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The Personal and the Political, by H.M. Castor
Tucked away at the end of a platform at Bristol Temple Meads railways station, there are some photographs taken by Mark Perham (for a project called ‘Reverberations' ) of people who work, or have...
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SLAVERY IN THE DRAWING ROOM – Elizabeth Fremantle
One thing retelling history can do is remind us of the horrors of the past in the hope that they will not be repeated. Narratives like Toni Morrison's harrowing novel Beloved and Steve McQueen's Oscar...
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Daughters of Time, Wilko Johnson and Beryl Bainbridge, Catherine Johnson
In July Celia Rees and I are taking the History Girls' anthology Daughters of Time out on the road and into a secondary school on Canvey Island. Canvey Island is an almost island in the Thames estuary...
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Wagon Wheels
by Marie-Louise JensenWhen I think of wagons, I tend to visualise the covered wagons settlers used travelling westward in America. But of course wagons were a major form of transport in Europe too -...
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Austerity – then and now by Emma Barnes
We have another visitor this month - Emma Barnes - talking about her new novel, The Girl from Hard Times Hill.Emma Barnes writes books for the 8-12 age group, and recently won a Fantastic Book Award...
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Changing Borders by Penny Dolan
This week, the world seems full of borders and changes, some too worrying to write about here on History Girls. One change, close to home, comes with the start of the 100 day countdown to the vote on...
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Madonna del Parto - Celia Rees
Madonna del Parto - Piero della FrancescaThis is my favourite painting in the whole world. It is by the Italian Renaissance paint, Piero della Francesca and is housed in the Museo della Madonna del...
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Ghost Soldier
byTheresa BreslinWhen Rob and Millie's father goes missing in action while serving on the Western Front during World War One, the children desperately search the hospital trains returning to Edinburgh...
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'The Private Life of Pawns' by A L Berridge
We all know soldiers have private lives. Novels about war naturally devote space to characters’ back-stories, thoughts, feelings and relationships, and everyone knows a manly war hero can be given a...
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Keats, Poetry and Time by Imogen Robertson
Earlier this month I sat on the floor in John Keats’s bedroom and Inua Ellams read me poetry. I like sentences like that. The experience was part of a thoughtful and inspiring event put on by Penned...
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The Game of Life by Kate Lord Brown
It's good to have your values questioned - why do you write? What do your books say about what you believe in? There is nothing like a school workshop on writing hist fic to keep you on your toes....
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Sex and Jo March, by Leslie Wilson
The March girls and their mother:Jo is top left (as you'd guess)I wish I could remember who it was wrote a piece about the sexuality of girls in the nineteenth century, in particular referencing Jo...
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SALT AND CRUSHED ROSES - Medieval pregnancy and neonatal care By Elizabeth...
Last week we welcomed a new baby boy into our family. (left). At the same time I was reading up on pregnancy and the care of babies as part of my general research, so I thought I'd talk on the subject...
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NEVER FORGET by Eleanor Updale
Last month I wrote about coming across a monument to the once-famous author, Catherine Sinclair, and I’m glad to say that it looks as if we will be able to rustle up a little fuss for her in August, on...
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The Jazz Age and the French Riviera Carol Drinkwater
On 12th June, I attended the Prix Fitzgerald award ceremony at the Hôtel Belles Rives in Juan-les-Pins. The hotel looks out over the Mediterranean and has views all along this famous stretch of French...
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Welcome to The Heroes' Wecome by Louisa Young
Photo credit: Sarah LeeJune has been an unusual month, with two of our History Girls, who have been with us from the beginning, nearly four years ago, having big, big novels out that are receiving a...
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D Day + some, by Clare Mulley
This 6th June was the 70th anniversary of D Day, the day when Allied troops landed in Normandy to start the liberation of Nazi German-occupied western Europe. Despite the moving coverage given to this...
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After the Battle - a Guest Post by Julia Jones
Our June guest is Julia Jones, who writes about a sea battle that might be unfamiliar to you.Julia Jones was running a bookshop and local publishing business in Essex when she discovered Margery...
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Are competitions are open only to UK residents - sorry!We have five copies of The Lion of Sole Bay to give away to those who answer this question:"What is your favourite novel about any battle at sea –...
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Now we are three! by Mary Hoffman
It's the History Girls' blog's third birthday today! Unbelievable. And what a three years it has been. HGs have come and gone since July 1st 2011, we have had weddings, widowings, babies born and even...
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