Norfolk, 1813. In the quiet Waveney Valley, the body of Mary Tyrell is staked through the heart after her death by suicide. She had been under arrest for the suspected murder of her newborn child. Mary leaves behind a young daughter, Hannah, who is later sent away to the Refuge for the Destitute in London, […]
Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook
London, 1850. Constance Horton has disappeared. Maude, her older sister, knows only that Constance abandoned the apothecary they call home, and, disguised as a boy, boarded a ship bound for the Arctic. She never returned. ‘A tragic accident’, the Admiralty called it. But Maude Horton knows something isn’t right. When she finds Constance’s journal, it […]
The Hundred Years’ War – a novel approach
David Gilman, whose acclaimed Master of War novels are set during the Hundred Years’ War, looks at the early years of the long-drawn-out conflict between England and France and how real events helped shape his books. Family arguments can stir up trouble and sometimes go beyond a family member not being invited to the next […]
The Baker’s Secret by Lelita Baldock
Riga, 1943. Cycling the streets to deliver fresh loaves, Zenta passes empty houses, curtains open, doors unlocked, their occupants forced out by Russian or German hands. Since her brother became a soldier and her sister joined the resistance, Zenta is all her parents have left. Then one morning her sister returns. Tired, worn, with a […]
Bringing Jane Austen to life
Jessica Bull has a confession. She didn’t set out to write a novel about Jane Austen. She’s been obsessed with her, though, for years — to the point that the only way to find out more about her favourite author was to bring her to life… in Jessica’s own book. Her debut novel, Miss Austen […]
Miss Austen Investigates by Jessica Bull
Welcome to Hampshire in 1795, where a young Jane Austen has her sights set on securing a marriage proposal from the dashing Tom Lefroy at a local ball. But when a shocking discovery is made — a milliner’s lifeless body tucked away in a linen closet — Jane finds herself embroiled in an unexpected murder […]
The Secrets of Crestwell Hall by Alexandra Walsh
1605: Bess Throckmorton is well used to cunning plots and intrigues. With her husband Sir Walter Raleigh imprisoned in the Tower of London, and she and her family in a constant battle to outwit Robert Cecil, the most powerful man in the country, who is determined to ruin her, Bess decides to retreat to her […]
The German Child by Catherine Hokin
Berlin, 1944. ‘No! Not my child!’ Annaliese screams, her voice breaking as she pounds the window uselessly. But no-one looks up as the man in the SS uniform cradles her precious baby and strides away… She lies unmoving on the threadbare cot, her throat hoarse from long hours of screaming but her tears keep falling. […]