October, 1912, and the inhabitants of Littleton Cotterell emerge from their homes after a week of torrential storms to the gruesome news that one of Sid Hyde’s prized sheep has been mauled to death. As rumours abound of a vicious beast stalking the Gloucestershire countryside in search of prey, Lady Hardcastle and her fearless lady’s […]
A Pale Horse by CB Hanley
In June, 1221, a tragic death at Conisbrough sends Edwin Weaver and his friend Sir Martin on an unexpected journey. But a baffling letter follows them, one which plunges them into danger as they travel to the manor of Martin’s estranged father, deep inside Sherwood Forest, to find a dying man who can only gasp […]
The Stranger’s Companion by Mary Horlock
With a population of five hundred souls, isolated Sark has a reputation for being ”the island where nothing ever happens”. Until, one day in October, 1933, the neatly folded clothes of an unknown man and woman are discovered abandoned at a coastal beauty spot. As the search for the missing couple widens, Sark finds itself […]
Fashion research for historical novels
Fiona Veitch Smith immerses herself in researching her 1920s and 1930s novels, using period objects and recreating costumes – which she also wears. She tells Historia about her 10 years of historical fashion research and offers some tips for anyone who’d like to try this way of getting a feel for the era they’re writing […]
Dangerous by Essie Fox
Living in exile in Venice, the disgraced Lord Byron revels in the freedoms of the city. But when he is associated with the deaths of local women, found with wounds to their throats, and then a novel called The Vampyre is published under his name, rumours begin to spread that Byron may be the murderer. As events escalate and […]
The Midnight Carousel by Fiza Saeed McLynn
Paris, 1914, and Detective Laurent Bisset has reluctantly closed a most puzzling case. Fairgoers have been vanishing while riding a dazzling carousel. The only man who could be responsible is behind bars – but Laurent cannot explain what happened to those still missing. In Chicago, in 1920, Maisie Marlowe acquires a beautiful, antique carousel, and […]
The Penford Manor Murders by Fiona Veitch Smith
At Penford Manor, the guests are arriving to celebrate the start of the grouse-hunting season: lords and ladies, barons and baronesses, a Member of Parliament — and chemistry graduate turned detective, Miss Clara Vale, an old friend of the family. But Clara is no ordinary guest: she’s secretly investigating a blackmail plot against Lady Penford […]
Carnival of Chaos by Richard Kurti
1508, Rome; an abandoned ship is drifting in the mouth of the Tiber and a horrific discovery is found inside. Nearly 300 men were packed together in the hold. All of them are dead. They were migrant workers shipped over from North Africa, cheap labour to cut the cost of building St Peter’s Basilica, and […]