Historia Live, the HWA’s series of author events showcasing historical fiction and history writing, is back at the Wheatsheaf in London on Tuesday, 16 April, 2024. The theme this month is Bad reputations: fortune-tellers, fraudsters & fallen women. On our panel are Laura Shepherd-Robinson, whose The Square of Sevens is out in paperback on 28 […]
The Hundred Years’ War – a novel approach
David Gilman, whose acclaimed Master of War novels are set during the Hundred Years’ War, looks at the early years of the long-drawn-out conflict between England and France and how real events helped shape his books. Family arguments can stir up trouble and sometimes go beyond a family member not being invited to the next […]
Historia interview: SG MacLean
To mark SG (Shona) MacLean’s new novel, The Winter List, being published, Historia spoke to her about returning to characters we thought we’d seen the last of, as well as how she goes about researching her novels and the importance of place. Shona also offered us some advice for new writers as well as a […]
Historia Live in September – our next author event
Do you love books and history? Would you like to hear your favourite HWA authors talking about all things historical fiction at an in-person event in a historic London pub? Then join us at Historia Live in September! After the successful launch of Historia Live in June, the HWA brings you three more much-loved authors […]
Historia interview: Ben Kane
As his new book, Napoleon’s Spy, takes Ben Kane into a new era, we talk to him about his latest novel, researching historical fiction, and his next project. Ben also offers some tips for new writers. King, your last book, saw the end of your Richard I Lionheart trilogy. Is it a wrench to leave […]
Revisiting St Petersburg?
When RN Morris went to St Petersburg to research his second 19th-century crime novel it felt as if he was revisiting the city he’d imagined so vividly: so much that his guide, a native St Petersburger, said his book had an “authentic atmosphere”. One day – who knows when – he’d like to be able […]
Extreme research: how far should a writer go?
What lengths will writers go to in order to research their books? For some, it’s quite far. Like drinking buffalo blood, or going to the Amazon jungle or the South Pole. For Louise Morrish, author of Operation Moonlight, it was grabbing her horror of heights in both hands and jumping out of a plane. She […]
Historia interviews: Fiona Forsyth and Eleanor Swift-Hook
Fiona Forsyth speaks to fellow author Eleanor Swift-Hook for Historia: After reading The Devil’s Command by chance, I found myself hooked (sorry, Eleanor!) and I have just finished The Physician’s Fate, the latest in the Lord’s Legacy series. I asked its author, Eleanor Swift-Hook, about the series. FF: The mess that is the English Civil […]