May 08
I felt a weight of responsibility to get my research right for The Girl who Escaped. A main male protagonist is based on my Italian grandfather-in-law and I wanted to respect Luigi’s courage, as well as accurately represent the plight of Jews in Italy. The first book I consulted was: It happened in Italy, written …
May 01
The Forgotten Palace by Alexandra Walsh A dual timeline based around Arthur Evans’ archaeological digs at Knossos on Crete, this book has an incredible sense of place, time and history. The heat and the dust from the excavations rise up from the page as the Victorian characters scrape in the earth and wash dirt from …
Dec 28
Books of the year are always so hard to choose, aren’t they? Sometimes I really don’t know why I put myself through it, but as an author I do know how good it feels when a book appears on such a list, so here goes. This year I have two. They are so very …
Mar 14
I love a World War Two dual timeline novel. In fact I love them so much I’ve written one with my Eva Glyn hat on and it will be out this summer. However this article is not about me, it’s about two excellent writers who have created very different books in the genre, both out …
Nov 28
Angela Petch’s Mavis and Dot, reviewed by Jessie Cahalin Embark on a series of adventures with Mavis and Dot but prepare yourself for a roller coaster of emotions. Humour and adorable, eccentric characters present a commentary on modern Britain. Reading Angela Petch’s ‘Mavis and Dot’ is like delving into a large slice of Tiramisu: the …
Jul 26
Josephine Tey’s Brat Farrar, reviewed by Evonne Wareham A classic from 1949 by an acclaimed novelist and playwright, this is an impostor story loosely based on a Victorian cause célèbre – The Titchbourne Claimant. A long lost heir, presumed dead, emerges to inherit a fortune. It is made clear to the reader from the start …
May 31
Jan Baynham’s Her Mother’s Secret, reviewed by Judith Barrow Her Mother’s Secret is set against the background of the Greek island of Péfka during different eras; 1969 and 2011. Two time frames linked by the two main characters, Alexandra and her mother, Elin; connected through time, by the diary that Alexandra finds after her mother’s death. …
Apr 28
Natalie Meg Evans’ Into the Burning Dawn, reviewed by Jill Barry This sweeping novel is a step away from the world of Parisian haute couture for Natalie Meg Evans, whose books often feature heroines involved in fashion. A successful author of historical fiction, Evans mixes intricate details of a family business with an absorbing plot. …
