In a beautiful house in the wilds of Cornwall, Daphne du Maurier is on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Tangled in a self-destructive love affair that threatens to unravel her marriage, she is also distracted by worry for the family friend whose shadow looms over her childhood: JM Barrie, author of Peter Pan. Daphne […]
The Face Stealer by Sarah Rayne
In London, in 1909, the Fitzglens combine running London’s finest theatre with a very profitable side-line in stealing. But while they might be thieves, they still have principles. They never pinch anything their victim couldn’t afford to lose. When a stranger approaches Jack Fitzglen after a performance, claiming that a Fitzglen has committed a grave […]
The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge by Rachel Hore
Nancy Foster has harboured a devastating secret that shattered her professional and personal life. On meeting her, journalist Stef Lansdown realizes that she has the power to restore Nancy’s reputation and to heal the wounds, if only Nancy will trust her. But someone else wants to get to the bottom of the story first, someone […]
Rebuilding St Peter’s in Renaissance Rome
Richard Kurti writes about the inspiration behind his Basilica Diaries thriller series, set in Renaissance Rome at the time of the rebuilding of St Peter’s Basilica. He finds contemporary echoes, some unexpected… It was extraordinary to witness. Even in the tech-driven 21st century, with 10,000 satellites circling the Earth and information flowing between eight billion […]
Wartime Comes to West India Dock Road by Renita D’Silva
It’s 1940 and the Blitz rages, but life goes on in the heart of London’s East End. Charity has spent her life keeping her family together – raising her younger brothers, running the family boarding house on West India Dock Road, and now shielding her fragile parents from the relentless bombardment outside their door. When […]
Historical books for summer reading, 2025
We asked five well-loved authors to each suggest a couple of books they recommend for history lovers to enjoy reading over the summer. Their choices include novels about the eve of the Roman Conquest and the eve of the Norman one; non-fiction about the long history of Black people in Britain and the island’s first […]
Love and Other Poisons by Lesley McDowell
1857, Glasgow. A young socialite named Madeleine Smith stands accused of murdering her lover. Thousands wait outside the court to hear the result. The scandalous nature of the affair, detailed explicitly in letters published in newspapers across the world, has made her case a worldwide sensation. But when the jury find themselves unable to decide […]
The Best of Intentions by Caroline Scott
1932: When gardener Robert Bardsley arrives at Anderby Hall, an Elizabethan manor house in the Gloucestershire countryside, it is home to Greenfields, a community of artists and idealists. Robert has been employed to revive Anderby’s famous roses and restore the topiary garden, but he also soon befriends the other residents: from colourful neighbour Trudie, who […]