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How we talk about history - Gillian Polack
Last month you had a light post. This month you have a more solid one. This is because I want to talk about the effects the effects of the worlds writers create. I was in England for a few days at the...
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An Historical Enigma: The Real Grace Marks and Alias Grace - by Anna Mazzola
In the 1960s, Margaret Atwood read a book called Life in the Clearings Versus the Bush, a 19th century account of pioneer life by Susanna Moodie, an English emigrant...
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Folklore and Memory - by Katherine Langrish
[This is the text of a talk I gave at the University of Warwick, 25th January 2017 in which I consider the fluidity of the relationships between folklore, memory and history.]I’m here to talk to you...
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Christmas Traditions - How Far Back Do You Go? by Joan Lennon
Every family who celebrates Christmas will have their own traditions. Some of them are quite recent - with us, it's hiding presents and writing poems (well, doggerel) to help/flummox the recipient....
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Six Facts For St Nicholas's Day Sheena Wilkinson
Today is the 6thDecember, which I always remember is St Nicholas’s Day. It’s hardly an obscure piece of knowledge for a middle-aged woman who had a religious upbringing, but what’s interesting about it...
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SUGAR MONEY by Jane Harris Reviewed by Adèle Geras + an interview with Jane...
Jane Harris, in her acknowledgements at the end of SUGAR MONEY, tells us of her love for the work of Robert Louis Stevenson and anyone reading this novel will notice the influence. On one level, the...
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'Figgy Pudding and Stir-up Sunday' by Karen Maitland
'Making the Empire's Christmas Pudding'One of the great delights of moving to a rural village is that many of the traditions which have died out in most towns are still maintained, such as carrying...
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Saturnalia Chickens by Caroline Lawrence
Threptus by Dr Helen ForteMy first post for this blog was back in July 2011, over five years ago. It was called History Chickens because one of my obsessions is trying to visualise the ancient world...
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Suicide by greed: the monsters looming over Venice - Michelle Lovric
Anyone visiting Venice in the last ten years will have suffered the unsettling experience of seeing what appears to be a small ugly modern city moving slowly above the rooftops of the city. The scale...
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A nursing tragedy: the massacre at Radji Beach
'So we marched into the sea and when we got out to about waist level they then machine gunned from behind."It was at lonely Radji Beach on Banka Island that Australian nursing’s greatest tragedy...
View ArticleYet another XMAS book round-up.
Sorry folks, it's yet another Christmas book round-up! This year, thanks to my monthly review column in The Times, and my chairing of judging panel for the Historical Writers' Association (HWA) Gold...
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THE SUM OF ME – an exclusive short story by Elizabeth Fremantle
I am sadly stepping down from The History Girls at the end of 2017 and have posted something special for my last blog: an unpublished short story about the Grey sisters.Copyright: Victoria and Albert...
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The Tale of the Forty Seven Ronin by Lesley Downer
There is a little old temple called Sengakuji near Shinagawa in Tokyo, close to Tokyo Bay, on the south eastern side of the city, traditionally considered one of the less auspicious directions. Many...
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The Heart of Westminster Abbey? Poets' Corner and Writing Women by Fay Bound...
Westminster Abbey In October I had the opportunity to visit Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, before the doors opened and the tourists poured in. I was recording with the Rev. Giles Fraser, who was...
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The 'real' Santa Claus - by Sue Purkiss
I recently went to Brussels (well, somebody needed to go and sort things out - really, there's no need to thank me...) - on a pre-Christmas visit to my son, his Polish partner and their family. I had a...
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The Winter Solstice at Bru na Boinne by Penny Dolan
In four days time, on the 21st of December, it will be the annual Winter Solstice. On that morning, a remarkable event takes place at Bru na Boinne, a Neolithic site in County Meath in the Ancient East...
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New Moon - Celia Rees
Waning CrescentThis is the moon as it appeared in the early morning sky two days ago. A waning crescent. This morning you would see nothing because today, at 06:30, there is a new moon. The new moon is...
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Io Saturnalia! by Alison Morton
Temple of Saturn, Rome (Author photo)Rome Saturnalia was THE most important Roman festival. Heavy on feasting, fun and gifts, it was originally celebrated in Ancient Rome for only a day around 17...
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The treasures of Meon Valley churches
I have only recently discovered the website of Hampshire History, which offers all sorts of fascinating snippets about the history and historical artefacts of our lovely county. It was where I learned...
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Wishing you a Traditional Christmas by Imogen Robertson
Topping out the Christmas TreeAs all good History Girls know, 'traditional' is one of those words which is rather flexible in its exact meaning. We are all aware, after all, that Queen Victoria...
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