Witchland: A Tale of Witch Hunting and War in Seventeenth-Century Britain, by Marion Gibson

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

If the witchfinders came to your town, who would you have believed 

– and what would you have done?

In the 1640s, Britain was swept up in a brutal witch hunt. The economic uncertainty and religious extremism fuelled by the English Civil War created a climate of fear. Neighbours turned on each other. Women and the poor were especially vulnerable, scapegoated by the powerful looking for someone to blame. In the resulting hysteria – which would, just a few decades later, provide a handbook for the Salem trials – hundreds of innocent people were killed.

Moving from village to village in Scotland and England, Professor Marion Gibson reveals how accusations grew out of everyday tensions – poverty, grief, and resentment – and how entire communities took part in persecuting the vulnerable. Drawing on newly uncovered historical records, this gripping account restores the voices of those accused of witchcraft. Vivid and intimate, Witchland shows that these were ordinary people with extraordinary stories, largely forgotten by history, caught up in suspicion and moral panic.

Witchland is a captivating story of fanaticism, inequality and the violence that surfaces during times of political upheaval.

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About the Author

Marion Gibson became interested in stories of magic and witchcraft when she read news accounts of witch trials in Elizabethan England. She says,  'I realised that whilst I didn't believe the accused people had been doing actual magic, I had no good explanation of why they would confess. What was going on here? What stories were they telling us about their lives? From this came my lifelong interest in storytelling about witches.' Find out more at https://mariongibson.co.uk/ and find Marion on Instagram and X @witchesetc

Historical Fiction Spotlight: A Hunt for Justice: A historical mystery of murder, superstition and hidden family crimes (The Justice Belstrang Mysteries Book 2) by John Pilkington

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

England, 1617. Susanna Cobbett, teenage daughter of a powerful Worcester landowner, is found dead in a gloomy woodland pond which has an evil reputation as the Witching Pool. 

The girl is said to have drowned herself, driven to madness by local widow Agnes Mason, who is arrested on a charge of witchcraft. If found guilty, she will hang at the next Assizes.

But Justice Belstrang, shrewd ex-magistrate and sceptic, does not believe a word of it. And when Agnes's family beg him to help, he finds himself caught up in an ever-darkening mystery.

With the help of his friend and fellow sceptic Doctor Boyd, Belstrang unravels the terrible crimes that have lain hidden behind the doors of the great manor of Ebbfield.

Belstrang must confront and apprehend his suspect - and risk his own life in the attempt.

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About the Author

A writer for over forty years, John Pilkington has written plays for radio and theatre, television scripts for the BBC and numerous historical novels set in the Tudor and Stuart eras. They include the popular Thomas the Falconer series, now being reissued by Boldwood Books, the Martin Marbeck Mysteries featuring a government spy or 'intelligencer' (described by Booklist as 'a seventeenth century James Bond') and the Justice Belstrang Mysteries, also to be republished by Boldwood. Born in the north-west of England, he now lives in a Devon village with his partner, and has a son who is a psychologist and musician. Learn more by visiting his website at www.johnpilkington.co.uk or find him on Twitter @_JohnPilkington and Bluesky @johnpilkington.bsky.social‬

Blog Tour Spotlight: One More Hour of Daylight, by C.M. Gray

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

On the first day of World War II, a young man makes a promise—one that will shape every choice he makes for the next four years.

Essex. September 1939: A wounded German pilot drops from a clear autumn sky into a quiet English field. Seventeen-year-old Derrick finds him—broken and feverish. Not an enemy. Just a young man asking for one small mercy before everything ends.

One more hour of daylight. That is all I ask. A chance to breathe free air before whatever comes next. Derrick gives him until morning. When the stretcher comes, the pilot’s last words strike Derrick like a blow he will never stop feeling.

Scotland. France. Germany. 1941–1943: In the mountains of Scotland, they teach him how to kill, how to lie, and how to endure things that break most men. Then they give him a new name, put him on a plane, and drop him into the dark.

As an SOE operative deep inside occupied Europe, Derrick Sedgley lives on false papers, borrowed names, and nerves worn to nothing by years in the shadows. He moves agents to safety, builds escape routes, and stays one breath ahead of the Gestapo.

Then a mission collapses—and everything changes. Forced to run, Derrick finds himself moving through the most dangerous corners of occupied Europe alongside someone whose connection to his past he cannot yet see. As safe houses fall, loyalties fracture, and the frozen passes of the Pyrenees rise ahead like the edge of the world, Derrick begins to understand something.

The choice he made in an Essex field on the first day of the war has been leading him here all along. Some debts cannot be paid. Some can only be carried. And some—if you are brave enough, and fortunate enough—can finally be laid to rest.

