Tabitha Hart earns a scandalous living in London, with whichever gentleman has enough coin for her company. But in the summer of 1752, her mother urgently summons her home to the village of Netherlea and, with reluctance, she returns. However, she is greeted by the news that her mother has died in disturbing circumstances. Finding […]
Review: The Almanack by Martine Bailey
“She thought of time as like a ribbon unspooling; the present moment was the only inch of the stuff you could grasp as it cascaded past you, framed by the diamond buckle of now.” I shall confess to two things from the start of this review: a love of Martine Bailey’s previous books and a […]
The Almanack by Martine Bailey
The philosophy of time, destiny and the stars pervade this intricate historical mystery in which a young woman determines to avenge her mother’s death. 1752, Midsummer. Following a desperate summons from her mother, Tabitha Hart departs London for her home village of Netherlea – only to discover that her mother has drowned. Determined to discover […]
Did time run slower in the old days? My year living by almanack time
Forget all those lists of predictions for 2019. What you need is an almanack full of useful information, whether it’s when there will be full moons, the future of international affairs in a cryptic picture, or the answer to last year’s riddle. Martine Bailey, author of historical crime mystery The Almanack, spent a year living by […]
Writing at the Ends of the Earth
I am guessing that most of us historical writers would love to travel back in time (well, for a brief glimpse at least). Perhaps the closest we’ll ever get is to travel to a less culturally frantic part of the globe. ‘We are about to land in New Zealand. Please turn your watches back fifty […]
A Plea Not to be Forgotten
This copper penny was created by a British convict sentenced to transportation to ‘the ends of the earth’, as Australia was described in the eighteenth century. It’s motto reads, ‘When On this Peice you Cast an Eye, THINK ON THE MAN THAT is NOT NIGH’. On its reverse are the initials of an unknown convict, […]