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Wine Tasting in the South of France, by Carol Drinkwater
I am frequently asked about good wineries to visit as a day trip from our Olive Farm in the south of France. The fact is there are dozens to suggest. So I thought it would be fun this month during...
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Colouring in Oxford by Janie Hampton
The tower of Magdalen College was built in 1492 beside the River Cherwell Copyright Janie Hampton, 2019.The River Cherwell (pronounced ‘Charwell’) flows into the River Thames- but where it flows...
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Welcome to the Iron Age! - by Ruth Downie
Comfortable, convenient and ready to move in - welcome to your new home in the Iron Age!A well-built house will stand up to whatever the weather gods throw at you.*The central fireplace will keep the...
View ArticleSculptures Telling Stories by Susan Price
You might well have heard of the Kennis brothers before.If you have, never mind. An excuse to look at their work again is always a good thing.The Kennis brothers, Adrie and Alfons, are unsettlingly...
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'A bitter and unrelenting enemy', by Susan Vincent
The time has come to confess. I've got clothes moths. And I have spent a ridiculous amount of this summer in trying to get rid of the little buggers.I have to say, when we finally twigged what they...
View ArticleCompetitions
There is no July competition. In fact there will be no more competitions. The History Girls are making some changes.Read Mary Hoffman's post tomorrow, 1st August, to see what these changes are.
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Changes at the History Girls by Mary Hoffman
(Skip to the red section at the end to read the changes.)The History Girls blog began on 1st July 2011. With a lot of help from friends, I set it up and invited writers of historical fiction to join....
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Casanova and me, and Me Too - Michelle Lovric
My first novel, Carnevale, published eighteen years ago. I was anxious then – because I was daring to be the first female writer to describe how it might have felt to be loved by a man like Casanova....
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SLATE by Adèle Geras
This beautiful paperweight was a present to me from Linda Newbery on my 70th birthday, five years ago. It's always on my desk and is one of my Top Treasures. It was made by a master craftsman called...
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'Still they come' by Karen Maitland
Clooties hanging on tree above Madron's WellEarlier this summer, I was travelling on a country lane just north-west of Penzance in Cornwall, when I spotted a sign to St Madron’s Well. I followed a...
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Dance and privilege - interpreting the past, by Gillian Polack
I’m writing this post weeks before it gets put online because I’m off to Ireland for the World Science Fiction Convention and for a bit of research and to see a lot of friends. Another person attending...
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Proroguing: A Very Short History - by Anna Mazzola
This time last week you’d probably never even heard of proroguing. Now you have prorogues coming out of your ears. If it’s any consolation, it’s been causing problems for millennia and Queen Victoria...
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A play about love, lust and flour - Michelle Lovric
Linda WilkinsonUnder our new regime, today should have a post by Joan Lennon. But Joan kindly lent me her space so I could introduce a piece about a fascinating historical project set in my own part of...
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Family Furniture
My parents are hoping to move house soon, which means downsizing. Suddenly some of the furniture that’s been, well, part of the furniture for my whole life is under threat. It won’t all fit in the new...
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Pompeii and me by Mary Hoffman
Bacchus with a wine cup, Naples Museum1987 - our first trip to Pompeii. We were staying, with our three daughters in Santa Maria di Castellabate, which is about one and a half hour's journey by road...
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Servants in Historical Fiction
by Deborah SwiftLady with a servant in a meadow - circa 1500by an anonymous German EngraverIn my life today I have no servants living in my house. The work done by servants in previous centuries is now...
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A New Emperor for Japan - by Lesley Downer
Amaterasu Omikami, the Sun Goddess, by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)In Japan the accession of a new emperor initiates a whole new era. Year 1 of the Reiwa Era, the Era of Beautiful Harmony, began on May...
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'You really must get some flounces'
By Susan VincentOkay, here’s the thing. According to the United Nations, a truck full of textiles and garments gets dumped or burnt every second. Measuring this way, how many trucks full of waste...
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The Clara Vine series, by Jane Thynne: Sue Purkiss
I first came across the Clara Vine books a couple of years ago. I’ve just re-read them and caught up the newest one, Solitaire - and I think I’ve enjoyed them even more this time round.The story -...
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A HARBOUR, A BARRIER AND HOPE by Penny Dolan
The Isles of Orkney and the seas around Scapa Flow make a natural harbour, and have been used by sea voyagers and travellers through the ages. The scattered islands seem to circle around each other,...
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