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Naughty Sophia
Well! I’ve just discovered that Naughty Sophia was written by Winifred Mary Letts, who was born on 10 February 1882 in Broughton, Salford, and died in 1972! A word to the wise – never put Naughty Sophia into a search engine without adding ‘children’s story’ first… But, several pages of Italian dominatrices later, I’ve found the book!…
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Write Practice
At some point in my childhood I announced that I wanted to be a writer. I usually say I was seven years old, but this may be apocryphal – the age to which defining moments are regularly attributed. However, I do remember completing some four-line stanzas about fairies, and announcing my intention to my mother.…
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From Court to Cloister
From Court to Cloister After nine years of research there is one moment that stands out to me, among all the remarkable events of the Wars of the Roses. The event I am talking about took place in October 1459, at the Battle of Ludlow, which is also known as the Battle of Ludford Bridge.…
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Pen versus Sword: how the first Tudor king rewrote history
Pen versus Sword: how the first Tudor king rewrote history. Henry Tudor’s victory at the Battle of Bosworth changed history in more ways than one. In a reign of 24 years Henry VII changed the social and economic structure of this country. He divided and undermined the powers of the nobility, promoting men of ability…
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Reading the Market
Obviously, people read for different reasons; to switch off, to turn on, to be informed about the world they live in or to escape from it; for research or for relaxation. Various studies into reading fiction have investigated this, though none of them comprehensively. In 2005 the British Marketing Council conducted a survey into…
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Accession Video
A short video about “Accession”.
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What I’m Reading Now
Of all the books that I currently have on my bedside table (and it is a considerable pile) the most unusual is probably In Heaven’s River, by Julian Daizan Roshi and Sumiko Hayashi. It is a tribute to the life of Enku, a mountain monk or yamabushi who lived in Japan in the 17th century,…
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Hilary or Florence?
Two nights ago I attended a wonderful reading by Hilary Mantel at MMU. She was magnificent – wise, witty and engaging. She read from two brilliant stories and answered questions put to her by the audience and by the also brilliant Dr Eileen Pollard, who deserves much praise for arranging this event. Mantel said so…
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Thinking Big
Rebellion, the sequel of Succession is out this week. This has led me to consider what I might say about it, if asked. Obviously I might not be asked. but this, in any case, is what I would say… The fiction that has most impressed me in the past has had a certain quality that I…
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The end is nigh!
It has been more than eight years since I started to write Succession and its sequels. Eight years and four months since I looked up at the angels in the ceiling of Manchester Cathedral and wondered who Margaret Beaufort was. Margaret Beaufort, I should say, is thought to have donated them. So much has happened…