Blog | Lucienne Boyce

The Suffragettes could not be pacifists at any price

In 1913, and again in 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” …

Dickens 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 …

Spotlight 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 …

Cribb’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 …

Spotlight 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 …

The 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 …

To celebrate the release of the SilverWood Selection Box, Lucienne Boyce answers some “frequently asked questions” about how she came to write The Bristol Suffragettes… SilverWood Books have put together …

Spotlight On…Begbrook House, Frenchay, Bristol

On 11 November 1913, the head gardener at Begbrook House in Frenchay near Bristol discovered that the building was on fire. The house stood in its own wooded grounds, and …

Spotlight on Suffragette Florence Feek (1877 – 1940)

The latest Suffragette Spotlight On looks at the work of Worcestershire campaigner, Florence Feek… On 31 March 1909, thirty suffragettes attempted to get into the House of Commons to speak to Prime …

Harriette Wilson and John Murray: Surviving the Brutal Rejection

In July I wrote a blog about bad reviews and how they have always been an occupational hazard for writers. (July 2014, Dismal Trash: The Time-Honoured Art of the Bad …

Xena Warrior Princess v Patient Griselda: Feisty Heroines in Historical Fiction

I had a wonderful time at the Historical Novel Society Conference in London last weekend (5-7 September 2014). There were some great panels and workshops, and it was lovely to …

The gout sticks to me: two previously unknown letters by William Morris : Part 2

Last week on the blog I published the first part of an article about two previously unknown letters by William Morris. The article originally appeared in the William Morris Society …