historical fiction

An imperial mother and her daughter – Martina Grenze offers insight into 18th century Austria

Those of you who follow my blog, know I have written several posts about the Spanish Hapsburgs (I have provided  selection at the bottom of this post) Obviously, I am rather fascinated by this family and its penchant for incestous marriages–but I have been stuck on the Spanish branch of the family. Well, beyond casual

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Annie’s Day – a WWII novel

Today, I am hosting Apple Gidley and her book, Annie’s Day on my blog as part of the ongoing Coffee Pot Book Club tour. The cover, IMO, is gorgeous. Don’t you agree? Blurb:  War took everything. Love never had a chance. Until now. As an Australian Army nurse, Annie endures the brutalities of World War

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The Cameo Keeper – diving into 17th century Rome with Deborah Swift

Today, I am happy to host Deborah Swift and her latest release, The Cameo Keeper as part of her Coffee Pot Book Club tour. Think Rome, think 17th century, and no, you do not get a pristine, tourist-friendly place. Instead, it is dark and dirty, poverty cheek to jowl with riches, power-hungry families striving for

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Mistress of Dartington Hall – in which Ms Griggs brings 16th century England to vivid life!

Today, I am hosting Rosemary Griggs and her book Mistress of Dartington Hall as part of her ongoing Coffee Pot Book Club tour. Now, I am not generally a big fan of Tudor England, but I really enjoyed Ms Grigg’s previous book about Dartington–well, more specifically about the female protagonist, Roberda–so when the opportunity came

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Inés – or how Catherine Mathis converted a legend into a novel

Today, I am hosting Catherine Mathis and her new release, Inés. Set in the early 14th century, Ms Mathis has based her narrative on the legends around Pedro of Portugal and Inés de Castro, one of the many love stories that don’t have a happy ending. (See my post HERE!) As I have a major

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Lord Frederick’s Return – shining some light on Ms Kullman and her book

I discovered historical fiction already as a small child – thank you Henry Treece. But I fell in love with the genre when I discovered Georgette Heyer. Since then, Regency Romance has a special place in my heart – men in buckskin breeches and polished Hessians are hard to resist – so when I was

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Marguerite – Meet Judith Arnopp’s latest protagonist, a cornered lady who fought back.

Today, I am happy to host Judith Arnopp’s latest release, Marguerite: Hell Hath No Fury! For those of you familiar with Judith, you may know she has penned an excellent trilogy featuring another Margaret–Margaret Beaufort–and that protagonist has something very important in common with today’s leading lady, namely they were both Lancastrian noblewomen. Marguerite was

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A Mischief of Murder – tooting the horn for Ms Hollick’s latest release

Today, I am delighted to welcome Helen Hollick back on my blog, this time as part of her blog tour for her latest release, A Mischief of Murder, organised by The Coffee Pot Book Club. A Mischief of Murder is a cosy mystery – you know, one of those books that go really well with

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Keeping it in the family – Elizabeth St. John’s fabulous 17th century trilogy

Elizabeth St.John has been a frequent visitor to this blog. By now, I consider her a dear friend – and an amazing author! The first time we met was in Oxford in 2016 – we bonded over 17th century history (as one does) and spent several pleasant hours following in the footsteps of Charles I

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Say hello to Bess – Tony Riches gives us yet another Elizabethan lady

Now and then, Tony Riches and his books have popped up on my blog, and over the last few years, I’ve followed Tony as he has explored the Tudor dynasty from its early inception (when Owain Tudor secretly wed Henry V’s widowed queen) to its heyday as a ruling family. With Bess – Tudor Gentlewoman,

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