1967: Enigmatic young folk singer Molly Marrison disappears on the cusp of fame. 2002: Silva is working as a housemaid at Chatsworth House when her father suddenly dies, leaving her with one instruction – find Molly. The only clue is a haunting song, centuries old, that Molly recorded before she vanished. Silva needs the help of […]
The Wind Chime by Alexandra Walsh
Windsor, England, 2019, and Amelia Prentice is recovering from the worst two years of her life. First her daughter and then her parents have died, leaving her without any surviving relatives. As she gets ready to put the family home, a vast Victorian house in Windsor, on the market, she fulfils her mother’s last request […]
The Silkworm Keeper by Deborah Swift
Giulia Tofana never wanted to be a nun, but she is determined to atone for her past misdeeds by making her new monastery a success. When an unexpected disaster closes the convent, Giulia is forced to turn to her old friend Fabio Pasello for help. Giulia still has intense feelings for Fabio, and Fabio’s passion for […]
Slashing the face: punishing unfaithful women in Italy
Deborah Swift writes about the background to a scene in her latest book, The Silkworm Keeper: a cruel punishment carried out on women in 17th-century Italy. In my new novel, The Silkworm Keeper, there is a scene in which the sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini sends a servant to slash the face of his unfaithful lover, Costanza […]
Books for history lovers: summer reading 2021
It’s a good year to plan your summer escape in the bookshop or library, since most of us will be taking our break at home or somewhere in these beautiful but rainy islands and may need books to journey any further. We asked historical writers, both fiction and non-fiction, for their suggestions for books for […]
Mrs England by Stacey Halls
West Yorkshire, 1904. When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear […]
The Long Journey Home by Cecily Blench
It’s 1941 and Kate is living in Rangoon, Burma, a world away from her traditional English upbringing. When she meets Edwin, a young teacher from London, she senses that he too is looking for a place to call home, and soon a friendship develops between them. As their bond grows, Kate begins to learn of […]
Nanny state: why the golden era of Edwardian childhood is ripe for fiction
Mrs England, the latest novel by Stacey Halls, takes a young nanny in what we think of as the golden age of Edwardian childhood into what should be a happy home and exposes the tensions beneath the rose-tinted surface. Stacey tells Historia what drew her to this era – and this subject. Though children have […]