It’s fair to say that a year ago a lot of people had not heard of Mark Rylance. He is one of our greatest actors and yet, until recently, he’s flown under the radar, largely keeping himself to one of the less commercial corners of British culture – the floorboards of ‘serious’ theatre. This all […]
Reviews
Looking for your next read? HWA members review the best new historical writing, recommend their desert island books and revisit some old favourites.
Non-Fiction Roundup
2015 is remarkable in being the anniversary of two of the most notable and evocative battles in English history – Agincourt and Waterloo. As it also eight hundred years since King John signed Magna Carta there has been a predictable flood of books covering all three of these topics. So it is a relief to […]
Golden Lion by Wilbur Smith and Giles Kristian
Wilbur Smith has to be one of the very top names in adventure fiction. From his early book THE MERCENARIES (renamed from the original title THE DARK OF THE SUN) about the mercenaries fighting in the Belgian Congo, he has written both modern day stories and historicals with verve and skill. Of all his books, […]
Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, National Theatre
The political landscape of Britain is in upheaval. There are debates on electoral reform, the rise of smaller political groups calling for radical change, and an attempt to overthrow the beleaguered political powers currently in place. Throw in a few nods concerning the rights of immigrants and you might be forgiven for thinking Light Shining […]
1864: Danish History does Nordic Noir
The success of crime dramas like The Killing and Borgen has brought Scandinavian TV to an international audience. Defined by dark subject matter, bleak, beautifully shot landscapes and slow paced stories, Nordic noir has become a genre that’s a hit with viewers and critics alike. And now Danish history has been given the same treatment. […]
Kings and Queens
The Price of Blood by Patricia Bracewell (HarperCollins) I’m afraid I knew nothing about Emma of Normandy until I came across this splendid series from Patricia Bracewell. In the first volume, Shadow on the Crown, the young Emma arrives in a hostile country to marry Æthelred of England with little but her own wits to defend […]
Into the Fire by Manda Scott
Any book that’s about Joan of Arc is bound to pique my interest. A timeslip novel (half modern day, half historical fiction) about this enigmatic figure is even more interesting, and when written by an author whose work I admire, even more so. It was with considerable expectation, therefore, that I started reading an advance […]
Juliet West watches Testament of Youth
Determined, ambitious and highly intelligent, Vera Brittain was a disappointment to her parents. Alarmed by her bookishness and desire to study at Oxford, their tactic was to buy her a grand piano in the hope that this would persuade her to behave like a proper young lady and become, eventually, somebody’s wife. The arrival of […]