America’s Great Mystery
The following article first appeared on the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, on 5 November 2013, in the run up to the launch of The Lost Duchess in hardback. I hope you will enjoy reading it here if you missed it then. The Mystery Behind the Founding of Modern America The disappearance of the ‘Lost Colony’ of Roanoke has become embedded in the folklore surrounding the birth of modern America. As an Englishwoman I can attest to the story being less well known in the UK than in the States, but...
Read MoreMontacute Montage
Yesterday I was at Montacute, now very much home territory and a hitherto unexplored delight. One of the finest examples of Elizabethan Renaissance architecture in the country, with England’s largest surviving long gallery, spanning 172 feet between oriel windows, and some of the finest Elizabethan and Jacobean portraiture from the National Portrait Gallery – Montacute was a joy not least because here were some of the characters from the Roanoke mystery around whom the story of The Lost Duchess...
Read MoreTalk with Rory Clements
‘Tudor Times’ talk with Rory Clements and Jenny Barden at Nottingham Central Library Nottingham Central Library, Angel Row, Nottingham NG1 6HL 09 Apr 2014 2:00pm Gain an insight into the world of the Tudors with award-winning Elizabethan thriller writer Rory Clements, the author of the John Shakespeare nystery series, and Jenny Barden, author of the epic romantic adventures The Lost Duchess and Mistress of the Sea. Tickets are £2.50, available at the library, on 0115 9152825 or...
Read MoreBedsharing with Elizabeth I…
Bedsharing and Intimacy in the Privy Chamber of Elizabeth I Here’s the main part of an article contributed to Alison Morton’s Roma Nova blog – the text appears in full here The legendary Great Bed of Ware Four hundred and fifty years ago, people in England rarely slept alone. Beds were shared with spouses, siblings, close relatives and servants. Even strangers shared beds such as the Great Bed of Ware which could reputedly accommodate ‘at least four couples’. The sleeping habits of...
Read MoreThe Scent of Death
The Scent of Death by Andrew Taylor is fabulous – an enthralling tale of divided loyalties, illicit passion, and the untangling of a gruesome murder during the American War of Independence when New York was an occupied city under siege, and allegiances were ever shifting. Compellingly written with characters whose voices ring completely true to their time and situation, stepping out from an age when perceptions of world order were on the brink of momentous change, brought to life by a master storyteller. ...
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