Author of Historical Fiction and Mysteries
The Whale: A Love Story is a fictionalized take on a question that has puzzled literary scholars for more than 150 years. Was the short, intense friendship between two American writers Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne simply a meeting of minds, or something more and - given the times - forbidden? The two first met... Continue Reading →
This past weekend, my favorite Boston event took place in Copley Square, namely the 10th annual Boston Book Festival. It brought together authors, writers, speakers, journalists, and readers for a celebration of new books in a variety of genres, from adult and children's fiction to memoir to public affairs. Each year, it features debut authors... Continue Reading →
In the wake of World War II, orphaned London siblings Eliza and Rebecca must live with their Aunt Bess, the only other family survivor. But Aunt Bess is not a very affectionate woman, and she is also deep in gambling debts. Thus begins the gothic suspense novel Abigale Hall by Lauren Forry. One day the... Continue Reading →
Guest blog by Marilyn Pemberton In The Jewel Garden, Hannah, a fictional character, tells of her relationship with Mary De Morgan (1850-1907), a real-life Victorian writer. De Morgan came from an illustrious family: her father was an eminent mathematician and her mother a renowned spiritualist and social reformer. Her brother William made beautiful tiles, which... Continue Reading →
Anchoresses were medieval women who chose to pursue a particularly demanding form of monastic life, namely complete isolation from the world. Once enclosed, they would typically live out their lives in a small cell, servants delivering their food and the priest hearing their confession being the only people with whom they would have contact. So... Continue Reading →
March was Women’s History Month, and I made my website available to guest bloggers who write novels about history’s lesser-known women. I had a great response and ended up featuring four posts on topics spanning more than 400 years of history and both sides of the Atlantic. From Martin Luther’s wife in the 16th century... Continue Reading →
Guest blog by DM Denton In the mid-1990s, while organizing bookshelves, I happened upon my miniature copy of Agnes Grey, Anne Brontë’s debut novel. Flipping through it I stopped at Chapter 24, The Sands, set in Scarborough on the north-east Yorkshire coast. I was reminded of my visit there in March 1974, which took me... Continue Reading →
Guest post by Erika Mailman The House of Bellaver arose out of two things. One was learning that an early California governor, Governor Henry H. Markham, had vetoed suffrage after it passed the House and Assembly in 1893.* That fact boggled my mind because in California, suffrage didn't pass until 1911. It appeared like one... Continue Reading →
As Christmas 1843 approaches the weather is unseasonably warm and Charles Dickens's career has stalled. Martin Chuzzlewit's reception has been lukewarm and his publishers are hounding him for a new and marketable book, though he is suffering from an acute case of a writer's block. To make matters worse, his wife is about to throw... Continue Reading →
The year is 1645 and England has been mired in a civil war for 4 years; but as men are dying in prisons and in armed encounters, in the county of Suffolk a self-appointed witch hunter is unleashing terror of a different kind. Based on a true story, The Witchfinder’s Sister by Beth Underdown, tells... Continue Reading →
P.K. Adams 