Read Castles, Customs, and Kings: True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors Online
Authors: English Historical Fiction Authors
Tags: #Debra Brown, #Madison Street Publishing, #English Historical Fiction, #M.M. Bennetts
Castles, Customs, and Kings: True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors (2 page)
Introduction
by Debra Brown
C
astles, mansions, banquets and balls. Dungeons, armies and kings. Does British history sound boring to you? Suppose there was a way to encounter history without the frustration of cramming for a test, a way to learn about the past that filled you with interest instead of indifference?
Have you ever heard the phrase “stranger than fiction”? Do strange-but-true stories fascinate you? The goal of this book is to provide a wide range of absorbing historical information about the lands and peoples of the Isles of Britain.
The greatest tourist attraction of Northern England is Hadrian’s Wall, now a length of ruins from Roman times. We can stand looking at it, trying to comprehend the time that has passed since workmen put those stones together nearly two thousand years ago. We can imagine the travelers that passed near them over the centuries, the children that climbed over them—all of them grown up, grown old, grown silent.
Almost all of those people have been forgotten. Yet each of them had a life, achievements, and a story. Some of those stories have been retrieved from sources long hidden away and shared in this book.
Through the millennia, eras came and went. Each had its rulers, its heroes, and its unfortunate poor. Its left-behind structures stand—or fall. Its art, music, and dances have passed down to us, and with those, sometimes we imitate the lives of those before us.
The authors of this book are, for the most part, historical fiction writers. To craft good historical fiction, we have studied the times about which we write and the events that came before. We would like to share some of the fascinating things we have learned.
The true tales found in this book originated with the
English Historical Fiction Authors Blog
(
http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/
) which was founded on September 23, 2011. Every day, one of our member authors posts a historical article on a subject he or she has studied.
Reading the daily post is a way to keep ablaze your ancient English, Scottish, Welsh, or Irish fancies. You may want to bring along a cup of your favorite tea.
The articles in this book have been collected from the first year of the blog’s existence, and are presented here in a new format for easier enjoyment.
This book will also introduce you to our authors and their work. There is a section following this introduction with a short biography of each of the authors and links to their websites, blogs, and books. There is also a list of novels arranged by era so that you can find historical fiction from whatever time most strikes your fancy. Some authors are blog members, posting on a regular basis, and others are guests who post occasionally.
We hope you will be captivated by each and every historical tale we offer in this book and that you will join us on the blog for our daily post. Perhaps you will find a new favorite author who can whisk you away to times past or a new stack of books to fill up your rainy days with tales of yesteryear.
Contributing Authors
Andersen, Maggi
An Australian author with a BA in English and an MA in Creative Writing, Maggi Andersen lives with her lawyer husband in a pretty, historical town in the Southern Highlands with their spoiled Persian cat, plus the assorted wildlife they love to feed: the chickens wandering in from next door, the ducks swimming in their pool, and the parrots and possums lining up for bananas and seed. Maggi writes historical romance, contemporary romantic suspense, and young adult novels.
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Website
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Arnopp, Judith
Judith Arnopp’s
historical novels are written from a female perspective.
The Song of Heledd
is set in 7th century Powys,
Peaceweaver
and
The Forest Dwellers
in the years encompassing the Norman Conquest, and
Dear Henry
and
The Winchester Goose
in the Tudor period. She is currently working on
The Kiss of the Concubine,
a novel of Anne Boleyn.
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Amazon UK
Website
Blog
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Ashe, Katherine
Katherine Ashe is the author of
Montfort
, a four volume novelized biography of Simon de Montfort, who founded England’s Parliament in 1258 and died on the battlefield of Evesham in 1265. He was believed to be the Angel of the Apocalypse. The speaking of his name was made a hanging crime.
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Montfort Website
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Ashworth, Elizabeth
Elizabeth Ashworth is a UK author who writes historical fiction and local interest books about Lancashire. A published writer since her early teens, she has also written articles and short stories for a wide range of publications. Her first published novel was
The de Lacy Inheritance
. This was followed by
An Honourable Estate.
2013 will see publication of
By Loyalty Bound
from Pen and Sword Fiction. It tells the story of the mistress of King Richard III.
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Website
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YouTube
Bagwell, Gillian
Gillian Bagwell’s richly detailed historical novels bring to vivid life England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Venus in Winter
chronicles the life of the formidable Bess of Hardwick at the court of Henry VIII.
The Darling Strumpet
charts Nell Gwynn’s meteoric rise from the grimy slums to triumph as a beloved comic actress in the arms of the king.
The September Queen
(U.K. title
The King’s Mistress
) gives the first fictional accounting of Jane Lane, who risked all to help the young Charles II, saving his life and the future of the English monarchy. Gillian uses her years of experience in theatre as an actress, director, and producer to help authors give effective public readings, through workshops and private coaching.
Barden, Jenny
Jenny Barden has had a love of history ever since an encounter in infancy with a suit of armour at Tamworth Castle. Training as an artist, followed by a career as a city solicitor, did little to help displace her early dream of becoming a knight. Impelled by a fascination with the Age of Discovery, she has travelled widely throughout the Americas, and much of the inspiration for her novels has come from retracing the steps of early adventurers in the New World. Jenny has four children and now lives in Dorset with her long suffering husband and an ever increasing assortment of pets.
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Batten, Prue
A former researcher/journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the Australian version of the BBC) Prue Batten majored in history at university. She finds it a gentle irony to be moving back to the era she found most fascinating then, the Middle Ages. Prue spends as much time as she can by the water and with her dogs, has a huge affinity with gardens and embroidery, and takes pleasure and contentment in The Small Things.
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Website
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Beard, J. A.
