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Category Archives: History

Tom Walsingham is back!

23 Thursday Feb 2023

Posted by la Clarina in Books, History, Stories

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Historical fiction, historical mystery, Preorder, Sapere Books, The Tom Walsingham Mysteries

Or very nearly: Death in Rheims, his third adventure, is up for preorder on Amazon, and will be available on 26 May! Continue reading →

Guest-posting at The Writing Desk

24 Thursday Nov 2022

Posted by la Clarina in Books, History, Stories

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A Treasonous Path, guest post, The Writing Desk, Tom Walsingham, Tony Riches

Tony Riches is the author of of a number of richly researched, wonderfully vivid historical novels about several remarkable Tudor figures (and a few not-Tudor ones). Continue reading →

Tom Walsingham’s Book 3 is out!

30 Sunday Oct 2022

Posted by la Clarina in Books, History, Stories

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Historical fiction, historical mystery, Sapere Books, Thomas Walsingham, Tudor fictiony

So here it is: A Treasonous Path, Tom’s second adventure in espionage and sleuthing, is out both as a Kindle ebook and a paperback! As usual, the lovely people at Sapere Books have done a great work: I love it all!

And what does Tom deal with, this time?

  • A mysterious informant from the French Embassy (mysterious as in “won’t tell us his  real name”…);
  • An awfully hot summer;
  • Murder, of course – and not just one;
  • A few temperamental Scots;
  • A traffic of forbidden books;
  • Fencing masters and eccentric philosophers – all of them from Italy, all of them of unknown trustworthiness;
  • A plot against the Queen;
  • An enigmatic woman;
  • His own family;
  • Fanatics from all over Europe;
  • Midnight visitors;
  • Grumbling underlings;
  • …

Are you curious yet? You can find A Treasonous Path – ebook or paperbachk – here.

 

A Treasonous Path… almost!

20 Thursday Oct 2022

Posted by la Clarina in Books, History, Stories

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historical mystery, historical novel, Preorder, publication, Sapere Books, Sir Francis Walsingham, The Tom Walsingham Mysteries

Tom gave a last, narrow-eyed frown at the letter’s signature — a false name, since no “Henry Fagot” resided with the French Ambassador, Monsieur de Castelnau at Salisbury Court. But then, the whole matter was a rigmarole: a mysterious informant writing his letters in bad French, and hiding them in an Italian fencing-master’s hat. Almost too fanciful to be true — and yet…

This was the third time, since returning from France late in May, that Tom had been summoned to the wood-panelled study, and set to read this fellow Fagot’s papers, and then made to unpick their meaning under his great cousin’s Sphinx-like scrutiny.

“So, Thomas?”

Tom took a good deep breath and straightened away from the windowsill. “So the French Ambassador’s servants are smuggling in Catholic books, but that is more an embarrassment than anything else,” he said — slow and considering. “Either this Henry Fagot is not very good at telling what is important, or he has a grudge against the Ambassador’s butler and cook…”

Publication day for Book Two of Tom Walsingham’s adventures in espionage and sleuthing is little more than a week away… Continue reading →

One Johnson, a player…

13 Thursday Oct 2022

Posted by la Clarina in History, Stories

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Douai Diaries, English College Reims, History, primary sources, Tom Walsingham Mysteries, William Allen

This one comes from the Douai Diaries – the rather miscellaneous manuscript books chronicling, mostly in Latin, the day-to-day life, struggles and correspondence of William Allen’s band of English Catholics exiled in France. Allen built an English college in Douai, first – and when he was thrown out of what was, back then, Hapsburg land, moved the whole establishment to Reims, where it remained from 1578 to 1593. There he continued to instruct and ordain Catholic priests to send back in England as missionaries. A good deal of martyrs, plotters and fanatics passed through the colleges of both Douai and Reims… Continue reading →

On Mikhail Gorbachev

01 Thursday Sep 2022

Posted by la Clarina in History

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History, Mikhail Gorbachev, nuclear war

What was your greatest fear as children, o Readers?

Mine, between the ages of six and twelve, was nuclear war. In the early Eighties the eventuality was a heavily discussed subject in the news and everywhere. Besides, a career officer father and a whole family very keen on international politics meant that I heard a lot of mealtime discussion of what the USSR and the States might do to each other over our heads. In addition there was a spate of fiction and nonfiction stories about it – and I had a knack for watching and reading what I should not. Oh, the nightmares I got out of watching The Day After! And I saw those Soviet leaders on the news, so hard-eyed and grim, and they rather looked like people who’d have little qualms in destroying the world… At one point I even wrote a letter** to the then General Secretary of PCUS Andropov,  explaining to him how bad it was, and could he please not bomb us? Yes well – but I must have been eight or nine. Continue reading →

Stamps

18 Thursday Aug 2022

Posted by la Clarina in History, Stories, Things

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Andrew Crumey, Donald Evans, make-believe, Pfitz, postage stamps, Stamp collecting

StampDo you have any particular liking for postage stamps, o Readers? I don’t, I must say.

My father was a stamp collector. When I was very young, he tried to share the hobby with me – and failed. All I remember are endless sessions sitting at a table covered in green felt, being scolded for breathing too hard on the silly little paper squares… Continue reading →

Tom Walsingham 3 – Draft 0

07 Thursday Jul 2022

Posted by la Clarina in History, Scribbling, Stories

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drafting, Historical fiction, plotting, research, Tom Walsingham Mysteries

Remember when, back in January, I told you that I was experimenting with the idea of a Draft 0 for A Treasonous Path, and I’d let you know how it worked for me? Well, it would seem it worked well enough, because I’m doing it again. Six months later, and I’m at work on Draft 0 of Tom’s third book – for now TW3. Continue reading →

Robin Blake’s Cragg & Fidelis

30 Thursday Jun 2022

Posted by la Clarina in Books, History, Stories

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Cragg & Fidelis, historical mysteries, Historical Novel Society, Robin Blake

I was going to say that I don’t quite remember when I read my first Cragg and Fidelis mystery… But of course, thanks to the archives of the Historical Novel Society I can tell precisely: it happened when I reviewed the fourth installment, Skin and Bones, back in 2016. Continue reading →

A story of time capsules

17 Friday Jun 2022

Posted by la Clarina in History, Stories

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Sir John Soane's Museum, time capsule

Ah, but I do love the Soane Museum!

They are doing works in Sir John’s drawing office, and they find a hollow space at the base of a column, containing three small objects that, judging by their combination, and the way they are arranged, look like a time capsule… Continue reading →

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