At the stroke of midnight on winter solstice, Libby disappears – vanishing from the face of the Earth. Only her older sister, Kit, and a mysterious boy named Story remember that she ever existed. To find Libby and bring her safely home, the pair must embark on a perilous journey into the distant past, across […]
Christmas reading 2024 – top historical books to give or to treat yourself to
We asked eight much-loved authors to each recommend a couple of historical books for Christmas 2024 to give, receive, or treat yourself to — fiction and non-fiction. There are ideas for history-loving children and teens as well. We hope these suggestions help to inspire your Christmas reading. Sharon Bennett Connolly For fiction, it has to […]
The Illusions by Liz Hyder
It’s 1896. As a group of illusionists prepare for a grand spectacle, one young woman, Cecily Marsden, harbours a secret. For she possesses impossible powers – powers she little understands. Meanwhile Eadie Carleton, a pioneering early film-maker, struggles for her talent to be taken seriously, and a talented magician, George Perris, begins to see the […]
The Illusions by Liz Hyder
Bristol, 1896. Used to scraping a living as the young assistant to an ageing con artist, Cecily Marsden’s life is turned upside down when her master suddenly dies. Believing herself to blame, could young Cec somehow have powers she little understands? Meanwhile Eadie Carleton, a pioneering early film-maker, struggles for her talent to be taken […]
Magicians and film-makers, masters of illusions
Liz Hyder is enchanted by the magicians and film-makers of the 1890s, whose extraordinary inventions inspired her new novel, The Illusions, set at a time of great technological and social change. A few years ago, I went to the Wellcome Collection’s Smoke and Mirrors exhibition, which explored the psychology of magic. It was a feast […]
The gift of writing historical fiction
Liz Hyder, author of The Gifts, talks about her own writing process and her love of history, and celebrates the “fascinating, brilliant, inspiring joy” of writing historical fiction. Her book has just been published in paperback. I’ve always been interested in history ever since I can remember. I grew up near the edge of Epping […]
The Gifts by Liz Hyder
October 1840. A young woman staggers alone through a forest in Shropshire as a huge pair of impossible wings rip themselves from her shoulders. Meanwhile, when rumours of a ‘fallen angel’ cause a frenzy across London, a surgeon desperate for fame and fortune finds himself in the grips of a dangerous obsession. One that will […]
Historia giveaway! Five copies of The Gifts by Liz Hyder
To celebrate The Gifts by Liz Hyder being published in paperback on 1 September, Historia is giving five winners a copy of her “haunting, thrilling” novel. The giveaway is open until 11.59pm on Tuesday, 6 September, 2022. Each of the five winners will get one copy of The Gifts. Follow the instructions below to enter. You’ve […]