The following illustrations show what was worn by Maiden and the Unicorn heroine, Margery Huddlestone.

Some years ago one of my husband’s family in England inherited an escritoire, which is a writing desk with a sloping lift up lid, rather like the old school desks. It originally came from the family home in Teignmouth, Devon.    However, for anyone who loves the novels of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, it was the contents of the escritoire that were so exciting.    So here with the kind permission of their owner…

Historical Research for new writers Whether you are writing a historical novel or historical romance (or, like me, something between the two), getting the background and atmosphere right makes it more interesting for your readers and adds to your integrity as an author. However, some aspiring novelists find the prospect of research extremely daunting.   With the internet these days, there is a vast field of information you can harvest and it’s a matter of sifting…

Contents:If you are a new writer, you might find it worthwhile to browse through some of these lists before you send off a manuscript. The checklists are based on some of the handouts that I’ve given out over the years at historical novel workshops but they include points that are hopefully useful to writers in any genre. Some points may be repeated under more than one heading. These lists are just scratching the surface of…

Naming your English Characters If you read a lot of history, it's very jarring to find a fictional character in a historical novel given a name that is utterly inappropriate for the time and place, for instance, a German name for a medieval English peasant, or an English nobleman's title derived from an occupation instead of a place name. John, Duke of Marlbourough is correct,  but a fictional name like Thomas, Duke of Cooper is wrong.…

An earlier version of this list was handed out as part of my workshop 'Breathing Life into History', presented at the New York Conference of RWA in July 2003.

Just a sampleHow long is a piece of string? So many excellent history books abound, not to mention journals that I have only been able to select a few. There is an excellent series of biographies of English monarchs published by Methuen and Thames & Hudson. Sutton Publishing (Stroud, Gloucs.,UK) publishes many UK local histories and medieval topics. The journals of the Richard III and Jane Austen Societies contain some excellent source material.