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Thou Who Made this Richard Fort, Be Bold, be Bold, but Not Too Bold......
People often assume there aren’t very many English fairy tales. There are, of course, but they were eclipsed in popularity by the much better-known German and French tales of the Brothers Grimm and...
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Dance Around in Your Bones by Joan Lennon
I live in Scotland, so I am rarely troubled by being too hot. But the summers were scorchers where I grew up and I now have a son living in Indonesia - and when I visit oh how I wish I could follow...
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The Duffs of Beechfield Street -- a poem by Sheena Wilkinson
Like many History Girls I love watching Who Do You Think You Are? and am always struck by how little I know about my own antecedents. This poem pieces together snippets from things my gran told me...
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A Workshop at The Museum of Cambridge by Adèle Geras
On a Wednesday in late July, I went to a talk by Carolyn Ferguson at the Museum of Cambridge. It was part of a series of workshops and talks which looked at the various aspects of textile arts:...
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'Cooking on a Prayer' by Karen Maitland
Reconstruction of 19th Century KitchenMuseum of Transport and Technology, AucklandPhoto: Jorge RoyanThis morning I spent ages hunting through my bookshelves in search of a particular book that I was...
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The Blue-Eyed Roman Girl from Africa
by Caroline LawrenceSometimes it’s good for writers to have restrictions; it can make you more creative.Yesterday I led a story-writing workshop in the Undercroft Gallery at the Guildhall Art Gallery,...
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Door furniture - Michelle Lovric
Some years ago, I wrote, designed and produced an illustrated book called HOW TO SEDUCE, PLEASURE & TITILLATE IN CLASSICAL LATIN, working with classicist Jenny Quickfall. It was a follow-up to a...
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Of Crofters, Kelp and Iodine by Susan Price
A Highland croft - wikimedia Crofters in the Highlands and islands of Scotland have always had a hard life. Even now, although crofting may be a more rewarding way of life, in many ways, than banking...
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The Power, by Naomi Alderman. A sort of review.
I read a lot of historical fiction. In the last eight months, with my reviewing for The Times and as a judge for the HWA gold crown, I think I have read about 100 novels, ranging from pre-Roman Britain...
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DISCOVERING NEW HISTORICAL FICTION – Elizabeth Fremantle outlines the 2017...
The HWA Debut Crown shortlist for 2017 demonstrates that there is a wealth of fresh and exciting historical fiction from new writers out there and that historical writing is very much alive and...
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A kimono by any other name ... by Lesley Downer
Writing about old Japan, there are many words which are very difficult to translate. The architecture, customs, clothing, even hairstyles are so different that the words simply don’t exist in English....
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Heart and Soul at Apothecaries Hall by Fay Bound Alberti
Apothecaries Hall, Blackfriars, London On Thursday 29 June I gave a keynote lecture at the Geoffrey Flavell symposium, held at the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, in Blackfriars, London. If you...
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David Douglas, plant-hunter: 1799-1834 - by Sue Purkiss
This is the latest in my series of posts about those dashing adventurers, the plant-hunters. The previous one is here, and that has links to the earlier ones.David Douglas, a Scot born in Scone, near...
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"REMEMBER SCARBOROUGH!" by Penny Dolan
The bit marked “History” in my head is a bit of a muddle. It feels full of significant images that get added to, or overridden, or shuffled about somewhat, or coloured in more clearly and accurately....
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Kenilworth Castle - Celia Rees
Kenilworth Castle from the remains of Mortimer's Tower (the main medieval entrance)Last week, an old friend from New Zealand came to visit. We were thinking of places to go and I mentioned nearby...
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Who was Livia, first lady of Rome? By Alison Morton
At seventeen, running through a burning forest in 41 BC, nearly betrayed by the cries of her baby son, Livia Drusilla fled through Sparta with her husband, Tiberius Claudius Nero, a supporter of Mark...
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Were there once ships on the River Meon?
Titchfield, in Hampshire, was once one of the most significant towns on the River Meon, enjoying considerable prosperity and status during the mediaeval period, at least partly because of its port....
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Buckingham Palace Summer Opening - Royal Gifts by Imogen Robertson
Royal Gifts22 July - 1 October 2017The State Rooms, Buckingham PalaceCover of Royal GiftsRoyal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017So picture this: I’m broke, standing in the...
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A Sweet Kind of Adultery by Catherine Hokin
I'm currently having a bit of an Annie Grey fan moment having just read The Greedy Queen (a fabulous account of Queen Victoria and food) and watched her recent BBC series The Sweet Makers which plunged...
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Making History by Susan Price
I'm reading a book on my kindle and enjoying it. No surprises there. A complaint I've heard all my life and still hear often (especially from my partner) is that I'm 'always reading,' always 'got...
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