I’m always on the hunt for corset wearing tips on behalf of my tomboy heroine Laurette. Or rather stays, given she lives in 1653. So who better to ask than an experienced period drama extra? I was lucky enough to pin down my friend model, TV and film extra Deborah Hirzel for a chat. Deborah’s […]
“What would Elizabeth Bennet have eaten?” should not really be a question dwelt upon by an historical fiction author writing about the 17th century. However Elizabeth Bennet is my spirit animal. I’m a huge Jane Austen fan. When I head to La Muse Writers Retreat in France the DVD of Pride and Prejudice always accompanies […]
Review: Invisible Agents: Women and Espionage in Seventeenth-Century Britain by Dr Nadine Akkerman Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A book on the real-life equivalents of my novel’s Royalist she-spy is Christmas come early. When I saw that even the dedication was written in code, I knew I was in for a treat. In safe hands The Interregnum – […]
There is nothing like a first-hand account to get an historical novelist excited. For me, the secret papers of John Thurloe, Oliver Cromwell’s spymaster, have been a treasure trove. Hidden until the beginning of the 18th century, workmen only came across them when they dismantled a false ceiling in his former chambers at Lincoln’s Inn, London. In my […]
Disguise is an essential tool in espionage. However I still remember the roar of laughter from fellow cinema goers when Tom Cruise peeled off his latex face in Mission: Really Impossible – No We Mean It This Time. Given I’m writing a book about seventeenth century spies, latex is off the menu. I did find some absolute gems though […]