17th Century London

How's this for inspiration for a writer of alternate quasi-historical fiction?



The Last Witch might not be set in the capital, but that's not to say I don't have ideas for other stories that would be...

The English Civil War - A National Obsession

What is it with the current resurgence in the popularity of stories set around the time of the English Civil War?

The synopsis for The Last Witch was written two years ago, back in the summer of 2011. Then in February of this year, Gideon's Angel, by Clifford Beal, was published by Solaris Books. And now, in the summer of 2013 we have Ben Wheatley's A Field in England to look forward to.

I know that the English Civil War has held a fascination for all manner of people for a very long time (classmates and teachers of mine were members of the Sealed Knot more than twenty years ago when I was still at school) but I like to think the recent resurgence might have something to do with things like this...

A Field In England - Coming Soon!

It looks like this might be good inspirational stuff for The Last Witch...

Mary Tudor - Unfit to Rule?

There is a passing reference made to Mary Tudor's bizarre pregnancy in The Last Witch, and there was more than a passing reference to the same condition in Fit to Rule: How Royal Illness Changed History, presented by Historic Royal Palaces chief curator Lucy Worsley.

It's a great hour's factual programming, and if you've not seen it already, you can watch it on BBC iPlayer.

And so it begins...

I'm off to the Essex-Suffolk borders tomorrow for a few days, with the intention of carrying out some research for this...