It is 1548, and the war with the English is winding down. But in the savage heart of the Borders, peace is far from secured. One-armed Batty Coalhouse, bounty hunter, explosives specialist, border wanderer, is doing what he usually does: ripping the enemy apart. But then he’s sent on an unusual errand. An old friend […]
A Book of Secrets by Kate Morrison
This is the story of a woman named Susan Charlewood living in Elizabethan England. Born in what is now Ghana, Susan is enslaved by the Portuguese but later rescued by British sailors, who bring her to England. Once in England, she is raised and educated in an English Catholic household. When Susan comes of age, […]
Review: The Prophet by Martine Bailey
Martine Bailey’s latest novel The Prophet is a sequel to 2019’s The Almanack and is another beautifully crafted story balanced on the cusp of the old world and the new, writes Catherine Hokin. The Almanack took place in 1752 against a backdrop of the transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and the ‘lost […]
People Like Us by Louise Fein
Hetty Heinrich is a perfect German child. Her father is an SS officer, her brother in the Luftwaffe, herself a member of the BDM. She believes resolutely in her country, and the man who runs it. Until Walter changes everything. Blond-haired, blue-eyed, perfect in every way Walter. The boy who saved her life. A Jew. […]
Burke in Ireland by Tom Williams
1793 and James Burke is under cover in Ireland, spying on Irish Nationalists. His objective: to discover any plots to conspire with the French to bring down English rule in Dublin. Dublin is full of plotters. Finding them is easy. Staying alive is not as straightforward. A tale of spying, love and death against the […]
Horses in battle at the time of Alfred the Great
Bloodlines, Chris Bishop’s latest book set in the ninth century, features a stable boy who must try to train an almost-unrideable stallion. Would such an animal be used only for transport, or could it have been a warhorse? For Historia, Chris considers the role of horses in battle at the time of Alfred the Great. […]
Bloodlines by Chris Bishop
Wessex, AD893. As the threat of yet another Viking invasion looms over his troubled realm, Alfred, King of Wessex, reviews and strengthens his defences. Among his many concerns is the fate of Edward, his stable boy, who he believes to be the bastard son of revered warrior Matthew, who died serving the Saxon cause. If […]
Blood Runs Thicker by Sarah Hawkswood
August 1144. Osbern de Lench is known far and wide as a hard master, whose temper is perpetually frayed. After his daily ride to survey his land, his horse returns to the hall riderless, and the lifeless body of the lord is found soon after. Was it the work of thieves, or something closer to […]