The Historical Writers’ Association (HWA) has great pleasure in revealing the 2025 Crown Awards shortlists, celebrating the best in historical writing, fiction and non-fiction, published during 2024–2025. There are three awards categories — HWA Gold Crown, HWA Non-fiction Crown, and HWA Debut Crown — and six shortlisted books in each category. The books shortlisted for […]
Burke and the War of 1812 by Tom Williams
As the United States sets its sights on expansion, James Burke, part spy, part diplomat, is sent to gather crucial intelligence and navigate the treacherous political landscape. His journey takes him from the tribal homes of the Shawnee people to the heart of Washington in the run-up to open conflict along the Canada-US border. When […]
The War of 1812: unexpectedly relevant
When Tom Williams decided to send his soldier/spy James Burke to North America for his next book, he wondered how European readers would respond to a rather obscure war that took place across the Atlantic while Napoleon was capturing most people’s attention. But as he was writing Burke and the War of 1812, that conflict […]
PT Barnum and the Circassian girl
It was a shock for RN Morris to discover that PT Barnum, the famous showman, was a people-trafficker. Yet the facts are well documented. For Historia Roger investigates Barnum’s attempt to buy a ‘beautiful Circassian girl’. One of the things I discovered while researching my novella, The Crimson Child, is that PT Barnum, the famous […]
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 […]
Black Elk, Lakota Sioux holy man, warrior, survivor
Black Elk deserves to be remembered, says author Alec Marsh. He tells Historia about this extraordinary Oglala Lakota (Sioux) holy man, a mystic and warrior who fought at Little Bighorn yet lived until 1950. Black Elk survived Wounded Knee, joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, converted to Catholicism, and may eventually be beatified. His story […]
The Ambassador by Susan Ronald
On February 18, 1938, Joseph P Kennedy was sworn in as US Ambassador to the Court of St. James. To say his appointment to the most prestigious and strategic diplomatic post in the world shocked the Establishment was an understatement: known for his profound Irish roots and staunch Catholicism, not to mention his ‘plain-spoken’ opinions […]
The Ambassador: Joseph P Kennedy at the Court of St James’s 1938-1940 by Susan Ronald
On February 18, 1938, Joseph P Kennedy was sworn in as US Ambassador to the Court of St. James. To say his appointment to the most prestigious and strategic diplomatic post in the world shocked the Establishment was an understatement: known for his profound Irish roots and staunch Catholicism, not to mention his ‘plain-spoken’ opinions […]