Annie Whitehead, author of Murder in Anglo-Saxon England, describes how she went about researching her new book. Were there laws that dealt with murder, justice and compensation? She also looks at some of the more surprising cases she found. I found enough murder stories to fill a book, and made a few accusations of my […]
A Mother’s Promise by Kate Thompson and Renee Salt
From invasion to liberation, September 1939 to April 1945, as Renee was marched from ghetto to camp, there was one constant. One hand that clutched hers – her mother’s. Every day for nearly six years, mother and daughter were bound together in hell. From Auschwitz-Birkenau to Bergen-Belsen, they were a powerful source of solace and […]
Review: Elizabeth Heyrick by Jocelyn Robson
Rachael Tearney reviews the first biography of Elizabeth Heyrick, Quaker, campaigner and abolitionist. The women of the Abolitionist movement are far less well-known than the men, and this timely book highlights one whose advocation of ‘immediate’ rather than ‘gradual’ abolition of slavery put her at odds with better-known figures such as William Wilberforce. The Abolition […]
Scotland’s Medieval Queens by Sharon Bennett Connolly
Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. And Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints […]
Inspired by Scotland’s medieval queens
Sharon Bennett Connolly was initially inspired to write a book about Scotland’s medieval queens by a request to set the record straight. But the inspiration also came from the women themselves: peacemakers, diplomats, mothers, widows, prisoners, the many Margarets — saint, glamorous but unhappy wife, queen in her own right who died before taking the […]
The St Giles rookery – poverty, geography and expedience
Kate Griffin writes about discovering the history of the St Giles rookery, London’s most notorious slum and the backdrop to her new book. Why was the area left in a state of shocking poverty for two centuries? Because of its geography, and financial expedience, she found. Hogarth’s famous 1751 depiction of Gin Lane with its […]
Kindertransport and other responses to the WWII refugee crisis
The Kindertransport rescue programme was a huge achievement — yet it wasn’t a complete success. Catherine Hokin writes about this and other responses to the refugee crisis before and during the Second World War. “When a country crosses all the lines, the person should be able to cross just one border.” Lyeb Kvitko. One of […]
The challenges of writing a novel set in Morocco
When the perfect idea for a novel presents itself, but then you find that your source is (factually and morally) questionable, how do you approach it? By telling the story behind the stories, RJ Wilton suggests in his account of the challenges he faced in writing a novel set in early 20th-century Morocco. Sultan Abd-al-Aziz […]