Tag Archives: Historical fiction

Book Review: Costanza by Rachel Blackmore

The name of Bernini is one that all fans of Baroque sculpture instantly recognise because of the beauty and importance of his work. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, born in 1598 and died in 1681, is known for such works as The Rape of Proserpina (1621-22), the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1647-52), David (1623-24), among many others. His works are known… Read on

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Book Review: ‘The Fire Court’ by Andrew Taylor

I had the pleasure of meeting the author of The Fire Court, Andrew Taylor, a few years ago back in Oxford when we were both participating in an author conference and he was most affable and signed my hardback copy of The Ashes of London, his first book in the series. I wish I had read that book… Read on

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Book Review: ‘The Guardian’ by Maeve Greyson

Sometimes we need a bit of escapism and, for me, that sometimes means a romance—and this book totally fit the bill. I have to be honest, I wasn’t really interested in the beginning, but that might just be down to me not being in the right frame of mind for it. I even thought about giving up around… Read on

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Book Review: ‘Legacy’ by John Pilkington

The Gunpowder Plot is one of those major subjects of the early Stuart era (the Jacobean period) that people tend to know about, but, in my experience, very few historical fiction works focus on the period just after that. In John Pilkington’s novel ‘Legacy’, however, we meet Robert Belstrang, a former Justice who leads a quiet life in… Read on

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Book Review: The Firefly Witch by Amanda Hughes

I’ve had The Firefly Witch on my bookshelf since it was published a few years ago and I finally had a chance to read it – and I’m glad I did. Set in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1662, we meet Circe: a red-haired girl with an amazing skill for weaving. Despite her talents, she doesn’t fit in… Read on

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Book Review: ‘Royal Mistress’ by Patricia Campbell Horton

‘Royal Mistress’ by Patricia Campbell Horton follows the story of Barbara Villiers from her adolescence, her passionate relationship with her first love, Philip Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, through her marriage to Roger Palmer, her notorious reign as Charles II’s long-term mistress, through Charles’s marriage to Catherine of Braganza, her rivalry with Frances Stuart, up to her becoming Duchess… Read on

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Anna Belfrage’s ‘Glory and Gore’ Blog Event

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

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Book Review: ‘The Bitter Trade’ by Piers Alexander

I came across a Facebook post by historical fiction author Kate Quinn recently in which she wrote: ‘sometimes we come across books at the wrong time. We’re in the wrong mood for a particular book at a particular time, or we’re at the wrong age for it. But we find it later and –chef’s kiss– perfection’. This quote… Read on

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