Ladies of Letters: Women Authors of Historical Fiction
My first novel, The Slave, is set in 14th century Italy and in writing it I strove to make it …
Caught and Bowled: My Take on ‘Bedrooms and Hallways’
I was disappointed in the gay romcom ‘Bedrooms and Hallways’ so I decided to try my hand at writing a …
An Introduction to the Great Shakespearean Authorship Debate
One day, several years ago, as I was wandering around my local library, I came across a book called Who …
Did Shakespeare Write Shakespeare? The Authorship Contenders
If William Shakespeare didn’t write Shakespeare, then who did? By the end of the eighteenth century, by virtue of …
A Few Scandals and Sensations English Style
The last time I was in England, a young man I encountered at a tram stop asked me why I …
Random Thoughts on History and Culture
As you may have gathered from the range of subjects and genres covered in my Weekly Roundups so far, I …
Italy through English Eyes: Sarah Dunant’s Renaissance Italy
Can an English author really understand the Italians? I sometimes wonder if it is safe for a novelist to …
From the Gallery: The Victorian ‘Industrial’ Novel
Can a middle-class art form such as the novel really convey the realities of working-class life in the industrial age? …
Dutch Interiors: three historical novels inspired by art
Great art can give us an insight into the past and inspire historical fiction. Here in Australia, far away …
A Boy’s Own Decline and Fall: two views of the late Roman Empire
Two very different men face the turbulance and uncertainty of the late Roman Empire. I have, in my eclectic …
In the Loop
A mysterious girl on the train has a way of enticing men into her thrall. So here I am, …
The Vandals
A retired schoolteacher is beset by vandals and it’s up to Constable O’Connor to find out why. This wasn’t …