London, 1608, and three years after the Gunpowder Treason, the King’s enemies prepare to strike again. Daniel Pursglove is tasked by royal command with one final mission: he must infiltrate the Serpents — a secret group of Catholics plotting to kill the King — or risk his own execution. But other conspirators are circling, men […]
Writing about 1066: a male club?
Is writing fiction about 1066, or the Anglo-Saxons in general, the exclusive preserve of a male-only club? Ellen Alpsten was surprised to hear people suggest this. The author of The Last Princess argues that the events leading to the Battle of Hastings merit a ‘female retelling’. In autumn 2024, we celebrate the 958th anniversary of […]
Review: After The Flood by Alec Marsh
Mark Ellis reviews Alec Marsh’s After The Flood and finds it “excellent and gripping”. Read on to see what he enjoyed so much. After The Flood is the fourth of Alec Marsh’s imaginative 1930s ripping yarns featuring the unlikely heroic duo of Drabble and Harris. I very much enjoyed the first three books as I […]
The Murderer Inside the Mirror by Sarah Rayne
It’s 1908. The Fitzglens, one of London’s leading theatre families and part-time thieves, are plotting their next scheme when they receive terrible news about Great Uncle Montague. He’s been killed in a tragic accident at his Notting Hill home. Montague will be much missed, not just for his talent in art forgery, but his death […]
The Paris Peacemakers by Flora Johnston
1919 in Paris. And as the guns fall silent, people attempt to start afresh while the fabric of Europe is stitched together for good or ill. Stella Rutherford, desperate to staunch her grief, has thrown herself into her work at the International Peace Conference, while the crucial negotiations play out. Her sister Corran is also […]
The 2024 HWA Crown Awards shortlists
We’re delighted to announce the HWA Crown Awards shortlists for 2024, celebrating the best in historical writing, fiction and non-fiction. There are three awards categories: HWA Gold Crown, HWA Non-fiction Crown, and HWA Debut Crown. Six books are chosen in each category. Here they are, with what our judges say about them: The books shortlisted […]
Blood of the Bear by Angus Donald
In AD781, pagan Saxony groans under the Christian yoke. The invincible armies of Karolus, King of the Franks, occupy all this freedom-loving land and every Saxon must submit to baptism and pay tithes to the Church, or face death by beheading. Duke Widukind, leader of the Saxon rebels, is sheltering in the North, beyond Karolus’s […]
Sword of the War God by Tim Hodkinson
It’s AD436. The Burgundars are confident of destroying Rome’s legions, for the Empire is weak. Their forces are strong and they have beaten the Romans in battle before. But they are annihilated, their king killed, his people scattered. Their fabled treasure is lost. For Rome has new allies: the Huns, whose taste for bloodshed knows […]