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 this year. In 2026, there are more than 110 books so far — historical fiction, history, and biography. They range from Ancient Greece and Rome to the mid-20th century via the Viking […]
The invention of masculine fashion
Novelist Carolyn Kirby describes how research for her new novel, Ravenglass, led her to wonder what lay behind the apparently radical shift in men’s fashions during the late 18th century. She discusses the invention of the ‘masculine’ style that still dominates menswear. The clothes we wear are more than fashion choices. They tell other people […]
The Icarus Ascent by Mike Lewis
Seven men stand on top of the Matterhorn, Switzerland’s most famous peak, on 14 July, 1865. Led by Englishman Edward Whymper, they have beaten a rival Italian party to attain the summit of ‘The Impossible Mountain’. Triumph turns to disaster on the descent when young Douglas Hadow, the novice of the party, slips and drags […]
Bloody Assaye by Griff Hosker
As the dust settles on the first resistance to British rule in India, a new storm brews on the horizon. The Wellesley brothers strategise their next offensive, eager to support their new allies in the turbulent Indian subcontinent. Fresh troops arrive, injecting fervour and ambition into the ranks of the East India Company’s army. For […]
The Austen Christmas Murders by Jessica Bull
The festive season is fast approaching. Jane Austen fears that without her lively siblings at home, there won’t be much Christmas cheer in the Austen household this year. But when she uncovers a skeleton in the cellar of Deane Parsonage, Jane soon forgets her woes. For who needs merriment, when there’s a mystery to solve? […]
The ‘ordinary’ Victorian murderess
Victorian women who killed have fascinated writers for over a century. What made the ‘angel in the house’ — a popular idea in the late 1850s — behave like a devil? Especially if they seemed, well, ordinary. Lesley McDowell, author of Love and Other Poisons, wonders what an ‘ordinary’ murderess was. “[She was] an ordinary, […]
Marianne by Alice McVeigh
When Marianne – still beautiful, still impulsive and not yet twenty-one – returns to London, she is rich, with a house in Mayfair and an estate in Dorsetshire. Despite her resolve to remain single, she finds herself besieged with admirers, including the dangerously attractive Willoughby and the charming and irreverent Crawford. Then Marianne’s younger sister, […]
The 2025 HWA Crown Awards shortlists
The Historical Writers’ Association (HWA) has great pleasure in revealing the 2025 Crown Awards shortlists, celebrating the best in historical writing, fiction and non-fiction, published during 2024–2025. There are three awards categories — HWA Gold Crown, HWA Non-fiction Crown, and HWA Debut Crown — and six shortlisted books in each category. The books shortlisted for […]