How do you write a historical heist? The ingredients, TL Mogford decided, were the same in all periods: target, tech and team. But it was while he was working in an Italian kitchen that he found the spark that led to his latest novel: the fact that saffron is worth its weight in gold. And it was in the 1660s … Continue Reading
Features
Was CS Lewis a misogynist?
Was CS Lewis a misogynist? Many people think he was, often based on what's called the 'Susan problem' in The Last Battle. But while researching … Continue Reading
Edwin Landseer’s vanished paintings and lost love
Did the Victorian artist Edwin Landseer have an affair with Georgina, Duchess of Bedford? Was his lost love the reason for his deteriorating … Continue Reading
The dark legacy of the Spanish Civil War
The legacy of the Spanish Civil War is still felt in Spain today, 90 years after it began. A culture of deliberate forgetting has meant that some … Continue Reading
What is historical fiction for?
Historical fiction offers more than just entertainment. It brings the past alive for modern readers. Writers can question what we know, … Continue Reading
Interviews
Historia interview: Claire Hobson
On 29 May, Oak Apple Day, it'll be 396 years from Charles II's birth in 1630 and 366 since his restoration. To mark the occasion, Historia spoke to Claire Hobson, whose biography marks those 30 turbulent years that … Continue Reading
Historia interview: Carolyn O’Brien
Carolyn O’Brien’s new novel Rose & Renzo is set in 1930s Manchester and is deeply entwined with the radical politics of the time, the backdrop to a passionate coming-of-age story. Carolyn O’Brien talks to fellow … Continue Reading
Reviews
Review: Wuthering Heights – the film – and Catherine by Essie Fox
February, 2026 has given us the full Bronte with two retellings of Wuthering Heights. Kate Griffin, the author of several Gothic novels and lover of films set in the Victorian era, is the ideal person to review both … Continue Reading
Review: Samurai at the British Museum
Lesley Downer, author of The Shortest History of Japan, visits the Samurai exhibition at the British Museum and discovers that it's "an exhibition of treasures" which show that the samurai were patrons of the arts … Continue Reading