Historians and writers need to be open to chance discoveries, says Eric Lee. Serendipity can be a researcher’s secret weapon, as he found while working on his latest book. When doing research for a work of history or a historical novel, we know (or should know) how to locate and use primary sources, where to […]
The Bratinsky Affair by Jim Loughran
Wicklow, 1976, and the dramatic death of Countess Irina Bratinsky, a well-connected dealer in Fabergé jewellery, becomes international news. But why are the Irish, French and Russian police so interested in her death? For journalist Tom O’Brien it’s an opportunity to advance his career as he exposes the countess’s secret life of espionage and crime. […]
Alexander II: love and death in Imperial Russia
Paris, the City of Love, in the 1860s; Alexander II of Russia meeting a mysterious fortune-teller who predicts his death; an assassination attempt in the Imperial Palace. RN Morris tells this strange story and wonders: did the gypsy’s prophecy come true? Part one: love In May 1867, a World Fair was held in Paris. Tsar […]
Death Of A Princess by RN Morris
Summer 1880 in Lipetsk, a spa town in Russia. The elderly and cantankerous Princess Belskaya suffers a violent reaction while taking a mud bath at the famous Lipetsk Sanatorium. Soon after, she dies. Dr Roldugin, the medical director of the sanatorium, is at a loss to explain the sudden and shocking death. He points the […]
The Romanov Brides by Clare McHugh
They were granddaughters of Queen Victoria and two of the most beautiful princesses in Europe. Princesses Alix and Ella were destined to wed well and wisely. But while their grandmother wants to join them to the English and German royal families, the sisters fall in love with Russia — and the Romanovs. Defying the Queen’s […]
The Romanov Brides by Clare McHugh
They were granddaughters of Queen Victoria and two of the most beautiful princesses in Europe. Princesses Alix and Ella were destined to wed well and wisely. But while their grandmother wants to join them to the English and German royal families, the sisters fall in love with Russia — and the Romanovs. Defying the Queen’s […]
Historical books to look out for in 2024
Welcome to Historia’s most popular regular feature, our round-up of books published by members of the Historical Writers’ Association (HWA) to look out for during the coming year. For 2024, there are more than 200 books covering history, biography, and historical fiction and spanning eras from Ancient Greece and Egypt to the 1980s. They sweep […]
Napoleon’s Spy by Ben Kane
In Russia, in 1812, has France finally met its match? On the eve of the invasion of Russia, half-French, half-English Matthieu Carrey finds himself in the ranks of Napoleon’s 500,000-strong army. With Tsar Alexander seemingly ill-prepared, a French victory seems certain. The Grande Armée will obliterate everything in its path. Carrey’s purpose is less clear. […]