Spiced with Dickens's wit and eye for detail, this is a tautly plotted, dazzling historical thriller. Set before and during the French Revolution, it turns on a French nobleman who repudiate... read more
The Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins descends on seventeen-century Essex, where he finds himself oddly fascinated by a 'peculiar' young woman. A historical novel with real bite, which rec... read more
Published in 1954, STW's wonderful last novel depicts an early Victorian merchant family on the Norfolk coast, harried by the good intentions of its flawed paterfamilias. Her coruscating int... read more
Written in the form of a letter to Marcus Aurelius, this timeless novel reimagines the Roman emperor Hadrian, looking back on his life. The prose is exquisite, the musings on art and death, ... read more
Against the backdrop of WW2 and its aftermath, a young Italian woman marries and moves to her husband's village in the south. Ginzburg's characteristically limpid prose harbours may details ... read more
A novel based on letters from the 1930s between the pianist Vladimir Horowitz and a student, revealing a gay relationship that remained secret from everyone including VH's wife (Toscanini's ... read more
The Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins descends on seventeen-century Essex, where he finds himself oddly fascinated by a 'peculiar' young woman. A historical novel with real bite, which rec... read more
This excellent author has set his new novel in Roman Britain: a tribal princess given away as part of a peace treaty flees through Wales with her Roman lover.
Spiced with Dickens's wit and eye for detail, this is a tautly plotted, dazzling historical thriller. Set before and during the French Revolution, it turns on a French nobleman who repudiate... read more
A vivid novel about Edith Somerville, co-author of the Irish R.M., set against the backdrop of burnings, politics and lawlessness of Ireland in the early 1920s.
The discovery in 1799 of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations and romance. Atmospheric historical fiction with a delightful heroine.
Set in 1742, this is a rollicking reworking of Moonfleet in which a wild, cross-dressing teenage girl joins a bloodthirsty gang of smugglers to avenge her father's murder.
A Crimean War hero's divorce & remarriage causes two lines of descendants, who meet up again one summer in Devon in the 1970s. Ructions ensue. Shrewdly observed and compelling.
In a remote Austrian valley during WW1, a woman tries to provide for her family after her husband is drafted into the army. Based on the author's own family history. Powerful, succinct.
This love story tacks between an English boarding school and the Western Front. A moving historical debut; compelling and unexpectedly funny (for the Somme).