From the quiet fields of Essex to the mountains of Scotland, from the dangerous streets of Lyon to the shadows of wartime Hamburg and the high passes of the Pyrenees, One More Hour of Daylight is an unforgettable story of courage, guilt and redemption—of ordinary people forced to make impossible choices in extraordinary times.

Some promises can survive a war. Some people can too. 

Praise for One More Hour of Daylight:

"A beautifully written book with a perfect pace that kept me reading

from start to finish." ~ Bookcollector, Amazon 5* Review

"A confident, carefully crafted novel that handles its subject matter with restraint, earning the weight it carries." ~ Indie Library, Goodreads 5* Review

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About the Author

C.M. Gray's first book, The Flight of the Griffin, was longlisted in the 2015 Times Chicken House Writing Competition. Shadowland, the first book in the Pendragon Saga, has so far received over 900 five-star reviews on Amazon. These things still genuinely astonish him, and he is deeply grateful for every one of them. Most of his previous work has been fantasy: either pure fantasy or historical fantasy, the kind of writing where druids turn up uninvited and one of your main characters develops an unsettling affinity with wolves before you have quite decided what sort of book you are writing. Shadowland began with every intention of staying grounded in historical reality, the story of Uther Pendragon. It did not. It has turned out to be a popular book, so he does not complain. C.M. Gray is now happily settled just outside Barcelona with his wife and partner in life, Adriana.

Historical Fiction Spotlight: Da Vinci’s Masterstroke, by Lorraine Amrani

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

When the guns fell silent in 1945, one man uncovered a secret the world was never meant to see.

Special Officer Max Page-Hamilton – art historian, British officer, and one of the famed Monuments Men – stumbled upon Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring’s looted treasure trove in the final days of the war. Hidden behind the stolen Mona Lisa lay a sealed envelope bearing Göring’s personal wax seal… and inside it, a revelation capable of shaking the foundations of art history. Papers penned by Leonardo da Vinci himself, words so explosive that Max locked them away, swearing never to unleash their consequences on a fragile postwar world.

Decades later, his granddaughter inherits not only his legacy, but the burden of truth he dared not reveal.

Now, as global tensions simmer and the art world stands at a precipice, she steps into the spotlight he avoided. What Leonardo wrote in the 16th century was no ordinary treatise – It was a masterstroke of genius, a confession, and a key. A secret capable of re-drawing the line between myth and history, power and obsession, beauty and deceit.

From the salons of occupied Paris to the shadowy corridors of the contemporary art market, Da Vinci’s Masterstroke weaves together wartime intrigue, artistic passion, and a mystery that transcends centuries. Rich with historical detail, driven by emotion, and brimming with suspense, Lorraine Amrani crafts a thriller for art lovers and truth seekers alike, a story where every masterpiece hides a motive, and every revelation comes at a price.

What if the world’s most celebrated painting was never the real story? Open the envelope. Follow the clues. Discover the secret that could turn the art world upside down.

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About the Author

Lorraine Amrani was born and raised in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and Queens, and was fortunate to have had many opportunities to develop and extend her range of interests, inspired by her historical surroundings. Lorraine spent time working in the Palace of Westminster for a prominent cabinet minister. Following this, Lorraine trained as a nutritionist but her growing passion with art and creativity led to three years studying the History of Art in Greenwich, whilst actively pursuing her career as an artist, first with drawings, but quickly embracing Oil Painting as her preferred medium.  Since then, her artwork has been featured in many exhibitions, publications and prominent offices, and in 1995 was honoured to receive a commission to paint the portrait of Wilhelm Roentgen, the inventor of x-ray to celebrate its hundredth-year anniversary. Lorraine continued to broaden her creative passions. She found herself in the London studio of candle-maker to the king, to learn the age-old artisan craft of traditional candle-making, and soon came to understand that producing candles were not for the faint-hearted, due to the unpredictable nature of the molecules when trying to create a distinctive perfume. But finally, a successful brand emerged. More recently, Lorraine has taken advantage of Britain’s world class museums, galleries and exhibitions to indulge her imagination as she examined in forensic detail the lives of the world’s most celebrated artists. It was this, that sparked a creative ambition that persisted until finally sitting down to write her first work of fiction, an art thriller. Da Vinci's Masterstroke was the result. When Lorraine is not working on new creative ventures, she has started to research and collect artefacts from the ancient world. Find out more at https://lorraineamrani.com/ and follow Lorraine on Instagram and X at @Amraniframe

Book Launch Spotlight: The Women Who Clothed the Stuart Queens: Gender and Work in the Royal Wardrobe and the Fashion Marketplace by Sarah A. Bendall

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

This study explores for the first time the changing professions and roles of the women who worked to clothe six Stuart queens between 1603 and 1714: Anna of Denmark, Henrietta Maria, Catherine of Braganza, Mary of Modena, Queen Mary II and Queen Anne.

