It’s 1937. Fear and suspicion stalk the Continent. A million have died in Stalin’s Great Purge and the Nazi terror grips Germany. But British intelligence is still trying to work out who the enemy is. As Europe heads towards war, treason is in the air. British spymasters know there is one Soviet agent in their […]
The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson
1950s Morocco is full of murder, magic and divided loyalties… Hamou Badi is born in a mountain village with the magical signs of the zouhry on his hands. The zouhry is a figure of legend, capable of finding all manner of treasure. But instead of finding treasure, young Hamou finds a body. Haunted by this […]
The Murderer Inside the Mirror by Sarah Rayne
London, 1908. The Fitzglens, one of London’s leading theatre families and part-time thieves, are plotting their next scheme when they receive terrible news about Great Uncle Montague. He’s been killed in a tragic accident at his Notting Hill home. Montague will be much missed, not just for his talent in art forgery, but his death […]
The Vulcan and the Straits by Patrick Larsimont
It’s Autumn, 1942, and fighter pilot Jox McNabb has survived the desert and the second battle of El Alamein, but now No 111 Squadron is heading into a fresh new storm. They embark on Operation Torch, the invasion of Vichy North Africa, but adverse weather conditions make flying almost impossible. And their commanding officer, Tony […]
Why do we remember D-Day?
Even after 80 years people remember D-Day. Adrian Goldsworthy, author of Hill 112, which is set during the Normandy landings, examines why we do — and dispels some myths surrounding this memorable turning point in the Second World War. D-Day. 6 June, 1944, Operation Overlord and the invasion of France by the Western Allies led […]
Historia interview: Clare Mulley
Acclaimed biographer Clare Mulley’s latest book, Agent Zo: the Untold Story of Fearless WW2 Resistance Fighter Elżbieta Zawacka, is published on 16 May, 2024. Clare talks to novelist Carolyn Kirby about the long and remarkable life of Elżbieta Zawacka, or Agent Zo, Polish freedom fighter and one of most successful female spies of the Second […]
A Nest of Vipers by Harini Nagendra
When Edward, Prince of Wales, begins a tour of a number of Indian cities in 1921, he encounters passionate crowds demanding independence from Britain, with rioting on the streets of Bombay in November. The mood of the prince’s subsequent trip to Bangalore and Mysore in January 1922 appears, at first glance, very different and is […]
Magic versus jadoo in 1920s British Colonial India
Harini Nagendra writes about the street magicians of India and how these performers of jadoo fascinated Westerners, who copied their ‘tricks’ unashamedly. But the jadoogars, unlike some of their cobras, still had fangs. Growing up in India in the 1970s, I read widely, but was especially fascinated by books that featured animals, and magic. Enid […]