…Wally party (or, like I did, rushed around like a headless chicken before Halloween) I can provide the following tips: Red striped Breton-style tops are very easy to come by,…

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…keeping true to the film. I thought they might have gone with the Stephen King’s original vision for Red and casted a red-headed Irishman in the role (the play did…

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…terrified of time.   Margherita, trapped in a doorless tower and burdened by tangles of her red-gold hair, must find a way to escape.   Three women, three lives, three…

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…in love. But war is a brutal thing, and there is a terrible price that Iris has to pay – a price that will echo down the generations. Recommend This:…

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…by how fast I can type. Worcester Cathedral © Prashant Ram https://www.flickr.com/photos/stupid_dream/ When it comes to writing Bradecote and Catchpoll’s twelfth century world, I am not attempting to give a…

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‘Are your twins normal?’ Mrs Pullein-Thompson was asked. ‘Good God, I hope not,’ she retorted.   The twins were Diana and Christine who, with their elder sister, Josephine, wrote more…

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…Boxers, the three escort the missionary and his family to the safety of Peking. En route, the party is attacked by the red–bannered Boxers and the missionary is killed. The…

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September 1143. Sergeant Catchpoll hopes a fire at a Worcester silversmith’s is just an accident, but when there is a second fire, and a charred corpse is discovered, he has…

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…of which I use without even knowing their real meaning. In my investigations I came across the website www.phrases.org.uk, which is full of intriguing explanations for everyday sayings. For example,…

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…must make use of their expertise to help solve the case. But the crime scene is not confined to one room. In their efforts to track down the Lady’s killer,…

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DCI Hannah Scarlett is determined to uncover the truth behind Emily Friend’s mysterious drowning in the Serpent’s Pool. Though the evidence at the time did not rule out suicide, why…

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Last month saw the publication of a new collection of fairy tales: The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth. But considering they were…

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…24th May (more of that here). And, of course, there are plenty (over 150!) of museums and galleries in East London that participate in the Time Out First Thursdays. This…

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A while ago now, I wrote a post introducing The Literary Gift Company, whose innovative book-related products are guaranteed to make any book lover smile. Well, now I have inevitably…

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I am approaching a very special time in every girl’s life – the moment she purchases her first bookcase. My book collection has been very neatly stacked in my grandmother’s…

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Did any one else read Sophie’s blog post last week and agree that poetry tends to fall off the average reader’s radar (and that we should probably make more effort…

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You know you’ve made it when you’ve been Google Doodled. On Bank Holiday Monday, Google tipped their hat in the direction of Charlotte Brontë by dedicating that day’s (her birthday)…

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While all around us people are losing their jobs or finding first-time employment an almost impossible undertaking, you have to applaud the gaddy entrepreneurs. Those who seize an idea (often…

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1903. The British Empire has reached its probable apogee: so much of the world map is coloured red and the sun never set on its boundaries. But Lord Curzon, the…

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…than price) differentiating the two. However, if the physical book was beautifully packaged (like many hardbacks are) then it’s a whole other story. Suddenly the difference between that gorgeous physical…

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…with ad boxes for bridal hair, hen party ideas and rings. I understand that FB isn’t slow on the uptake when new parents use the site to share pictures of…

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