Anyone who has a thing about Tudor England will have heard of Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife—the second one he divorced. Some say he felt tricked by Thomas Cromwell (and, I suppose, by Holbein) stating the real-life Anne was a far cry from the beautiful woman in her portrait. Whatever the case, Anne […]
From portrait to Protestantism – a post about Sibylle of Cleves Read More »
October was quite a busy month for me. First, I had the pleasure of visiting Dresden with dear friend and fellow writer Alison Morton. Among other things, we undertook a seventeen kilometre trek through the beautiful Saxon Switzerland National park (yes, I know, very confusing: Switzerland in a German park?) to see the famous Bastei
My November newsletter – a reflection on the passing of time Read More »
Hands up those of you who’ve heard of the Battle of Cartagena de las Indias. Hmm, very few, apparently. Now, I had heard of this battle before, because as a child I grew up in Colombia, and on several occasions I had the pleasure of visiting Cartagena de las Indias. And once there, it was
The consequences of Jenkin’s ear – the story of a naval battle Read More »
Today was supposed to be a writing day. I have two chapters left in my WIP, and one of them is going to be very, very hard to write—gruesome, is probably the right word—so I’ve been procrastinating. Until today. I had cleared my calendar, done some pep-talking along the lines of “Enough, already! Get it
Don’t mess with my baby! My October newsletter about Mama Bears and motherhood Read More »
Some weeks ago, I finally—FINALLY!—made it to Cádiz. This is considered to be one of the oldest city in Europe, and for those who know their history, it is probably best known for being the port Christopher Columbus set off from for his second and fourth journey. And it is as a port that Cádiz
Exploring a European cradle – say hello to ancient Cádiz Read More »
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
Lord Frederick’s Return – shining some light on Ms Kullman and her book Read More »
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
Marguerite – Meet Judith Arnopp’s latest protagonist, a cornered lady who fought back. Read More »
My mother was a big fan of poetry, and she would often read poetry out loud to us, in Swedish or English or Spanish. (A galopar, she would read, a galopar hasta enterrarlos en el mar, and all those rolling Spanish r’s would send shivers down my back. She was rather fond of Rafael Alberti’s
There came a letter – a reflection on home, memories and golden moments Read More »
I grew up with a mother who loved to swim. As a young girl she’d swum competitively, and like most good Swedish swimmers, she had a collection of swim badges. Some of those badges merely required swimming a specific distance—200 metres or 1 000 metres or 3 000 metres. Others were more of a combo:
Like riding a bike – a reflection on swimming and age Read More »
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
Keeping it in the family – Elizabeth St. John’s fabulous 17th century trilogy Read More »