Music hall and other old songs can provide musical clues in historical fiction — clues which carry even deeper meaning than the remembered snatches of tunes themselves do. Sarah Rayne, who took inspiration from such songs for her latest book, Chalice of Darkness, explains how it works. Old songs and fragments of faded music can […]
Review: Year of the Rabbit
Having written four books set in the East End of London in the 1880s I like to think I know a trope when I see one, and Year of the Rabbit has them in spades. In fact, they come so thick and fast in the first episode of Channel 4’s new crime comedy it’s as […]
Upstart Crow: The New Blackadder?
Another one of those compelling BBC historical drama series has just finished. But don’t worry, a new series has already been commissioned along with a Christmas special. It may seem strange to mention Ben Elton’s latest comedy about William Shakespeare’s early career in the same genre as War and Peace and Wolf Hall. But historical […]