The London I write about in my mysteries is never the London you can see today. Not my Crispin Guest Medieval Noir London set in the fourteenth century. Nor my Tudor London set during the reign of Henry VIII in the early sixteenth century for my King’s Fool Mysteries. Structures and city walls are long … Read more
The week before April 5th this year is Passion Week and that is the last stretches of the Triduum, the three days prior to the Feast of the Resurrection or Easter, which includes Holy Thursday, commemorating the institution of the Eucharist; Good Friday, the day Jesus died; and Saturday, the Easter Vigil, the mass where … Read more
Welcome to the first penitential season of the year. It was Shrove Tuesday yesterday and today is Ash Wednesday. “Shrove” is past tense for “shrive,” an archaic term “to confess.” It was a day to be absolved, to prepare for the penitential season of Lent ahead. This day is more recently known as “Fat Tuesday” because … Read more
Sometimes you come across something that peaks your interest. And the bobbin hat is certainly one of them. I was watching an episode of BBC’s The Repair Shop in which everyday British people bring in family heirlooms that are treasured by them; a metal toy car from when they were a kid, a doll received … Read more
Sometimes, I really agonize over what name I will give a character. Two factors are involved, especially in my historicals but it also counts for contemporary stories regionally; Is the name appropriate to the era, and for the country (England) or region in any contemporary novel set in the United States I might be writing … Read more
Whenever there are historical things about, there are people who know nothing but myths, people who THINK they know, and people – like me – who have actually researched it. Henry was a difficult man to parse. There is the outer Henry, the one most of us see in history books or depicted for good … Read more
In my fourth King’s Fool Mysteries, DEVIL’S GAMBIT, Henry VIII weds his fourth wife, the German gentlewoman Anne of Cleves. It would have been an arduous journey to come to England, meet the king to see if he liked her, to be accepted…or sent back in disgrace. Instead, Henry’s court painter, Hans Holbein the Younger, … Read more
Yes, the iconic fast food of fried and battered fish served with hot chips (or what we would call French fries) served wrapped in newspaper, is a symbol of Great Britain. It excluded from rationing during WWI and WWII as it was a universal favorite and in order to keep up morale it was given … Read more
Back in the days when I was a kid in school, I was more or less the token Jew. So every year I was asked by grade school teachers to give a presentation of the meaning of Hanukkah. And I was only too glad to do it, because I was a little weary of the … Read more
In the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods, mashers (lecherous and predatory men…and yes, we still have them. Just cast your gaze towards the White House) were often defeated by the woman’s last weapon of resort; the hat pin. These pins were used to…well, pin a hat to her hair. No chin straps for these … Read more