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The World’s First Novel by Lesley Downer
One day, a little over a thousand years ago, a Japanese court lady picked up her writing brush. In those days Japanese noblewomen lived in seclusion. The only men they could expect to see throughout...
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Suicide in Rome - by Antonia Senior
This week, I have been thinking about suicide. Not, I promise, my own. I have been thinking about Roman suicide. There was a surge in suicides among Roman aristocrats under the Julio-Claudian Emperors....
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THE STUARTS ARE STILL THE NEW TUDORS – Elizabeth Fremantle
For some time now I've been hailing the Stuarts as the new Tudors. Last year saw a number of publications set in the seventeenth century, among others we had Linda Porter's excellent Royal Renegades on...
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Of Ships and Churches
by Marie-Louise JensenChurches can be a fascinating reflection of their local community and history. I have grown up visiting churches in the North of Jutland (Denmark) and taking for granted that in...
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Guy Fawkes - and an awful lot of light bulbs... By Sue Purkiss
We've just had some friends staying, and as we drove one day from Cheddar to Wells, Rosie noticed a sign warning that roads would be closed in a week's time because of the carnival."What an odd time of...
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JACK FORTUNE AND THE SEARCH FOR THE HIDDEN VALLEY reviewed by Penny Dolan
How does one start to hunt for plants? My own love of plants began with Cecily Mary Barker’s picture-and-verse Flower Fairy books, Yet the works are not pure fantasy: Barker’s charming fairies, first...
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The Lost Words - Celia Rees
‘Once upon a time, words began to vanish. They disappeared so quietly that almost no-one noticed. The words were those that children used to name the natural world around them: acorn, adder, bluebell,...
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Roman sea-borne trading and the port of Ostia by Alison Morton
The Romans were organised, truly organised in complex ways not seen again until at least the 18th and 19th centuries. Trade was vital to Ancient Rome. The empire cost a vast sum of money to run and...
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The Domesday Village – East Meon
In my series of posts on some of the communities of the valley of the River Meon, I have arrived close to the source of the river, at East Meon (Mene or Menes 11th c; Meonis 12th c; East Menes 13th c;...
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When to buy a Leonardo Da Vinci at Christie's (try 1776) by Imogen Robertson
Christie's Auction Room (From the original drawing by Rowlandson)On 15th November 2017 Salvator Mundi, (very probably) by Leonardo Da Vinci sold at auction at Christie’s New York for $450.3 million....
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From the Communist Party to Peaky Blinders: The Real Jessie Eden by Catherine...
For those of us who like their televised historical fiction with a slag-heap of grit and a soundtrack that favours Nick Cave over luscious strings, this month's return of Peaky Blinders has been like...
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Two reflections on Dickens's Little Dorrit, by Leslie Wilson
I'm listening to Little Dorrit as an audiobook at the moment, which will see me through quite a lot of cooking and baking. This is not a comprehensive set of remarks about the book, but two thoughts...
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STEPPING FROM THE SHADOWS: Robert FitzHarding: minor character, major player...
19th century window depictingRobert FitzHarding. BristolCathedralWriting works of fiction set in the medieval period across a broad canvas, I often have to research characters who might only have a few...
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Perugia, Italy by Miranda Miller
Last month I revisited Perugia, where I studied Italian in my teens. At lunchtime, when I finished my classes at the University for Foreigners, I used to make my way up the steep medieval...
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Giving thanks for Olives, by Carol Drinkwater
Olive in full blossom (April)I am trying to keep away from the computer at present to avoid this most obnoxious, recent invasion to Europe,...
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Tamara Karsavina & Henry Bruce, Part 2, by Janie Hampton
Tamara Karsavina in Le Spectre de la Rose, choerographed by Fokine, costume by Bakst, in Paris 1913.Continuing the story of the British diplomat Henry James Bruce and Russian prima ballerina Tamara...
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A Local Gem by Lynne Benton
Lacock is a small village in Wiltshire, which many people will recognise, even if they’ve not been there, as a favourite place for filming, especially by the BBC. The village, with its timber-framed...
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Mary and the influence of Isabella of Castle by Melita Thomas
Photo by AW ImagesOur November guest is Melita ThomasMelita Thomas is the co-founder and editor of Tudor Times, a repository of information about Tudors and Stewarts in the period 1485-1625. Melita has...
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November competition
To win a copy of The King's Pearl by Melita Thomas, just answer the question below in the comments section. Then copy your answer in an email to maryhoffman@maryhoffman.co.uk"Her father Henry wanted...
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Medieval Heroines by Mary Hoffman (review)
First, the kitchen items pictured in my post on 1st November, some of which did look a bit medieval!The first was a duck press (poor duck), the second an egg separator and the third was a fish knife...
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