Queen Anne of Great Britain by Michael Dahl, typically dated to around 1702

Beautifully illustrated in full colour throughout, and using a wide range of written, visual and material sources, this book explores how changing patterns of work and consumption saw women become key producers, retailers and consumers of fashion during the 17th century, and illuminates the strong connections between the royal courts and London's fashion marketplace.

From royal wardrobes, workrooms and laundries to workshops and retail premises in London's bustling streets, Sarah A. Bendall highlights the integral role that women of multiple backgrounds played in the creation and maintenance of elite dress. The royal accounts show that this work was facilitated by migration, global trade, familial networks and changing guild structures, and that the patronage of queens and elite women was integral to supporting and promoting women's rise in the fashion trades as celebrated silkwomen, tirewoman, milliners and mantua makers.

The Women Who Clothed the Stuart Queens challenges understandings of women's work in the court, the household and the fashion marketplace, and shows how clothing played a key role in women's economic participation in 17th and 18th-century England more broadly. It offers fascinating insights for all those interested in the history of women and gender, fashion, material culture and consumption, and, of course, to all those interested in Stuart history.

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About the Author

Sarah A. Bendall FRHistS is an historian of fashion, material culture and women. Her work focuses on the production, trade and consumption of global commodities and fashionable consumer goods, particularly during the long 17th century. She also has expertise in historical dress recreation methodologies. She is a Senior Lecturer at ACU and was appointed as a fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2023. Her work has been profiled in several media outlets including the Australian Financial Review, The Conversation and Daily Mail Online. She regularly appears as an historical fashion expert on Australian radio. Find out more at https://sarahabendall.com/ and find Sarah on Instagram, Twitter/X and Bluesly @sarahabendall.bsky.social

Historical Fiction Spotlight: Outlaw Knight (III): Romanslayer by David Pilling

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

The Roman Empire is shattered. Constantinople has fallen, and the armies of the Fourth Crusade march unchecked. Nothing seems able to halt their advance.

AD 1205. Philip of Cognac—bastard son of Richard the Lionheart—stands in the path of disaster. The Roman armies are scattered and broken. From the crumbling refuge of Nicaea, Philip and Theodore Laskaris struggle to rebuild an empire on the brink.

Sent on a perilous mission, Philip sails west to seek alliance with Bulgaria. Its ruler, Tsar Kaloyan—feared as the Romanslayer—is a ruthless warlord who despises the Romans. To save the empire, Philip must persuade him to set aside old hatreds before the crusaders strike the final blow.

Together, the fallen kingdoms may stand. Divided, 

they will be destroyed.

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About the Author

David Pilling is a writer and researcher, addicted to history for as long as he can remember. The medieval era has always held a fascination for him, perhaps because he spent much of his childhood exploring the misted ruins of castles in Wales. David also has a keen interest in the Byzantine Empire, the post-Roman period in Britain and the British & Irish Civil Wars. Follow David on Facebook, Twitter @RobeH2 and on Bluesky @robeh1979.bsky.social

New Book Launch: Jane Seymour: Patronage, Material Culture and Image Crafting (Lives of Royal Women) by Elizabeth Norton

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII, was queen of England for only seventeen months, something which has accounted for the little interest shown in her by historians. In her lifetime, however, she was a significant political figure, while her legacy and memorialization extended beyond her early death following childbirth in October 1537.

Jane Seymour: Patronage, Material Culture and Image Crafting is the first full length academic study of Jane’s life and queenship. Using extensive archival research, it pulls together all of the surviving information to provide both a biographical and a thematic account. 

Chapters include a consideration of Jane’s queenship and political role, her material cultural environment, her household, her financial position and her religion, before also considering her afterlife and attempts to commemorate her both officially and unofficially. In doing so, the book banishes many myths that have grown up around the queen, most notably ideas of her passivity and powerlessness and also often repeated (but unsubstantiated) claims of her conservative religious outlook. This book presents a picture of Jane as an active and highly political queen consort.

The book is a valuable resource for students and established scholars since it adds considerably to knowledge of the queen and re-inserts her into the heart of the dynasty, while also drawing pertinent conclusions on sixteenth-century queenship.

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About the Author

Dr Elizabeth Norton lives in Kingston upon Thames, near Hampton Court Palace, with her husband and two sons. As well as her books she is carrying out academic research at King's College, London into the Blount family of Shropshire, contributing journal articles and giving papers at academic conferences and has appeared as an expert on television, including programmes for Sky Arts and the National Geographic channel.  Find out more as her website http://elizabethnorton.co.uk/ and find her on Twitter @ENortonHistory and Bluesky ‪@enortonhistory.bsky.social‬