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The Victorian Tattoo, by Y S Lee
In my recent novel, Rivals in the City, a young gentleman in 1861 jokes about body art: "'Perhaps I'll have your name tattooed on my arm so there's no doubt as to whom I belong', he said, tucking her...
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Here be Griffons - by Katherine Langrish
Not long ago my mother handed over to me this book, which had been my grandfather's.I suppose my grandfather must have been given it by someone else - in fact, it must have been handed down for...
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The Big Haboob by Kate Lord Brown
As I write, the doors and windows are rattling, sand piling up on the steps outside. The shamal is blowing flurries of sand along the road, snaking, disappearing like djinns. The wind is always...
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WRITING LAST TRAIN FROM KUMMERSDORF - A LITTLE BIT OF MY SOUL, by Leslie Wilson
My novel 'Last Train from Kummersdorf' will be reissued next month, and it made me think about its inception and the ingredients that went into it. I'd started to write it seven years before it was...
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ISABEL DE WARENNE: An exercise in joining the dots by Elizabeth Chadwick.
When an author writes about people who actually lived, one of the challenges is finding out about the secondary characters; the people who interacted with the stars of the show but have left less of a...
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WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE GNOMES? by Eleanor Updale
When I was a History student (in the 1970s and again at the turn of the century) one of the things I liked most was being buried in the library. In those days, part of the joy of historical research...
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"After Altamira, All is Decadence" Carol Drinkwater
A cave painting of lions at Chauvet-Pont-d'ArcIt has been reported in the press this week that a replica of the Grotte Chauvet has been created. It will be...
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A Brief History of Sculpture (or, rather, of A Sculpture) by Louisa Young
Many are the strange places to which our writing leads us. Last week it led me to a four-day sculpture course for maxillo-facial reconstructive surgeons. (Those who know my books will know that...
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Sapper Smith's Gallipoli diary, by Clare Mulley
Last weekend marked 100 years since the start of the First World War’s tragic Gallipoli land offensive, aimed at securing the strategic peninsula in the Dardanelles - the vital sea route to what was...
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Orkney: A Historical Guide by Caroline Wickham-Jones - Joan Lennon
This is not the first occasion I've indulged my delight in guide books and Orkney (see The Elevated Limpet) but this time I've brought things right up-to-date.Caroline Wickham-Jones is an experienced...
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BEARDS: ANCIENT AND MODERN by Lydia Syson
Not far into writing Liberty’s Fire, I realised that my male characters would have to have facial hair. There was just no getting round it. Pretty much the only clean-shaven men in Paris in 1871 were...
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A strange phenomenon by Adèle Geras
I hope readers of this blog will indulge me. I recently wrote this essay about one of my literary heroines, Dorothy Whipple, and because I am keen for as many people to read her as possible, I'm...
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Interview with Kate Forsyth - Gillian Polack
Today's guest is Australian author Kate Forsyth. Gillian Polack took the opportunity to ask her some questions that she's wanted to ask for quite a while.I met Australian author Kate Forsyth back in...
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To win one of five copies of Kate Forsyth's The Wild Girl, answer the question below in the Comments section:"What is your favourite re-telling of a fairy tale, whether by Kate Forsyth or another...
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The Michelangelo Trail by Mary Hoffman
The History Girls blog began nearly four years ago, on 1st July 2011, and had its origin in a desire on my part to let the world know I had written a novel about Michelangelo's sculpture of David. The...
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On History and Medieval Cosmetics - Gillian Polack
I asked my readers for suggestions for this month’s post, and I’m torn between telling you about Esther Abrahams and medieval cosmetics. Of the suggestions, those were the two that have the most...
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Ancient Roman Colour Thesaurus by Caroline Lawrence
In aditu autem ipso stabat ostiarius prasinatus, cerasino succinctus cingulo, atque in lance argentea pisum purgabat. Super limen autem cavea pendebat aurea in qua pica varia intrantes salutabat."At...
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Casanova's recipe for chocolate cake - Michelle Lovric
It was Casanova’s birthday this week. He was born on April 2nd, 1725. A little celebration was in order, I thought. A man so gifted in many ways was not adverse to gifts himself. He loved novelty of...
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A Medieval Frame of Mind, by Laurie Graham
Three weeks ago I was in Leicester for the re-interment of King Richard III. Amidst the modest but beautiful ceremonies and the sincerity of the thousands who lined the streets and queued for hours to...
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Lt.Henry O.Flipper by Tanya Landman
On 19th February 1999 President Clinton officially pardoned Lt. Henry O.Flipper in a ceremony at the White House.I hadn’t heard of Henry Flipper until I started researching Buffalo Soldier. Here’s an...
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