AJ West’s The Spirit Engineer won the 2022 HWA Debut Crown award for the best first novel by a historical fiction writer. Praised by the judges as “haunting, deeply moving and witty”, it looks at the subject of spiritualism during the Edwardian age through the experiences of a deeply troubled man. We’re delighted to begin […]
Christmas reading 2022 – our pick of top historical books
We asked nine well-loved authors to each recommend two historical books for Christmas 2022 to give, receive, or treat yourself with. These include many of the most absorbing books, fiction and non-fiction, published recently. We hope these suggestions inspire you. DV Bishop The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola. A winter’s tale full of mystery and […]
Historia interviews: Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s acclaimed second novel, Daughters of Night, is shortlisted for the 2022 Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award. To celebrate this, Historia dragged her away from editing her next book to talk about the award and her writing. Congratulations on being shortlisted! For anyone who hasn’t yet read Daughters of Night, can you sum it […]
Historia interviews: Minette Walters
The award-winning, bestselling author Minette Walters speaks to Frances Owen for Historia. I was delighted to talk to Minette Walters by phone recently to discuss her latest novel, The Swift and the Harrier, set in her home county of Dorset during the English Civil Wars of 1642–51, which is out in paperback today. This is a […]
Books for history lovers – summer reading 2022
It’s time for Historia’s summer reading suggestions. We asked 12 historical writers to each recommend two books for history lovers, fiction or non-fiction, which stood out for them recently. Whether you’re going overseas for the first time this decade or relaxing at home, we hope you enjoy our picks! Jean Fullerton My first must-read is The […]
Historia interviews: 2021 Non-fiction Crown Award winner Alan Allport
Alan Allport won the 2021 HWA Non-fiction Crown Award for Britain at Bay, a fresh take on the Second World War which “changed our perspective, not just on Britain in the war but on British national identity and the way that we deploy history more generally,” as Clare Mulley, who chaired the judging panel, commented. […]
Historia interviews: 2021 Gold Crown Award winner Chris Lloyd
Chris Lloyd won the HWA Gold Crown Award in 2021 for The Unwanted Dead, a tense thriller set in Paris at the start of the Nazi occupation in 1940. Detective Eddie Giral, still traumatised by his experiences during the First World War, is helpless in the face of this menace. There’s one thing he still […]
Historical books to look out for in 2022
Our popular annual list of books to look out for during the year is back for 2022, with history, biography and historical fiction. Here are books to read from HWA authors covering eras from Ancient Rome to the 1980s and sweeping across continents from China to Russia and India, the USA to Australia and the […]