Book Review: Royal Harlot by Susan Holloway Scott
‘Royal Harlot’ by Susan Holloway Scott takes us into the world of Barbara Villiers and her passionate life and great affair with King Charles II.
Book Review: ‘Killing Beauties’ by Pete Langman
KILLING BEAUTIES is a gripping historical fiction novel set during the Protectorate of the 1650s and focuses on the underworld of espionage through the actions of the main character, Susan Hyde. Susan, sister to Edward Hyde (he who is best known for being the powerful advisor to Charles II and for his History of the Rebellion) is a… Read on
‘The Perils of Being an Early Modern Bottle-Blonde’ – A Guest Post by Pete Langman
It’s quite usual to compliment the author of a work of historical fiction on their research, even though this doesn’t mean much more than ‘we’ve read the same history books’, but there is something to be said for appropriating knowledge that you happen to have, even if it didn’t start out as a considered part of the book.… Read on
Hear ye! News, Audiobooks, & More!
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope your 2020 has started well. Our house has been plagued with one bad cold after another (and I’ve been coughing like mad for over a month!). Well, lots of things are going on at the moment. I’ve been scheduling several new posts: guest writers, book reviews, and new history articles. Also, I… Read on
‘They that in Ships unto the Sea down go: Music for the Mayflower’: A Guest Post by Tamsin Lewis of Passamezzo
I direct the early music group Passamezzo, an established ensemble known for their ability to bring historical events to life through their engaging performances and programming. We specialize in English Elizabethan and Jacobean repertoire. 2020 marks the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower, and so it seems appropriate to record a CD of music to celebrate… Read on
Epidemic: Were the Powers that Be Powerless to Prevent the Plague?: A Guest Post by Claire Canary
One of the many things to really slow me down in writing historical fiction is the level of interest I’ve taken in my research. Nevertheless, it’s been the best learning experience of my life! Thanks to works such as Rebecca Rideal’s 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire, I’ve built the confidence to take Andrea up on her kind offer… Read on
Seven little known facts about Nell Gwyn: A Guest Post by Deborah Swift
1. Nell experimented with cross-dressing. Between 1663 and 1667 she posed under the name “William Nell” and adopted a false beard. The disguise stood her in good stead when she needed to act as a man on the stage in March 1667, and we know from Pepys’ diary that he found her performance the best he’d ever seen. 2.… Read on
Book Review: ‘Entertaining Mr Pepys’ by Deborah Swift
Entertaining Mr Pepys is the third and final chapter of Deborah Swift’s trilogy on that most famous naval administrator/diarist of the late seventeenth century: Samuel Pepys. That said, it can be read as a standalone work – although I read the first book in the series, I wasn’t able to read the second one, but that did not… Read on