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 charts those 30 turbulent years that formed the future king. Your book, Charles II: From the Cradle to the Crown, looks self-explanatory from […]
These Wicked Devices by Matthew Plampin
In Rome in 1650 the streets are teeming as thousands of pilgrims flood in for the Holy Jubilee. But behind the gilded facade of the Vatican, power is unravelling. Donna Olimpia Maidalchini has long kept Pope Innocent X under her thumb, but as loyalties shift, her enemies close in. And her most dangerous opponents may […]
A Poisoner’s Tale by Cathryn Kemp
Rome, 1656, and in the shadowy backstreets lies an apothecary’s shop – a place for women to take their heartbreaks and troubles. Herbs for childbirth. Tarot readings to tell their fortunes. An undetectable poison that can kill in four drops. Alongside her circle of female poisoners, Giulia Tofana dispenses her deadly potion to free the […]
Historia interview: AD Bergin
AD Bergin’s debut novel The Wicked of the Earth is set against the background of Newcastle’s 1650 witch trials. He talks to novelist and fellow North-Easterner Carolyn Kirby about the reasons behind witch hunts, the impact of the Interregnum on industry and society, and being a Northern author. CK: Congratulations, Andrew! The Wicked of the […]
The Wicked Of The Earth by AD Bergin
October, 1650, and the traumatised Parliamentarian spy James Archer returns north seeking his sister Meg, missing in the aftermath of Newcastle’s recent witch trials. Aloof, enigmatic Elizabeth Thompson draws him to investigate the ongoing killing of women who had worked to free the accused. But when Elizabeth herself becomes hunted, the only chance of escape […]
A Poisoner’s Tale by Cathryn Kemp
Rome in 1656, and in the shadowy backstreets of the Eternal City lies an apothecary’s shop – a place for women to take their heartbreaks and troubles. Herbs for childbirth. Tarot readings to tell their fortunes. An undetectable poison that can kill in four drops. Alongside her circle of female poisoners, Giulia Tofana dispenses her […]
The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola
It’s Rome in 1659, and Girolama Spana lives west of the river Tiber in a house marked by a lily and a garden full of herbs. Many women in Rome seek her help — although they would never admit it — eager for her mysterious balms, her love potions, and her ability to predict their […]
Running with the regicides: Why I decided to venture into the Restoration
Why does a historical fiction author choose a particular time to write about? And what happens when your characters insist on staying in your head when a series ends? SG MacLean, whose The Winter List is just out in paperback, writes about how she was drawn back into the world of Damian Seeker one last […]