Within living memory, smallpox was a dreaded disease. Over human history it has killed untold millions. Back in the 18th century, as epidemics swept Europe, the first rumours emerged of an effective treatment: a mysterious method called inoculation. But a key problem remained: convincing people to accept the preventative remedy, the forerunner of vaccination. Arguments […]
Sailor of Liberty by JD Davies
In 1793 the infant French republic is assailed on all sides, by enemies within and the combined might of the great European monarchies without. A fanatical regime has taken power in Paris. In the midst of these upheavals, Philippe Kermorvant, son of an English aristocrat and a French nobleman, arrives in Brittany, his father’s homeland, […]
The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola
In the midst of the icy winter of 1750, as birds fall frozen from the sky above Paris, chambermaid Madeleine Chastel arrives at the home of the city’s celebrated clockmaker and his clever, unworldly daughter. Madeleine is hiding a dark past, and a dangerous purpose: to discover the truth of the clockmaker’s experiments and record […]
Are we the bad guys? Writing naval historical fiction from the French point of view
Mention the ‘classic age’ of naval historical fiction and most people immediately think of the ‘age of Nelson’, Horatio Hornblower, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. The gallant British Navy, hearts of oak and the Battle of Trafalgar. But there are two sides to every story, as JD Davies writes, and his new series takes the […]
Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman
London, 1799. Dora Blake lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents’ famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle’s suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. For Edward, the ancient vase is the key to unlocking […]
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 […]
Captain Hazard’s Game by David Fairer
It’s October, 1708. Playing Captain Hazard’s Game brings murder and scandal uncomfortably close, and Widow Trotter and her friends at the Bay-Tree Chocolate House are drawn into a frenzied game of chance and speculation at a time when the market is unregulated. Fortunes are made overnight, and ruin could descend in a single hour. People […]
The book that tells 60,000 stories
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is a great – and little-known – resource for historical novelists. Frances Quinn found the idea for her new book, That Bonesetter Woman, there. As anyone who’s had dealings with the publishing industry will know, one of the things it loves best is ‘the same, but different’; in other […]