She grows up in the wild wood, in a cave with her mother, but visions of a faraway lake drift to her on the spring breeze, scented with promise. And when she hears a traveller speak of Artos, king of Caer Leon, she decides her future lies at his court. So, brimming with magic and […]
Down the rabbit hole – to kill Hitler
The historian Eric Lee made some surprising discoveries when he found himself going down research rabbit holes in pursuit of plots to kill Hitler. I love working in archives. Holding in one’s hand original documents written a century ago (or much longer) is the closest thing I will ever experience to time travel. (I’ve written […]
The Stone Rose by Carol McGrath
London, 1350, and Agnes, daughter of a stonemason, is struggling to keep her father’s trade in a city decimated by plague. And then she receives a mysterious message from the disgraced Queen Isabella: mother of King Edward III, and widow of Edward II. Isabella has a task that only Agnes can fulfil. She wants her […]
International Trade in the Middle Ages by Hilary Green
This is a journey through the complex developing trade of the Middle Ages, which is the foundation of trade today. Taking the production of wool in the abbeys of the north of England as a starting point, she follows its journey to Flanders where it was woven into a variety of textiles in the growing […]
The Chosen by Elizabeth Lowry
One Wednesday morning in November, 1912, the ageing Thomas Hardy, entombed by paper and books and increasingly estranged from his wife Emma, finds her dying in her bedroom. Between his speaking to her and taking her in his arms, she has gone. The day before, he and Emma had exchanged bitter words, leading Hardy to […]
The Capsarius by Simon Turney
Egypt. 25BC. A former surgeon from the city of Ancyra, Titus Cervianus is now a capsarius – a combat medic. He is a pragmatist, a scientist – and deeply unpopular with his legion, the Twenty Second Deiotariana. The Twenty Second have been sent to deal with uprisings in Egypt. Founded as the private army of […]
A Marriage of Lions by Elizabeth Chadwick
England in 1238. Raised at the court of King Henry III as a chamber lady to the queen, young Joanna of Swanscombe’s life changes forever when she comes into an inheritance far above all expectations, including her own. Now that she’s a wealthy heiress, Joanna’s arranged marriage to the King’s charming, tournament-loving half-brother William de […]
Beheld: Godiva’s Story by Christopher M Cevasco
Having survived a grave illness to become one of 11th-century England’s wealthiest landowners, Godgyfu of Coventry remains forever grateful to the town whose patron saint worked such miracles. She vows to rebuild Coventry’s abbey and better the lives of its townsfolk. But the wider kingdom is descending into political turmoil, and her husband, Earl Leofric, […]