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Spotlight on Reginald McKenna (1863-1943): The Man who Introduced the Cat and Mouse Act
Reginald McKenna, the man who introduced the infamous “Cat and Mouse Act”, was Home Secretary from 1911 to 1915. Born into a Catholic family in London, he later converted to …
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The Bristol Boys: The Bare Knuckle Champions and The Hatchet Inn
The Hatchet Inn on Frogmore Street in Bristol is all that remains of a row of seventeenth-century timbered houses dating back to 1606 – making it one of the city’s …
Read MoreFiction and the Historical Female
I’m delighted to welcome Helen Hollick, author of the fabulous Sea Witch Voyages series (pirates! white witches! adventure on the high seas!) onto the blog today. Helen discusses how she …
Read MoreThe Suffragettes could not be pacifists at any price
In 1913 and 1914 a bomb was found at the Bank of England in London. Other incendiary devices discovered in the capital included one with “Votes for Women” labels on …
Read MoreWriting Tough Heroines in a Different Way
Author Photo Rebecca Millar Photography I’m delighted to welcome self-confessed ‘Roman Nut’ Alison Morton to my blog today. Alison is the author of the stunning Roma Nova series – you …
Read MoreDickens and Chickens
On 17 April 1860, in fields near Farnborough, Charles Dickens joined an audience amongst whom were the Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, as well as a …
Read MoreInspiration on the Road
I’m delighted to welcome Amy Morse as my guest blogger today… Amy Morse is an Author + entrepreneur = Authorpreneur. She writes fiction as Amy C Fitzjohn and has …
Read MoreSpotlight on…Mrs Humphry Ward (1851 – 1920)
In 1915 the best-selling novelist Mrs Mary Humphrey Ward published Delia Blanchflower. In many ways it’s typical romantic fare: a stern guardian to a wilful young heiress must save her …
Read MoreSuffragette – and a chance to win The Bristol Suffragettes + film goodies!
I was delighted to be at Bristol Cineworld cinema in Hengrove for the screening of Suffragette on Monday 12 October 2015, when the film went on general release, to give …
Read MoreCribb’s Parlour: Tom Cribb
I’m an inveterate English Heritage blue-plaque spotter – and if I’d missed this one in Panton Street, Haymarket, London, the pub sign would have been enough to tell me that …
Read MoreSpotlight on…Dorothy Pethick (1881-1970)
When Winston Churchill came to Bristol in 1909, a number of women came to the city to help Bristol organiser Annie Kenney organise protests during his visit. Actions included window …
Read MoreThe Royale, Bush Theatre, London
When men campaigning for parliamentary reform in the eighteenth century planned to hold public meetings in defiance of government attempts to silence them, they were warned that they would be …
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