I have a special fondness for the Netherlands – I mean, what can one possibly dislike about a country that has given us Vermeer, Rembrandt and chocolate sprinkles on your bread and butter? I am also very, very fond of my Norwegian neighbours (except when they totally crush us in the cross-country skiing events) so
The Dutch Muse – a new release from Heidi Eljarbo Read More »
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,
Say hello to Bess – Tony Riches gives us yet another Elizabethan lady Read More »
We are three weeks from the summer solstice, and this year our Midsummer Eve (always celebrated on a Friday here in Sweden) actually falls on the day before. As this celebration tends to extend well into next day, I am assuming many Swedish people will be up and about at 4.41 a.m. when the actual
My June Newsletter – Magic Midsummer light and some books to go with it Read More »
Today, I am shining the light on Paul Bernardi’s book, Uprising, as part of his Coffee Pot Book Club tour,. Think 1067, think humiliated AngloSaxons in a country taken over by Normans. This is merely the background to Ms Bernrdi’s book featuring Oslac and his Danish antagonist Gundulf. Uprising, Rebellion, Book #2 Summer 1067. Northumbria.
Uprising – a novel set in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest Read More »
Anyone who is a frequent visitor to this blog knows I am a big fan of Alison Morton’s Roma Nova series – alternate history at its best, IMO. Since some years back, I am also a fan of her present-day dynamic duo, Mel and Jeff. With very different backgrounds, theirs is a story that does
Double Stakes – check out Alison Morton’s latest release Read More »
It has been quite some time since I indulged in my fascination with the Hapsburgs, this once so powerful family that controlled most of Catholic Europe and preferred to marry very close kin—which, eventually, led to disaster, at least for the Spanish Hapsburgs. But the Hapsburgs weren’t always an inbred dynasty on the brink of
Anna and Maria – Holy Roman Empresses that took their procreating duty seriously! Read More »
Today, Paula Lofting has popped by with a post about Swegn Godwinson. I can hear you go “Swegn? Wasn’t his name Harold Godwinson?” And yes, it was Harold Godwinson – and for those interested in HIM, check out Paula’s recent release Searching for the Last Anglo-Saxon King – but today’s protagonist is Harold’s older brother,
An Anglo-Saxon Bad Boy – guest post by Paula Lofting Read More »
Today, Christina Courtenay visits me with a guest post about Roman baths in Bath which ties into her latest release, Shadows in the Spring. Further down, you can read my review, but first, let’s get to grips with Christina’s guest post! Bath and the Roman baths Doing research for a story can be extremely enjoyable,
The first book I ever read by Wendy J Dunne was The Light in the Labyrinth. “Oh, God,” I muttered as I opened it. “Another Anne Boleyn story.” I probably pulled a face, because, yes, I do feel the Anne – Henry VIII story is overly exploited in historical fiction. But this version blew my
Falling Pomegranate Seeds – Ms Dunne’s fabulous retelling of Katherine of Aragon’s story Read More »
In November of the year 1700, that gallant warrior king Karl XII of Sweden, hastened to defend the city of Narva (in present day Estonia) from the besieging Russian army. The Great Northern War had kicked off some months earlier when an alliance between Denmark, Russia and Saxony/Poland had initiated an attack on Sweden’s Baltic
The enslaved child – of Lovisa von Burghausen and her travails in 18th century Russia Read More »