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On location by Sue Purkiss
Almost two years ago, Cheddar, that well-known metropolis and historical home of a moderately well-known cheese, was rocked with excitement. A film crew was coming to town! And this was not just any...
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Black Diamonds by Catherine Bailey. Reviewed by Penny Dolan
There’s the history you search for and the history that you find when you're looking. Or not.I’ve just read Catherine Bailey’s Black Diamonds, a book intended to unravel a mystery about the history of...
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Silent as the Grave - Celia Rees
Last Sunday, my daughter and I went on a pilgrimage to Kensal Green Catholic Cemetery to lay lilies on the grave of Krystyna Skarbek (nom de guerre, Christine Granville) a Polish agent of extraordinary...
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Memories are made of this….. by Theresa Breslin
On a recent business trip to London (to coincide with the marvellous Manet exhibition) I had some ‘extra’ hours and decided to visit the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood. My notebook was at the ready...
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Finding fortune by Pippa Goodhart
While Louise Berridge is busy meeting a deadline, we are very pleased to have an extra guest post from Pippa Goodhart, who takes us from her mother's ring to the Klondike GoldRushMy Mum, who is no more...
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The Paris Floods of 1910 by Imogen Robertson
When I tell people that my new novel is set against the backdrop of the Paris Floods of 1910, I tend to get blank looks. What floods? Well, these ones. I saw some of these images online around the time...
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WITHY, by Jane Borodale
If an advertisement for the basket were ever needed – then surely this picture by Beuckelaer must be the one. This lady is strong! And her baskets! Just look at them; tough handled, sinewy, perfectly...
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From Tyrol to Silesia; persecuted Protestants, by Leslie Wilson
If you go to the Polish village of Mysłakowice in Silesia, you might be rather surprised to find, among the other houses, some chalet-style houses that seem to belong rather to the Alps than to Poland....
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Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Brother Who Never Was
I had long wanted to write the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine as I felt that despite numerous biographies and novels about her, there was still plenty to be said that had been overlooked. However, I had...
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SEX, POWER, and LADY DAY by Eleanor Updale
Here we are, March 25th already. It's Lady Day: the Feast of the Annunciation, and the source of all sorts of traps and trouble for generations of historians. Until the mid 18th century, this was -...
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DAVID BOWIE IS Exhibition – Dianne Hofmeyr
DAVID BOWIE IS © Victoria and Albert Museum, London For the first time in history a Museum has been given access to the David Bowie Archive. On Preview Day of DAVID BOWIE IS, the V&A was abuzz. The...
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The Ladies of the Rose, no 2: Fanny Elssler, by Louisa Young
The RoseGallica; Origin: Vibert, France 1835Medium pink and double, perhaps spotted with white; very fragrant according to some but light-scented according to others; it flowered in late spring and...
View ArticleFiercely faithful, by K. M. Grant
After the recent conclave, a commentator said of Cardinal Bergoglio, the new pope, 'he's chosen the name Francis, the gentle saint' or words to that effect. He certainly used the word 'gentle'. It's...
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When to stop researching and start writing by Tracy Chevalier
It's a big treat to welcome to The History Girls today someone who has helped to make historical fiction mainstream once more - Tracy Chevalier. She has written on subjects as diverse as Vermeer,...
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Cabinet of Curiosities by Laurie Graham
Here at The History Girls we are creating our own Cabinet of Curiosities; we will each write about, and place in said cabinet, an item which we consider to be precious or beautiful or significant or...
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We have five copies of Tracy Chevalier's latest novel - The Last Runaway - which the best answers to the following question can win:"What is the most interesting piece of research you have done,...
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April is the coolest month by Mary Hoffman
April, from a 15th century Book of Hours (Public Domain) So, T. S. Eliot might have got it wrong. The month we are just beginning, as well as hosting my birthday, has all sorts of literary and social...
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The White Swan, The Gay Brothel in Vere Street - Lucy Inglis
This weekend, the new Archbishop of Canterbury invoked the Easter spirit of tolerance and forgiveness into the debate over gay marriage and female bishops. As a state (if not a nation), we are still...
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History is pointless - by Eve Edwards
Building on my last blog post in March - history is annoying - I have decided to tackle the even more contentious issue of history being pointless.'What?!' I hear you cry. 'Run this woman out of the...
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The Fall of the Red Cross Knights - Katherine Langrish
Two worlds collide. Everyone’s mental picture of a Medieval Knight must owe something to the Knights Templar. Here’s a picture of one. With his distinctive white mantle and red cross, he seems the...
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