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Six tips on researching your historical novel

8 September 2021 By Stephanie Merritt

Stephanie Merritt (SJ Parris) is the author of the bestselling historical thriller series about Giordano Bruno. The latest book in the series, Execution, is out now. She is also the tutor of Curtis Brown Creative’s six-week online Writing Historical Fiction course. For Historia, she shares six tips on how to get going with your historical […]

Battling with history: how to write fight scenes and battles in historical fiction

4 March 2021 By Matthew Harffy

How do you write a battle scene which engages your readers and drives the story on? It’s a question many authors of historical fiction fight with. Matthew Harffy, well known for his action-filled Bernicia Chronicles series, gives Historia his advice. All good stories need conflict, and what better way to convey conflict than to have […]

Historical fiction writing course: special offer for Historia readers

27 September 2020 By Editor

We’re delighted to announce a special offer for Historia readers who’d like to join the first Writing Historical Fiction course run by Curtis Brown Creative (CBC). The six-week online course is tutored by Stephanie Merritt, who, as SJ Parris, writes the best-selling and much-loved Giordano Bruno spy thrillers. Steph spoke to Curtis Brown Creative about […]

Historia interviews: Alexandra Walsh

28 July 2020 By Frances Owen

Author Alexandra Walsh talks to Historia about her books, writing, research, women’s friendships, and her links with historical figures

How much should I explain? And how?

3 February 2020 By Emma Darwin

Dear Dr Darwin, As a reader of historical fiction I want to be in a place which may resonate in my world, but is not my world. That’s not only about politics and clothes, and how the people think and feel and believe, but in how they talk and write, and what they talk and […]

My writer’s circle friend keeps getting his facts wrong

15 November 2019 By Emma Darwin

Our resident agony aunt, Dr Darwin, answers a common question: how can we make sure our historical details are accurate – and believable? Dear Dr Darwin, Someone in my writers’ circle keeps getting facts wrong: things like calling a 17th-century character Tiffany, and giving her mother a vote in elections. He makes both of them keen […]

I want to write a parallel narrative novel, but I don’t know how

31 July 2019 By Emma Darwin

Historia’s resident agony aunt, Dr Darwin, answers another question about the craft (and art) of writing. This time: how to write a parallel narrative novel which grabs – and keeps – your reader. Dear Dr Darwin, I have fantastic idea for a novel which is made of two almost entirely separate historical narrative threads plaited […]

How do I convey necessary information without it being clunkingly obvious?

28 April 2019 By Emma Darwin

Woman writing: Pamela

Author Emma Darwin explains how you make sure historical fiction readers get necessary information without it being clunkingly obvious

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The Lying Dutchman by Graham Brack

20 May 2022

Dead in the Water by Mark Ellis

19 May 2022

Widows of the Ice by Anne Fletcher

15 May 2022

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Editor’s Picks

From the Mill to Monte Carlo by Anne Fletcher

15 June 2021

William of Orange's army arrives in England

Why the Glorious Revolution was . . . well, neither

4 November 2018

Historia Q&A: Ben Kane

15 May 2018

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Historia Magazine is published by the Historical Writers’ Association. We are authors, publishers and agents of historical writing, both fiction and non-fiction. For information about membership and profiles of our member authors, please visit our website.

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