We asked 13 well-loved authors to each recommend a couple of historical books for Christmas 2023 to give, receive, or treat yourself with. There’s fiction and non-fiction, most published recently, with a few old favourites as well. We hope these suggestions help to inspire your Christmas reading. Tracy Borman Henry VIII: The Heart and the […]
Wolves around the Throne by SJA Turney
AD 1044, and all eyes are on the marriage of Beatrix de Hautville to Armand de Mortain. The union could calm a tense political situation in Normandy: a young, illegitimate nobleman called William is vying for the ducal throne, and making plenty of enemies along the way. One of these is Beatrix’s elder brother, Serlo, […]
Storm Tossed Moon by Maggie Craig
Edinburgh, January 1744: Scotland stands on the brink of armed and bloody conflict. Travelling secretly across Europe from Rome, Prince Charles Edward Stuart is determined to claim his birthright. His fervour is matched by homegrown Jacobites who long to see the House of Stuart restored to the British throne. Redcoat Captain Robert Catto has painful […]
Vita and the Birds by Polly Crosby
1938: Lady Vita Goldsborough lives in the menacing shadow of her controlling older brother, Aubrey. But when she meets local artist Dodie Blakeney, the two women form a close bond, and Vita finally glimpses a chance to be free. 1997: Following the death of her mother, Eve Blakeney returns to the coast where she spent […]
The Orphans on the Train by Gill Thompson
1939, and a girl with auburn hair looks anxiously out of the train window, watching the mountains of Europe pass by. War is on the horizon at home, and Kirsty finds herself heading to neutral Hungary to help in a school for Jewish children. Little does she know that in leaving everything behind, she is […]
The winners! The HWA Crown Awards 2023
We’re delighted to announce the winners of the 2023 HWA Crown Awards, celebrating the best in recent historical writing, fiction and non-fiction! The winners of the Gold Crown for fiction, the Non-fiction Crown and the Debut Crown were revealed on Wednesday, 22 November at an awards party at Crypt on the Green in Clerkenwell. We’d […]
Warrior by Alistair Tosh
It’s AD 150 and Lucius Faenius Felix — a battle-hardened tribune, scarred in body and mind — journeys to his home province of Hispania Baetica. Accompanied by his friend Cai Martis — warrior of the Nervii tribe and veteran praefect of cavalry — Felix has high hopes of recovering his family lands and avenging his […]
The Hunt by Griff Hosker
The Battle of Stirling Bridge is a haunting memory for King Edward I. When Scottish rebels threaten his northern borders the king acts swiftly to quash it. William Wallace remains a threat and hiding across the seas he sends his hunter to fetch him back. Sir Gerald Warbow is no longer a young man and […]