Chris Lloyd, author of the Occupation series of crime novels about Nazi-occupied Paris, argues that the widescale looting of books, now largely forgotten, was more sinister and insidious that the famous book-burnings of the 1930s. Because it wasn’t done for display; it was for a calculated culture war. “You don’t have to burn books to […]
Lionessheart by Catherine Hanley
The sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine have been the subject of much historical attention, but their daughters have been curiously overlooked. The youngest of them, Joanna, led a particularly extraordinary life full of adventure and danger – and not a little controversy – that was more than a match for those of […]
The Festival of Britain, 75 years ago
Julie Anderson looks back at the Festival of Britain, held 75 years ago this summer. Seen as a “tonic for the nation” after the Second World War and years of austerity, it’s the backdrop to her latest novel. It is 1951, six years after the end of World War Two. Rationing is still in place, […]
Atlantis and the Aryan Myth
Among the many beliefs that contributed to Nazi racial doctrine, one of the facets of the ‘Aryan Myth’ was the idea that Aryans were descended from the people of Atlantis, some of whom went to live in Tibet. Elisabeth Storrs writes about a 1938 SS-led expedition to Tibet to find evidence to support this theory. […]
Faith and love in fiction
Emma Darwin examines the importance of faith during a turbulent period of European history, and how difficult it is to convey the “visceral” quality and power of religious belief when writing historical fiction. Evoking love comes more easily to us, yet love and faith have often been in conflict, as in her latest novel, The […]
Résistance: The Corps Franc Pommiès by Paul StJohn Mackintosh
The Corps Franc Pommiès (CFP) was founded on 17 November 1942 by its namesake, André Pommiès. It operated in south-western France, becoming one of the largest and most important Resistance units in the south. After initial work in the sabotage of rail and road networks, factories and power plants, on 15 April 1944 it sabotaged […]
Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest by Sharon Bennett Connolly
The momentous events of 1066, the story of invasion, battle and conquest, are well known. But what of the women? Harold II of England had been with Edith Swanneck for twenty years but in 1066, in order to strengthen his hold on the throne, he married Ealdgyth, sister of two earls. William of Normandy’s Duchess, […]
Medieval women’s family lives
Medieval women’s family lives varied widely, as did the work they carried out daily. Rank in society was a factor, as was whether they lived in a town or the country, but the most important influence on their lives was their position in a family, the historian Catherine Hanley explains. Family was the concept and […]