Hear ye! Ravenous: A Life of Barbara Villiers, Charles II’s Most Infamous Mistress is out now in the USA! If you love scandalous royal stories full of drama, sex, political intrigue and power, you might enjoy this one. I dedicated Ravenous to my late son, Rupert, so it holds a particularly special place in my heart. Barbara Villiers… Read on
On 25th November 1120, the White Ship sank in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy, France—an event which led to the drowning of the heir to the English throne, William Adelin—triggering a time of brutal civil war which came to be known as the Anarchy. Today I’m speaking with Charles Spencer, historian and author of the… Read on
Acclaimed historical fiction author Anna Belfrage kindly invited me on a blog event entitled, ‘Glory and Gore: The Dichotomy of the Glorious 17th Century’, and I’m honoured to have been the first guest in her line-up! Other authors of works set in the seventeenth-century will be posting in the forthcoming days and I’ll be adding links to them… Read on
It’s eight thirty am, the drummers in full uniform march through the soldier’s camps drumming ‘call to arms’. A rapid brrrr…umph, brrrr…umph on their drums. This is closely followed by our Sargent shouting “Kings Guard, form up in fifteen minutes.” There follows a rapid dressing session. My husband is always late for parade sometimes even running to join the… Read on
Hear ye! For those of you who haven’t already seen my announcement via Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook, my news is that I have been commissioned by Pen & Sword Publishing to write Sex and Sexuality in Stuart Britain! This will be part of a new series of history books that “explores our ancestors’ ingenious, surprising, bizarre and often… Read on
This week marks the end of my family’s two-year stay in Clungunford, Shropshire, England. This weekend, we’ll be back in London, having moved out of Balham back in 2011. After a somewhat nail-bitingly stressful removal over the weekend, I have a bit of time to reflect on what was a momentous couple of years, with the launch of… Read on
Hi, folks! It’s been a while since I posted anything other than reviews and guest posts because I spend most of my days running after my toddler (which is a mixture of fun, joy, frustration, and a looooot of cooking and cleaning up). As of March 1st, 2018 I am no longer published by Endeavour Press. When I… Read on
Hear ye! Hear ye! I have great news for you lovely readers of The Seventeenth Century Lady. I’ve just received word from Waterstones that my followers are entitled to a special discount on Leanda de Lisle’s fantastic new book, White King – but for a short time only! Here are the details: Available from today for two weeks… Read on