It is the year 1715, and Thomas True has arrived on old London Bridge with a dangerous secret. One night, lost amongst the squalor of London’s hidden back streets, he finds himself drawn into the outrageous underworld of the molly houses, where the only true sin is betrayal. Meanwhile, carpenter Gabriel Griffin struggles to hide his […]
Historia interview: 2023 HWA Gold Crown shortlist: Rebecca Stott
Rebecca Stott’s novel Dark Earth was shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award in 2023. The judges described it as “spellbinding… Filled with folklore and myth and evocative world-building, an immersive and endlessly vivid novel.” It follows two sisters’ fight for survival in post-Roman ruined London: a place filled with violence and superstition. Congratulations on […]
73 Dove Street by Julie Owen Moylan
When Edie Budd arrives at a shabby West London boarding house in October 1958, carrying nothing except a broken suitcase and an envelope full of cash, it’s clear she’s hiding a terrible secret. And she’s not the only one; the other women of 73 Dove Street have secrets of their own… Tommie, who lives on […]
Piccadilly: The Circus at the Heart of London by Midge Gillies
There’s nowhere quite like Piccadilly Circus. From the moment they emerge, blinking from the underground station, visitors to Piccadilly Circus face a sensory onslaught. Its streets and alleyways merge into an intoxicating thoroughfare, with the power to propel an individual onwards to adventure, romance, or something more sinister. Ever since its iconic Eros statue appeared […]
A Stepney Girl’s Secret by Jean Fullerton
East London, in 1940: Prue Carmichael never dreamed that she’d end up working at a railway yard. But when her reverend father is called up to Stepney, she and her family are uprooted from their country home for a new life in the turbulent city. Determined to help with the war effort, Prue signs up […]
Christmas reading 2022 – our pick of top historical books
We asked nine well-loved authors to each recommend two historical books for Christmas 2022 to give, receive, or treat yourself with. These include many of the most absorbing books, fiction and non-fiction, published recently. We hope these suggestions inspire you. DV Bishop The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola. A winter’s tale full of mystery and […]
Captain Hazard’s Game by David Fairer
It’s October, 1708. Playing Captain Hazard’s Game brings murder and scandal uncomfortably close, and Widow Trotter and her friends at the Bay-Tree Chocolate House are drawn into a frenzied game of chance and speculation at a time when the market is unregulated. Fortunes are made overnight, and ruin could descend in a single hour. People […]
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 […]