The Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June, 1944 – D-Day – is one of the most recognisable events of the Second World War, thanks not just to its importance militarily but to its coverage in books and films. Less well known is the complex and secret process of planning the invasion, and the significant […]
The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Elisabeth Gifford
Chrissie Gillies comes from the last ever community to live on the beautiful, isolated Scottish island of St Kilda. Evacuated in 1930, she will never forget her life there, nor the man she loved and lost who visited one fateful summer a few years before. Fred Lawson has been captured, beaten and imprisoned in Nazi-controlled […]
Agincourt: Why the English Won
My historical novel, The Agincourt Bride, focused on Catherine, youngest daughter of King Charles the Sixth of France and the princess so charmingly introduced by Shakespeare in the closing scenes of King Henry the Fifth. The trophy wife Henry wooed and won as the victor of the Battle of Agincourt, presenting himself as a plain-speaking, […]
Lies, Damned Lies and Historical ‘Facts’
It’s that time again: publication of a new book. Two years’ work – or in this case rather more, if we include the research – launches out into the world and we find out if those outside the charmed and charming circle of our publishers, friends and fellow authors, want to read it enough to […]