(Post first published on The History Girls blogspot.) Last month, my post looked at various aspects of food and eating in the 14th century, the period of my current fiction series, using a few descriptions from my novels as a shortcut to the evidence I have gleaned over my relatively brief time as an historical novelist. …
Tag: 14th century
Medieval food, feast and famine
In my novels of 14th century England, I try to include a good deal of description of medieval daily life. Clothing, housing, furniture and furnishings, artefacts and tools, working practices, medical practices and, of course, food, can all help to place characters in context, differentiate the life styles of people of diverse stations, and bring …
Inspirational homes (2)
“Inspirational homes” might suggest a strapline blazoned across the front of a glossy décor magazine. But the sort of inspiration I’m talking about here is where real-life ancient buildings “inspire” me in my descriptions of the homes of the characters in my novels, which are set in 14th century southern England. Last month, I discussed …
Inspirational homes (1)
“Inspirational homes” might put you in mind of a strapline blazoned across the front of a glossy interior décor magazine, but that’s not the sort of inspiration I’m going to talk about. In this post, and my next two, I thought I’d reveal a little about the real-life buildings that “inspire” me as I write …
Ancient or modern? Language in historical fiction
This post was first published on the History Girls back in December 2018. It is actually a combination of posts that I first wrote back in 2016, when I was starting out on my journey both as a blogger and as a published author. The topic I discuss here, the use of language in historical fiction, …
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“As thou art, so once was I”
This post was first published on the History Girls back in November. Its rather gloomy tone well suited the dark days of November, and is perhaps less appropriate now that the days are lengthening and bright daffodils are blooming everywhere! Nonetheless, I offer you the story of “The three living and the three dead”... <> I’ve been …
Σηκωματα, mensa ponderaria, mesures à grains…
This piece was first posted on The History Girls blog in August 2018. For today’s post, I thought I would again write about something different from my usual histories of the Meon Valley. We spend some time every year – and have done for the past thirty or so years – in south-east France, in the …
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