York House: a grand house on the Thames
This is York House, the town hall in Twickenham It has a very French look to it, doesn't it? I'd guessed it was built in the 19th century and much of its appearance now dates back to the second half of the 19th century when it was remodelled by the Duc d’Orleans after...
2025: Looking forward
On New Year’s Eve I wrote about the year gone by, but now, with Twelfth Night almost on us, it’s time to look to the future. I’ve been talking a bit lately about the latest Burke book, Burke and the War of 1812. It’s set, as you’d expect, in the war with the USA,...
Reasons to be cheerful
It’s a time of year for looking back and looking forward. My son spent Thanksgiving with his in-laws who lived a while in the States and who take the holiday very seriously. Everyone had to say what they gave thanks for that year. As a buttoned-up Brit, I felt this...
Merry Christmas!
This time next week Christmas will have come and gone, though our celebrations, like many other people's, will still be in full flow. This will be my last blog post of the year so I wish you all a really lovely Christmas and I will see you in 2025. My Christmas...
Historical novels for Christmas
I've been using my blog recently to suggest that you might like to consider buying some of my books as Xmas gifts. This week, I thought I'd take the opportunity to feature some other historical novelists whose books you might enjoy. Penny Hampson Penny is one of the...
Tis the Season to Buy More Books
They say that if you want to make God laugh, you should tell him your plans. I had some vague plans about using November blog posts to try to sell the odd book. Even with my attempts to cut back on blogging, I still post something almost every week and most of them...
A bit of personal news
I'm taking a break from writing about history or books this week to return to something more personal. Decades of use and abuse have resulted in me wearing out my elbow joint. I used to think that the elbow was one of the less important joints (and I am...
Apologies
I had my elbow replaced on Tuesday. Yes, I didn't know you could do that either. I was planning a piece about the wonders of the NHS but it turns out that after surgery you do a lot of falling asleep, so it's going to have to wait for next week. Let's meet up then.
Christmas at Seven Dials
There's no escaping Christmas now. The Christmas advertisements are out, the shops are full of Xmas products and the Christmas lights are everywhere. Everywhere including Seven Dials, where I was out last night to dance tango and stopped on my way to take this photo....
Stuff to buy and (some) stuff to get for free
I’ve finally got to the end of the first draft of Burke and the War of 1812. I usually take the unfashionable approach of editing as I go, so there's not a huge gap between finishing my first draft and having something that I feel ready to show to people, but this one...