We asked five well-loved authors to each suggest a couple of books they recommend for history lovers to enjoy reading over the summer. Their choices include novels about the eve of the Roman Conquest and the eve of the Norman one; non-fiction about the long history of Black people in Britain and the island’s first […]
The King’s Mother by Annie Garthwaite
In 1461, through blood and battle, Edward IV has gained England’s throne. King by right and conquest – 18 years old and unstoppable. Cecily has piloted his rise to power and stands at his shoulder now, first to claim the title King’s Mother. But to win a throne is not to keep it, and war […]
A Pact with the Devil by Anna Legat
1491, Cracow, Kingdom of Poland. The 44th year in the reign of Casimir Jagiellon. Nicolaus Copernicus and his brother Andreas embark on their studies at the University of Cracow. Nicolaus is a bashful young man and a keen scholar; Andreas, a wastrel with a passion for carnal pursuits. The university is embroiled in scandal when […]
The Queen and the Countess by Anne O’Brien
England in the 1450s: Queen Margaret knows she must protect the crown — and her son, Prince Edward’s, claim to it — at all costs. With her husband, King Henry, increasingly frail, it is up to Margaret to fight for their inheritance. And as the Wars of the Roses rage on, her enemies and their […]
Historical books to look out for in 2025
Welcome to Historia’s most popular regular feature, our round-up of historical books published by members of the Historical Writers’ Association (HWA) to look out for during the coming year. In 2025, there are over 130 books covering history, biography, and historical fiction and spanning eras from Ancient Greece to the 1980s. And there will be […]
The Knight’s Redemption by Ethan Bale
Europe, Spring, 1486. Facing a grisly death if captured alive, veteran mercenary and Plantagenet henchman Sir John Hawker and his unlikely band of misfits return to Venice to attempt to free the woman he left behind there months before. Braving the spies and militia of the Serene Republic, Hawker must somehow reach his beloved Chiara, […]
Stoke Field, 1487: The ‘forgotten’ battle of the Wars of the Roses
Ethan Bale looks at the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487, a ‘forgotten’ fight which finally secured the throne of England for Henry VII and the Tudor dynasty. It’s the perfect pub quiz gotcha: What is considered to be the last battle of the Wars of the Roses? If you said “Bosworth Field” you’d be […]
Mothers in war: Cecily Neville and her royal rivals
Annie Garthwaite’s second novel, The King’s Mother, picks up the story of Cecily Neville to follow the purposeful power plays of four rival royal mothers during the 15th-century Wars of the Roses. Here she reflects on their careers – and on her own determination to bring their stories to the fore. Shortly after the publication […]