Victor Stater, in your introduction you describe the Popish Plot as ‘preposterous’. Are we talking QAnon levels, or a more sane conspiracy theory such as the assassination of JFK? I’d say there are elements of both—the idea that Charles II might be assassinated in...
Stuarts
Five Favourites: Tudor Histories
What a difficult decision - to pick my five favourite of Tudor histories! I am not an avid reader but have decided to concentrate on the more modern books which have had a significant influence on my own efforts, covering the period of Mary Queen of Scots and...
The New Model Army: Agent of Revolution, by Ian Gentles
Readers of Oliver Cromwell and the New Model Army (NMA) will be familiar with the first edition of this book, The New Model Army: Agent of Revolution, published some 30 years ago. It earned the tag ‘definitive’ at the time and has remained a much valued reference ever...
Jessie Childs on the Siege of Loyalty House
The Civil Wars, despite their importance in British history, tend to be little discussed - certainly in comparison to, say, the Tudor or Victorian eras. Why do you think that is - is the conflict viewed as too complicated, or stemming from obscure religious and...
Miranda Malins
Miranda Malins, what led you to the 17th century and the English Civil Wars that you wrote your first book in? A school debate about the execution of Charles I and a trip to Cromwell’s House in Ely first sparked my passion for this brilliant period. It is the most...
Miranda Malins
Books Click on any of the books covers below to either buy or get more information on Amazon Articles Click on the links below to read the full article[dpdfg_filtergrid custom_query="advanced" use_taxonomy_terms="on" multiple_taxonomies="name_of_author"...
Ian Gentles on The New Model Army
Ian Gentles, The New Model Army: Agent of Revolution is an updated edition of your earlier title, but it’s almost a different book – just how much has changed? The first edition has been condensed to about half its original length. It assimilates much new research,...
Fiction Book of the Month: Deborah Swift on Pleasing Mr Pepys
Deborah Swift, what is it about Samuel Pepys that makes for such an entertaining subject, even today? I think as a writer I just appreciate the fact he took the time to document in such detail the age in which he lived. This has made him a source for historians and...
The New Model Army
The New Model Army takes on board a great deal of new research – by Phil Baker, Rachel Foxley and John Rees among others -- on the Leveller movement, with whom the New Model was in close contact throughout its fifteen-year history. When in the 1650s the soldiers...
The Plague Letters, by V.L.Valentine
V.L. Valentine’s visceral debut skilfully immerses the reader in the dread and despair of plague-ridden London during the stinking hot summer of 1665. The story centres on Symon Patrick, the young Rector of St. Paul’s in Covent Garden, and his discovery that, among...









