Biography

I explore the nuances of history through fiction and non-fiction.

I’ve always had a passion for history … and adventure. My formative years were spent on the Caribbean island of Grenada, where I rarely attended school, spending my days indulging in archaeology, sailing, diving and exploring. I spent my 21st birthday partying at the British Army’s Jungle Warfare Training camp – “Hummingbird Cottage” in Belize, and later I held a Top Secret security clearance while working throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism operations with the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).

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To the surprise of family and friends (not to mention myself), I eventually added the alphabet soup of PhD, JD and MBA after my name, became a senior official in the US government, and spent the following years as an international lawyer and entrepreneur, during which time I rose early and spent weekends to indulge another passion – writing. During that time, I published four books and over 100 articles including scholarly pieces on Caribbean colonial history – “Fedon’s Rebellion” (Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research 1984) – and Scottish history – “Walsingham and the Witch: England´s Failed Attempt to Pacify King James VI” (History Scotland, August-September 2021). I also wrote for the Harvard International Review, The New York Times, US Naval Institute Proceedings and the RUSI Journal.

I’m now devoting 100 percent of my time to building my literary career. My narrative non-fiction biography, Elizabethan Secret Agent: The Untold Story of William Ashby (1536-1593), will be released in hardback on 30 March 2022 by Scotland Street Press, Edinburgh. My “Seth Armitage” series of historical mystery thrillers set on the 1920s are being published by Sharpe Books, as is my latest book Ranger, an Action/Adventure novel set in the 18th century featuring a mixed-raced hero who overcomes overwhelming obstacles to succeed as a British military officer – think of a black “Sharpe” a la Bernard Cornwell´s famous series.

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Books

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Articles

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Elizabeth I & James VI: A Royal Marriage Proposal

Elizabeth I & James VI: A Royal Marriage Proposal

Nominally acting for the king, in May 1583 the Ruthven regime sent a special embassy to London, jointly led by Colonel Stuart and John Colville, to ask for an alliance, for money, and to propose marriage to the queen or to have her advice on an alternative marriage partner for King James. ...
Solving the Mystery of The Tobermory Galleon

Solving the Mystery of The Tobermory Galleon

In 1588 a galleon, the San Juan, mysteriously sank in Tobermory, Isle of Mull. Timothy Ashby, historian and author of a new book on Elizabethan espionage traces the history of that Spanish ship.For centuries the sunken Spanish Armada ship known as the ‘Tobermory Galleon’ has lured treasure ...

Book Reviews

Ranger, by Timothy Ashby

Ranger, by Timothy Ashby

If you are looking for a page-turning historical novel that explores race and class in the late 18th century, as well as being filled with action and engaging characters, then read Ranger.Laced with intrigue, war and the complexity of racial prejudice within English political spheres, ...
Cornwallis, by Richard Middleton

Cornwallis, by Richard Middleton

Charles Cornwallis, Lord Cornwallis, is remembered as one of the salient military leaders of the American Revolution, blamed for the British defeat at Yorktown that marked the beginning of the end of the Revolution. Yet as Richard Middleton´s masterful new biography illustrates, Cornwallis´ ...
Elizabethan Secret Agent, by Timothy Ashby

Elizabethan Secret Agent, by Timothy Ashby

William Ashby, ambassador and spy, is not a well-known historical figure. Indeed, so successful a secret agent was he that few today will have heard of him. To me, he has always been little more than a name, mentioned in biographies of King James (when Ashby, seeking to buy the Scottish king’s ...

Interviews

Timothy Ashby

Timothy Ashby

Timothy Ashby, what first attracted you to the period or periods you work in?I have been fascinated by the Elizabethan era since reading that a distant relative was a top “intelligencer” and English ambassador to Scotland. I lived on the island of Grenada as a young man and was equally ...