Author: HistoricalHoney

I am a deep and passionate lover of historical fiction. Since I picked up Virgin: Prelude to the Throne by Robin Maxwell, I’ve been devouring as much of the genre as I can, and trying to expand beyond the typical ‘royal’ books that seem to dominate the shelves. I’ve always had a passion for historical…

This is a piece we wrote last year for Ross Wittenham‘s fantastic blog, History Mine – please go and check it out for gems such as Anne Boleyn is my Spirit Animal and Night at the (British) Museum: fact and fantasy! ‘Just because you have a slick job in the city today doesn’t mean you would’ve been a high flyer…

If it wasn’t for Historical Honey’s #SecretBookClub, I would never have discovered this gem of a book. For, you see, I’m an armchair historian who is very firmly comfortable with a few different eras, but WWII is not usually one of them. Enter The Spy Who Loved, a biography of Christine Granville, AKA Krystyna Skarbek….

This is the story of Peter Robinson and Dorrie Harris, taken from a collection of love letters sent during Wartime, compiled into a beautiful collection by Alastaur Massie and Frances Parton, in association with the National Army Museum.   The following is an extract from ‘Wives and Sweethearts’, page 72-14. The British war effort in the First World…

Don’t be misled by the tightly pulled hair and the unsmiling visage of Lady Mary Anne Barker. Beneath that demure Victorian façade beat a heart as wild and courageous as any Rider Haggard hero. Lady Barker travelled the world during her lifetime, from her native Jamaica to India, Australia, Trinidad, Madagascar and New Zealand and…

I was first introduced to the master of epic storytelling four years ago…however, it took me a whole year to actually pick up the recommended read; ‘The Pillars of The Earth’. Why did I wait so long I hear you ask? Well, to be honest, I wasn’t convinced that the building of a medieval church was something I wanted to commit…

Have you ever visited a museum, looked at the people who work there and thought “how have they got to work in such an amazing place”? If you didn’t have the courage to ask them how, then this is the article for you! I decided to do the groundwork, and asked my friends and colleagues about…

Sure, you might have a brother who is captain of the football team. Or even a sister who thinks she’s the next Adele. But how about having not one, not two, but THREE sisters who were all queens? Not prom queens. Not dancing queens. I mean crown wearing, butt kicking, cloak and dagger queens. Beatrice…

Imagine you are a traveller in Jane Austen’s day. Unless you own a carriage, you’ll travel by stage- or mail-coach, post-chaise or hired horse, breaking your journey where necessary at an inn. A busy coaching inn is never quiet; doors open and slam shut, bells ring (to summon service), and guests are constantly coming and…

It’s not every day that an undiscovered portrait of William Shakespeare is brought to your attention.  But having spent many an hour scrutinising images of Shakespeare for my book, Who Killed William Shakespeare? (The History Press, 2013) I was very excited to be contacted about a painting which might be an authentic portrait of the Bard. The…