10 Scotland Street – the story of an Edinburgh home and its cast of booksellers, silk merchants, sailors, preachers, politicians, its stories of cholera and coincidence and its widespread connections over two centuries across the globe. 10 Scotland Street by Leslie Hills is published in paperback on 6 August, 2024. Read Leslie’s feature about how […]
The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst by Katie Lumsden
Summer, 1841, is marriage season in the county of Wickenshire, and Miss Amelia Ashpoint isn’t sure she can face yet another ball. But now that she has reached the grand age of three-and-twenty, time is (apparently) running out. Her father is anxious to secure her a husband and has set his sights on Mr Montgomery […]
Dark Frontier by Matthew Harffy
1890. Lieutenant Gabriel Stokes of the British Army has left behind the horrors of war in Afghanistan for a role in the Metropolitan Police. Though he’s risen quickly through the ranks, the squalid violence of London’s East End proves just as dark and oppressive as the battlefield. With his life falling apart, and longing for […]
Why I’ve written a Western
From the ‘Dark Ages’ to a Dark Frontier: Matthew Harffy, author of the Bernicia Chronicles, explains why he’s written a Western — and how it’s not such a big leap after all. I have wanted to write a Western for as long as I can remember. I always enjoyed Western movies and fell in love […]
The Cursed Shore by JD Davies
Philippe Kermorvant, unfairly dismissed from the French Revolutionary Navy, accepts command of a privateer from its enigmatic owner. Having ignored his early misgivings, he finds the mission quickly takes a dark turn, endangering the lives of everyone on board. Meanwhile, the British prepare for an assault on the French mainland. Lord Wilden, Philippe’s cousin, is […]
Desert War by Griff Hosker
Jack Roberts is back from the Sudan and, with a crippling wound, no longer an active soldier. When he is sent to Iran to help find oil for British battleships, he has to leave home once more. This time he leaves a son who is about to embark on a military career, too. The Roberts […]
Researching pre-colonial Africa: why the Victorians ruffled my feathers
The bestselling author Florence Olajide writes about the difficulties of researching pre-colonial African history for her novel, The Stolen Daughter, including the language the Victorians used about her ancestors. Authors face many challenges when it comes to their writing, but my experience with African historical fiction involved some unique and personal difficulties. My first task […]
The Burial Plot by Elizabeth Macneal
London, 1839. With the cemeteries full and money to be made in death, tricksters Crawford and Bonnie survive on wicked schemes and ill-gotten coin. But one blistering evening, their fortunes flip. A man lies in a pool of blood at Bonnie’s feet — and now she needs to disappear. Crawford secures her a position as […]