J.A. Beard is a history-loving restless soul married to an equally restless soul and has two very restless children. He’s tried his hand at several careers, including intelligence analysis, programming, and research science. Though he likes to declare himself the Pie Master,
he’s yet to prove his worth in the brutal baking show-downs of Celebration, Florida.
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Website
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Bennetts, M.M.
A former book critic for the Pulitzer Prize-winning
Christian Science Monitor
, M.M. Bennetts is an historian specialising in early 19th century Europe and the author of two best-selling novels set amidst the turbulence of the Napoleonic wars:
May 1812
and
Of Honest Fame
. An avid cross country rider, Bennetts is also an accomplished pianist and accompanist. She is now at work on a third novel,
Or Fear of Peace
. She blogs regularly about history.
Bilyeau, Nancy
Nancy Bilyeau is a novelist and magazine editor who has worked on the staffs of
InStyle
,
Good Housekeeping,
and
Rolling Stone
. She graduated from the University of Michigan and lived in the American Midwest and Toronto, Ontario, before moving to New York City. She is descended from Pierre Billiou, the Huguenot settler who built one of the first stone houses in New York in 1665. Her Tudor-era mystery thriller
The Crown
was short-listed for the CWA’s Ellis Peters Historical in the 2012 Dagger Awards.
The second book in her series,
The Chalice,
was published in North America and the United Kingdom in March 2013. Nancy is currently writing her third mystery novel,
The Covenant
.
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Bohannon, Teresa Thomas
Teresa Thomas Bohannon holds an M.A. in history, with a special concentration in women’s studies. Her Regency Romance novel
A Very Merry Chase
was inspired by the writings of Georgette Heyer. Her historical fantasy novel
Shadows in a Timeless Myth
was inspired by her desire to write revisionist history that explored the roles of women who lived outside the box.
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Blog
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Brant, Lucinda
Lucinda Brant writes bestselling Georgian historical romances with wit and adventure, and crimances
—
crime with lashings of romance. All her books are set in the 18th century, spanning 1740 to early 1780s Georgian England, with occasional crossings to the France of Louis XV.
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Brown, Debra
Debra has enjoyed varied creative pursuits and has worked in the interior design field. While making jewelry, she watched all the period dramas she could find. Her Victorian story
The Companion of Lady Holmeshire
was written when they ran out. She is now working on The Dante and Evangeline Series. Its first novel,
For the Skylark
, was inspired by the Dickens’ character Miss Havisham. Debra runs the English Historical Fiction Authors blog and the Goodreads group Historical Info for Historical Fiction Readers.
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Brown, Phillip
Phillip Brown is a retired computer consultant who has been collecting and researching Victorian art for nearly 40 years, particularly the Pre-Raphaelites. He has always found it fascinating how art of the time reflects social life and attitudes and the lives of the artists. It’s an exciting time for Victorian studies and exhibitions, and they can lead to so many exciting discoveries.
Byrd, Sandra
Bestselling author Sandra Byrd has now published more than forty books, recently focusing especially on England-set historicals. Her novels
To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn
and
The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr
were selected by Library Journal as Best Books Picks for 2011 and 2012.
Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I
published in April, 2013. Please visit
www.sandrabyrd.com
to learn more and for the most up-to-date information on her forthcoming series,
Daughters of Hampshire
, also set in historic England.
Calkins, Susanna
Susanna is the author of
A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate
and
From the Charred Remains (
St. Martin’s Press /Minotaur Books), a historical mystery series featuring Lucy Campion, a crime-solving chambermaid in plague-ridden 17th century London. Susanna received her PhD in early modern English history from Purdue University.
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Campbell, John
As a classically trained musician, John B. Campbell developed an interest in history while touring Europe in his youth. An interest in creative writing came along with his mid-life crisis. Campbell’s debut novel,
Walk to Paradise Garden
, earned an editor’s desk review wherein Harper Collins described his book as, “compulsively readable.” The author lives north of Milwaukee, WI with his wife Pamela and their two dogs.
Collison, Linda
Linda Collison’s novel,
Star-Crossed
, was published by Knopf in 2006 and chosen by the New York Public Library to be among the
Books for the Teen Age—2007
. Her fiction has won awards from the former Maui Writers’ Conference, the Southwest Writers, and
Honolulu Magazine
. Her short stories, essays and articles have appeared in
Ladies Home Journal
,
Skydiving
,
American Baby, Parachutist, Sailing Magazine, Cruising World, and RN
. Her nautical historical novels include
Barbados Bound
and
Surgeon’s Mate
.
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Cowell, Stephanie
Born in New York City, Stephanie Cowell fell in love with history, music, Shakespeare, and art almost at once. She started to write stories very young, and by the age of twenty had won prizes twice in a national story contest. Stephanie is married to the poet and spiritual director Russell Clay and they make their home on the Upper West Side of New York City where they live in an apartment with thousands of books. To Stephanie, being an historical novelist is one of the best things in the world!
Davison, Anita
Born in London, Anita began writing 17th century historical family sagas, then tried out Victorian romance. She now feels she has found her niche with 17th century historical biographical novels with her latest book,
Royalist Rebel
, released by Claymore Books in early 2013 under the name Anita Seymour. She writes reviews for
Romantic Historical Lovers
and the
Historical Novel Review Blog
.
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Blog
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Denning, Richard
Richard Denning is a historical fiction and fantasy author. He works as a GP in the West Midlands. He has always been fascinated by historical settings as well as by horror and fantasy. Other than writing, his main interests are games of all types. He is the designer of a board game based on the Great Fire of London. His most popular book is
The Amber Treasure
—Dark Ages historical fiction.
