once reached to […]
The Lost Prince by Ethan Bale
Are they saving a prince, or unchaining a monster? December, 1476. The infamous Vlad the Impaler – Dracula – is reported killed in a Turkish ambush. The brutal scourge of the Ottomans is no more… November, 1485. Nine years later, mysterious Hungarian noblewoman Maria Hunyadi lays a quest at the feet of Sir John Hawker, […]
The real Dracula: monster by nature – or nurture?
Dracula. Vlad the Impaler. Otherwise known as Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia. Ethan Bale, whose latest novel, The Lost Prince, features the historical figure, examines the man behind the legend and asks: was he a monster by nature? By nurture? Or both? Just a few weeks ago, King Charles undertook his annual pilgrimage to Transylvania, […]
Dark Waters Rising by Cassandra Clark
Autumn, 1394, and all is not well at Swyne Priory. Dissension has arisen amongst the nuns. The new novices whisper in corners, spreading malicious rumours and sharing dark secrets. The Prioress gives Hildegard an order: search out the cause of this unrest, and put a stop to it. But before Hildegard can investigate, she’s forced […]