Charles I is often thought of in polarised terms, as a martyr or a murderer. Mark Turnbull, author of a new biography of the king, argues that by more closely examining Charles’s personal relationships a more three-dimensional image of the man can be built up. Here he writes about the boy who would become a […]
Historia interviews: 2022 HWA Debut Crown Award shortlist: Rosie Andrews
Rosie Andrews was shortlisted for the 2022 HWA Debut Crown Award for The Leviathan, a historical mystery with a supernatural element set in 17th-century Norfolk. Rosie spoke to Historia about writing and researching her bestselling debut — and offers tips for new authors. The HWA Debut Crown celebrates new voices in historical fiction. What does […]
The Alchemist’s Plot by Eleanor Swift-Hook
England, March 1643. While the civil war between King Charles and his Parliament continues to tear the nation apart, erstwhile lawyer Gideon Lennox returns to England as part of a royal escort in the employ of Sir Philip Lord, a mercenary commander with a mysterious past. Accompanied by Gideon and Daniel Bristow — Lord’s second […]
Historia interviews: Minette Walters
The award-winning, bestselling author Minette Walters speaks to Frances Owen for Historia. I was delighted to talk to Minette Walters by phone recently to discuss her latest novel, The Swift and the Harrier, set in her home county of Dorset during the English Civil Wars of 1642–51, which is out in paperback today. This is a […]
The King’s Cavalier by Mark Turnbull
It’s November 1647. King Charles I has been defeated and is in captivity. Captain Maxwell Walker, a veteran royalist cavalryman, is still grieving over his wife’s murder. But he has finally gone home to his beloved sons. England, however, is far from at peace. Yorkshire proves as scarred as the rest of the kingdom and […]
The Rebel Daughter by Miranda Malins
Ely, 1643, and England is convulsed by civil war, setting King against Parliament and neighbour against neighbour. As the turmoil reaches her family home in Ely, 19-year-old Bridget Cromwell finds herself at the heart of the conflict. With her father’s star on the rise as a cavalry commander for the rebellious Parliament, Bridget has her […]
Oliver Cromwell’s war on Christmas?
Probably the one thing that most people could tell you about Oliver Cromwell (other that that he had warts) was that he banned Christmas. It is a ‘fact’ that is often referenced today, with comparisons being made to modern restrictions on festivities due to Covid-19. Is it true though? Stuart Orme, curator of the Cromwell […]
Henrietta Maria, a forgotten queen?
Frances Quinn’s novel The Smallest Man is inspired by the life of Jeffrey Hudson, the ‘court dwarf’ of Henrietta Maria, Charles I’s French wife. But who was this spirited woman who was both dearly loved and deeply unpopular? Frances looks at the friendship between a courtier and a queen who has been all but forgotten […]