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. […]
Revisiting St Petersburg?
When RN Morris went to St Petersburg to research his second 19th-century crime novel it felt as if he was revisiting the city he’d imagined so vividly: so much that his guide, a native St Petersburger, said his book had an “authentic atmosphere”. One day – who knows when – he’d like to be able […]
The Crimson Child by RN Morris
Spring 1880 in St Petersburg. While on an outing with his family in a leafy park, a retired general encounters a mysterious child dressed in red. The child leads him to a secluded spot. And a violent death. The shocking crime, committed in broad daylight against a respected member of the establishment, strikes terror at […]
Invasion, inoculation and publication: when your book becomes unexpectedly topical
By the time Lucy Ward’s first book, about Catherine II (‘the Great’) of Russia and the fight for inoculation against smallpox, was published, her subject had become unexpectedly topical. Covid and the invasion of Ukraine had turned it from a slightly niche story to one which resonated strongly with our own times. And the echoes […]
The Tsarina’s Daughter by Ellen Alpsten
Born into the House of Romanov to the all-powerful Peter the Great and Catherine I, beautiful Tsarevna Elizabeth is the world’s loveliest Princess and the envy of the Russian empire. Insulated by luxury and as a woman free from the burden of statecraft, Elizabeth is seemingly born to pursue her passions. However, a dark prophecy […]
The Empress and the English Doctor by Lucy Ward
Within living memory, smallpox was a dreaded disease. Over human history it has killed untold millions. Back in the 18th century, as epidemics swept Europe, the first rumours emerged of an effective treatment: a mysterious method called inoculation. But a key problem remained: convincing people to accept the preventative remedy, the forerunner of vaccination. Arguments […]
Historical books to look out for in 2022
Our popular annual list of books to look out for during the year is back for 2022, with history, biography and historical fiction. Here are books to read from HWA authors covering eras from Ancient Rome to the 1980s and sweeping across continents from China to Russia and India, the USA to Australia and the […]
Historia interviews, 2021 Crown Awards shortlists: Ellen Alpsten
In the first of our interviews with authors shortlisted for the 2021 HWA Crown Awards, Historia talks to Ellen Alpsten, whose novel, Tsarina, is in the running for a Debut Crown Award. It retells the ‘ultimate Cinderella’ story of the tumultuous rise of a peasant girl, Marta Helena Skowrońska, who became first the wife of […]