The past is never dead, it isn’t even past
Whether you are interested in being introduced to British history, or you are familiar with it, Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee, will prove to be a find. Borne out of a successful podcast of the same name, Charlie Higson has written a book which entertains and educates in...
When writing my second Alexander Baxby mystery Naming the Dead, I tried to imagine what life was like for ordinary people in the early seventeenth century. A murder-solving physician such as Baxby would have witnessed much suffering and death. Average life expectancy...
Lincolnshire has played a pivotal role in the history of England on more than one occasion with the Rising of 1536 being one such example which was itself a precursor to the larger Pilgrimage of Grace. Just over a century later, the county would again play an...
Whig vs Tory During the pulsating and action-packed months of 1712, 1713 and 1714 many people, including a hefty chunk of MPs, were convinced that the country teetered on the edge either of the imposition of an absolutist Roman Catholic King and the extirpation of the...
With Americans celebrating Thanksgiving at the end of the month, November seems a good time to consider the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower from Europe in 1620. Whilst researching my Alexander Baxby mystery Paying in Blood, I learnt more about their roots in...
Echoing Greens: How Cricket Shaped the English Imagination, by Brendan Cooper It is now a cliché - perhaps always has been - to refer to cricket as a rich quarry for artistic achievement, even as mainstream coverage becomes less fixated on the written word and more...
Prince Rupert of the Rhine: King Charles I’s Cavalier Commander, by Mark Turnbull Following his extraordinary study of Charles I’s private life, Mark Turnbull now turns his attention to another major player in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Prince Rupert of the...
The Succession of King James Recently, some have suggested that Scottish King James stole the English throne after Queen Elizabeth's death in 1603. Although it is impossible to prove Elizabeth really named him as her successor on her death bed, as is usually claimed,...
Historical Heroes: Prince Rupert of the Rhine Though this is an article about Rupert as a historical hero, I should, ironically, start by pointing out that he is also considered to be a historical villain! In his heyday enemy propaganda named him ‘Prince Robber’ or...
My second Alexander Baxby novel Naming the Dead is an exciting tale of murder, mystery and suspense, set against the colourful backdrop of early seventeenth century Amsterdam. Political and religious intrigue are closely entwined, as in the first book Paying in Blood....
