1896, Bannin Bay, Australia. When British pearl-boat captain Charles Brightwell goes missing out at sea, rumours of mutiny and murder swell within the bay’s dens and back alleys. Only his headstrong daughter, Eliza, refuses to believe her father is dead, and sets out on a dangerous journey to uncover the truth. But in a town […]
Stateless by Elizabeth Wein
It is 1937 and tensions are high. A spectacular air race around Europe seeks to promote unity among a group of young pilots, but distrust and animosity are rife. The British and sole female contestant, Stella North, is determined to prove not only her skill, but also her identity as her Nansen passport declares her […]
The Walled Garden by Sarah Hardy
It is 1946 and in the village of Oakbourne the men are home from the war. Their bodies are healing but their psychological wounds run deep. Everyone is scarred — those who fought and those left behind. Alice Rayne is married to Stephen, heir to crumbling Oakbourne Hall. Once a sweet, gentle man, he has […]
Ides of March by SJA Turney
It’s 44BC. The war in Gaul is over. The rebels are defeated. Caesar is victorious. Now the battle for Rome has begun. Ides of March by SJA Turney is published in ebook form on 15 March, 2023. It’s the 15th in his Marius’ Mules series, and previously came out in paperback on 23 February. Simon […]
The Cavalier’s Oath by Eleanor Swift-Hook
With the country riven by civil war, word reaches Royalist headquarters in Oxford that the Parliamentarian commander Sir William Waller plans to capture the strategic city of Worcester. Sir Philip Lord, a mercenary commander with a mysterious past, is sent to help prepare Worcester to withstand a siege. With Lord is Gideon Lennox, a young […]
Historia interviews: 2022 HWA Gold Crown Award shortlist: Natasha Pulley
Natasha Pulley was shortlisted for the 2022 Gold Crown Award for her novel The Kingdoms. Readers of her books, including The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, won’t be surprised that the judges loved its compelling strangeness, calling it: “An intricate, immersive tale set in an alternative Britain, where Napoleon won the war and French is spoken […]
Extreme research: how far should a writer go?
What lengths will writers go to in order to research their books? For some, it’s quite far. Like drinking buffalo blood, or going to the Amazon jungle or the South Pole. For Louise Morrish, author of Operation Moonlight, it was grabbing her horror of heights in both hands and jumping out of a plane. She […]
Historia interviews: Fiona Forsyth and Eleanor Swift-Hook
Fiona Forsyth speaks to fellow author Eleanor Swift-Hook for Historia: After reading The Devil’s Command by chance, I found myself hooked (sorry, Eleanor!) and I have just finished The Physician’s Fate, the latest in the Lord’s Legacy series. I asked its author, Eleanor Swift-Hook, about the series. FF: The mess that is the English Civil […]