Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII, was queen of England for only 17 months, something which has accounted for the little interest shown in her by historians. In her lifetime, however, she was a significant political figure, while her legacy and memorialization extended beyond her early death following childbirth in October 1537. This […]
Was CS Lewis a misogynist?
Was CS Lewis a misogynist? Many people think he was, often based on what’s called the ‘Susan problem’ in The Last Battle. But while researching her debut novel, a mystery based on his life in Oxford in the 1940s, Maureen Paton found plenty of evidence to show that he was not; in fact, he challenged […]
Edwin Landseer’s vanished paintings and lost love
Did the Victorian artist Edwin Landseer have an affair with Georgina, Duchess of Bedford? Was his lost love the reason for his deteriorating mental health? And how is that question linked to a vanished painting of deer in a Highland run? Lucy Waverley writes about researching her debut novel. On my honeymoon, I read about […]
Marcus Agrippa: The True Story by Lindsay Powell
Marcus Agrippa was a remarkable man in his own day and, 2,000 years later, his achievement is undiminished. As the foremost deputy of Emperor Augustus, for three decades he waged wars, befriended kings and potentates, pacified provinces, and beautified Rome. Most people who recognise his name today likely know it through novels, films, and television. […]
Heroines of the Tudor World by Sharon Bennett Connolly
These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. These are the women who made a difference, who influenced countries, kings and the Reformation. This book focuses on the women who lived through the Renaissance and Reformation, examining the threats and challenges […]
The dark legacy of the Spanish Civil War
The legacy of the Spanish Civil War is still felt in Spain today, 90 years after it began. A culture of deliberate forgetting has meant that some of the darker truths about what happened are still covered up, as Catherine Hokin explains. My latest novel, The Man She Had to Save, takes place during the […]
What is historical fiction for?
Historical fiction offers more than just entertainment. It brings the past alive for modern readers. Writers can question what we know, speculate, explore new perspectives and redress absences in the historical record. Paul Burke explains. Historical fiction can be fun, a light entertainment, as with any genre. There is nothing wrong with that; but I […]
Under cover for Britain: two female WWII agents, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade and Barbara Bertram
Marie-Madeleine Fourcade led a French intelligence network supplying information to MI6. Barbara Bertram ran a secret safe house for agents in Surrey. They met several times. Here, Rachel Hore writes about how the two women sparked the idea for her new novel, and the challenges of writing fiction about real people. My new novel, The […]