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History -- Off The Shelf -- by Sheena Wilkinson
Like most people, the history I studied at school was mostly about men and wars and politics. Public history, if you like. I liked it better when we got occasional insights into the mundanities of...
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CONFESSIONS OF A BREXIT TELLY WATCHER..... Adèle Geras
This post is going to be a bit different from my usual kind. It's somewhat of a confession. It will be light on photographs because I haven't the energy to go fossicking among Wikipedia Commons to...
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'In And Out The Dusty Bluebells' by Karen Maitland
In the last few weeks, people have been flocking to see the wonderful bluebell woods in Devon, where the carpet of flowers spreads beneath the trees like a violet-blue mist. I heard one visitor say,...
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The Scent of Hemlock
hemlock in spring (Wikimedia Commons)by Caroline LawrenceAs I write this, in May 2019, I’m working on a book set in ancient Athens. As usual, I’m seeking out as much sensory detail as possible: sight,...
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The Curious Incidence of Light Dancing in Dark Places - Michelle Lovric
The protagonist of my forthcoming novel is called “Sorrowful Lily”, and her burdens are great: she’s an orphan with none of the secret sacred ties that bind all Venetians to one another in affection;...
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My mother's memories
My mother, Mona EastwoodThe second Sunday in May is ‘Mothers’ Day’ in Australia. My darling mother died on 28 August 2011, at the ‘ripe old age’ of 91 years. I still miss her.And so, in honour of...
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The Past and Future meet in Rome.
by Antonia SeniorA smaller than usual post this month, because we've all been horribly ill and the house and my work are in chaos. Before the plague hit South London, I was lucky enough to go to Rome...
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George Ravenscroft - 17th Century Pioneer in Glass
by Deborah SwiftI love the fact that writing historical fiction takes me up all sorts of byways. Whilst researching for my new book set in the mid 17th Century, I wondered what sort of glasses they...
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The Warlord, His Wife and His Concubines - by Lesley Downer
'That bald rat.' Official court portrait of Toyotomi Hideyoshi by Kano Mitsunobu (1561-1608)‘Your beauty grows day by day. Tokichiro complains about you constantly and it is outrageous. While that bald...
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Facing the future by Fay Bound Alberti
This will be my last History Girls blogpost, at least for now.I was recently awarded a UK Research and Innovation Fellowship to study the emotional and cultural history of face transplants - not yet a...
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Miss Rosalie Chichester of Arlington Court: Sue Purkiss
At the end of April, we had a few days down on Exmoor, venturing just over the border from Somerset into Devon. Unfortunately, a heavy bank of rain (closely followed by Storm Hannah) was paying a visit...
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JACK FORTUNE AND THE SEARCH FOR THE HIDDEN VALLEY by Sue Purkiss: Review by...
With the gardens full of rhododendrons and exotic blooms, today seemed a good month to re-post this review of History Girl Sue Purkiss's plant-hunting adventure for junior/middle-grade readers. How...
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The Tarot - Celia Rees
I own several different packs of Tarot cards. Over the years, I've used them for inspiration and divination. In various ways and guises, they've found their way into the books I've written. The name...
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Roman Recommendations by L.J. Trafford
I thought for this month’s post I might do something a bit different. Rather than write a piece on some part of Roman history I thought I would recommend some Roman related things that I have enjoyed...
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Inspirational homes (3) by Carolyn Hughes
The “inspirational homes” I discussed in my previous two posts represented the sort of mediaeval houses that might have been lived in by the poorer members of society and those of the “middling sort”....
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Labyrinths and initiations by Elisabeth Storrs
Labyrinths have always been a source of fascination to me. None more so than the famous lair of the Minotaur in ancient Crete. According to Greek myth, this bewildering structure was designed by the...
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The Beginning of the Wars of the Roses? By Catherine Hokin
Anyone who cares about history is obsessed with dates. We locate rulers with them. We decide what's historical and what's too close to our own lifetime to dare creep into that camp with them. As...
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EMERGING FROM THE SHADOWS: My next project by Elizabeth Chadwick.
The Valence Casket, commissioned by the de Valence family circa 1290's V&A MuseumOnce every three years it comes time to negotiate a new contract with my publisher. My stint with The History Girls...
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Venice by Miranda Miller
I first fell in love with Venice when I was ten and since then I’ve been back many times. Heightened awareness of climate change made my recent visit even more moving. In November last year high...
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Along my book tour, a return to James Herriot Country, by Carol Drinkwater
I am in the north of England promoting my new novel, THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF, which was published last week, 16th May.Yesterday, my stop was organised by the White Rose Book shop in Thirsk....
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