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'Go Tell The Bees' - by Karen Maitland
'Bacchus discovering honey'“If you would take a swarm of bees from a hollow tree. Saw off the top of the tree and cover the swarm with a cloth soaked in wet clay. Then saw through the tree beneath the...
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Did Ancient Romans have...?
by Caroline LawrenceAs a History Girl, one of my obsessions is Detailing the World. In an historical novel it's not crucial to the reader what kind of hinges you put on the door or if your hero passes...
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Domes of beauty – Michelle Lovric
Those readers who know me personally will detect a certain irony in this post. Those who don’t know me personally must be informed that I have a plenitude of bosom and frequently complain about my...
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The Real Wicked Lady by Katherine Clements
Today is paperback publication day for my second novel The Silvered Heart, so between sips of celebratory fizz (or more likely a huge pot of tea) it seems only right to post about the woman, and the...
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A thoughly bad egg by Tanya Landman
I moved to Devon when my children were small and then spent a lot of time with them pottering around on Westward Ho! beach. On clear days there was always Lundy in the distance, looking appealing but...
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IN LOVE WITH THE SONNET – Elizabeth Fremantle
Anne boleynValentine’s Day almost upon us, which means a plethora of gaudy scarlet gewgaws, overpriced cellophane-wrapped roses, the impossibility of booking a restaurant table for more than two people...
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Llewelyn The Last
I have spent the week before last in Builth Wells, a tiny town in the middle left of Wales, famous for a giant bull, a beautiful bridge over the River Wye and the show ground for the annual Royal Welsh...
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Review of The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow
The Clockwork Sparrow is a lively adventure for 9-12 year old readers, by Katherine Woodfine, set in Edwardian London, in a world that was rapidly changing. There are omnibuses, an American tycoon is...
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Gorgeous Gardens, by Sue Purkiss
If winter's getting you down and you're longing for a walk in a sun-drenched garden, heavy with the perfume of brilliantly coloured flowers and tinkling with the tranquil sound of fountains, fear not;...
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A VISION OF THE ARTIST AT WORK by Peny Dolan
Imagine.The ancient abbey is vast and, in later centuries, will be crowded with ornate memorials. Nevertheless, now – in London, in 1771 – a few historic effigies and tombs can be seen in the shadowy...
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The Lady on the Cup - Celia Rees
What's yours? Tall Latte Extra Shot To Go? Or De-Caff Skinny Cappuccino? We all know what it is. What it means. Whether you like the coffee or not, the brand is so powerful that is has spawned its own...
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Arabia - More Travels in Time by Katherine Webb
My new novel, The English Girl, comes out next month, and it led me to discover a fascinating piece of British military history, as well as a fascinating country - The Sultanate of Oman, which occupies...
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Two Families in the 1640s - by Ann Swinfen
I have written three novels about two families, set in the seventeenth century. All have their roots in true events. Like most people, I suspect, I’m heartily thankful I did not live in that...
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The Tumbling Weir by Imogen Robertson
Just a quick one from me today. I wanted to show you this picture of water with a hole in it. This is the Tumbling Weir at Ottery St Mary in Devon. It’s a unique cast iron structure, built in the late...
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Town and Country by Kate Lord Brown
The thought of a flock of sheep running wild in Cavendish Square seems bizarre to say the least, but in the eighteenth century it was all part of the trend to create ‘rus in urbe’. Then as now, the...
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Letters from the Longest Battle, by Leslie Wilson.
French trench at Verdun: public domainThe battle of Verdun was the most drawn-out and probably the most futile battle of World War One; and it began a hundred years and two days ago, on the 21st of...
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CROSS YOUR LEGS AND HOPE TO DIE: What those effigies are really telling you...
Cross-legged effigy of William Marshal II in the Temple Church (he didn't go on crusade)I belong to several forums on the Internet, dedicated to Medieval history. One of the questions that arises on a...
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Ossian, by Miranda Miller
Imogen Robertson’s fascinating January blog about Cherubina de Gabriak, a disabled school teacher who tried to reinvent herself as a beautiful aristocrat and had a brief success as a poet, set me...
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Queen Victoria tours the French Riviera, by CAROL DRINKWATER
I won’t pretend otherwise. This February is proving to be a very bittersweet month. As I mentioned in last month’s blog, my new novel THE FORGOTTEN SUMMER was published on 11th February with a few nice...
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The View From My Desk by Janie Hampton
The view south from my deskWhen I finished writing the biography of Joyce Grenfell, my mind was overflowing with facts, dates and details. I needed to do something practical, an activity that required...
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