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Writing Historical Fiction by Celia Brayfield
We have a huge extra treat this month from Celia Brayfield, whose new book with Duncan Sprott, Writing Historical Fiction sounds like a must-read for all History Girls - and Boys.A bit about...
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Paper, Print and the Georgians - Lucy Inglis
The British Library’s new Georgians Revealed exhibition is now open. It is a wonderful exploration of works on paper throughout the Georgian period, and the whole thing has a dynamic feel to it that...
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There's hole at the bottom of my garden… by Eve Edwards
I'm living with the builders at the moment. A medium-sized extension on the side of our house appears to demand a foundation hole the size of an Australian open cast mine. What is fascinating,...
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The Berwickshire News and the Eyemouth Disaster of 1881 - by Katherine Langrish
For years and years when I lived near Skipton, we used to take the local paper, The Craven Herald, which I believe was the last newspaper in England to cover the whole of the the front sheet in...
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A STRANGE BEREAVEMENT by Eleanor Updale
I was going to start this post with an invitation to join me on a visit to an unusual member of my family - but suddenly he's gone. Without him, I wouldn't be here today, and my children would never...
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LIONHEART by Stewart Binns – a review by Katherine Roberts
When Mary asked if anyone wanted to review this book, I leapt at the chance. Crusades! Battles! Knights! King Richard the Lionheart! After just finishing a series about King Arthur, how could I...
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BACK TO SCHOOL by Adèle Geras
Fellow History Girl Caroline Lawrence appeared at Roedean School as part of their Classics Week a couple of days before I was there, and led the way. The girls and staff were still talking about her...
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'Help! What am I?' by Karen Maitland
Recently I tried to move some savings to an account with a fractionally higher rate of interest than my existing one. Although the amount involved would not have kept an international money-launderer...
View ArticleNovember competition winners
The winners of copies of Lydia Syson's book, That Burning Summer, are as follows:Pippa GoodhartRuan PeatLindaSpade & Dagger Your copies will come to you from Megan Farr at Hot Key, so can you...
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Frisco before the Quake
A frame of the historic footage of Market Street in 1906by Caroline LawrenceOne thing that fascinates us about the tragedy of Pompeii is how quickly disaster struck. From archaeological evidence we...
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One at a time, please – Michelle Lovric
Can you imagine getting so close to one of your favourite paintings that your eyelashes almost graze the canvas? Can you imagine sharing the painting only with a couple of dear friends and a security...
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Lambswool and Apple Trees, by Laurie Graham
It’s wassail season. And what is that exactly? ‘Exactly’ may be difficult. Wassailing is a very good example of how elusive traditions can be. Where they ended up is not necessarily an indication of...
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The Year's Deep Midnight by H.M. Castor
Saint Lucia (or Lucy)by Francesco del Cossa (1436-1487)[Public domain via Wikimedia Commons]'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's,Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks; The...
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Poodles, Pooches and Political Propaganda
George Osbourne has a dog, named Lola (which is, most annoyingly, the name of my own dog). This fact was Tweeted recently along with a photo of the unthreateningly fluffy Bichon Frisse who has taken up...
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Christmas, Paris and Kate Beaton Catherine Johnson
There have been some fantastic posts here, so thoughtful and entertaining and erudite. This will not be one of those. I am currently in Revolutionary France in my head and as with all writing sometimes...
View ArticleGeorgian Beauty Remedies
by Marie-Louise JensenI'm not adverse to a few moisturisers and beauty treatments from time to time, but I can be quite lazy about anything that takes much effort.I was looking through my copy of Eliza...
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A library opens: by Sue Purkiss
Now, the eagle-eyed among you may notice that this post has on the face of it little to do with history. It is in fact about something very new - it's about the Library of Birmingham. I went there last...
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LISTENING TO LINDSEY DAVIS by Penny Dolan
One of the speakers I was longing to hear at HARROGATE HISTORY FESTIVAL was author LINDSEY DAVIS. Best known her historical whodunnit series about Marcus Didius Falco, she could not ignore her...
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Shelve under Venus - or Mars? - Celia Rees
Imagine my surprise and delight when I opened my copy of the Sunday Times and found a double page spread in the Culture section devoted to historical fiction. Not only that, but our very own Mary...
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Christmas Cribs & Nativity Tableaux
Theresa BreslinRecently I’ve been engaged in some banter on Twitter with @KatharineEdgar about modern Nativity Plays in schools. We were commiserating re the number we had to sit through and exchanging...
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