1604-1800
As tensions, plague and civil unrest spread across Europe and America, artistic talents emerge giving rise to a new era of Neoclassicism and Romanticism to soothe troubled souls.
Deborah Swift
Before publishing her first novel, Deborah worked as a set and costume designer for theatre and TV. She also developed a degree course in Theatre Arts at the Arden School of Theatre, where she taught scenography and the history of design.
In 2007 she took an MA in Creative Writing at Lancaster University and since then has juggled writing with teaching. Deborah has been published by St Martin’s Press, Pan Macmillan, Endeavour Press, Headline Accent and Sapere Books.
Deborah writes books based predominately in the 1600's but has recently branched out into 20th Century fiction.
Jemahl Evans
Born in Bradford Upon Avon to nomadic Welsh school teachers; Jemahl was brought up in a West Wales mining village during the 70s and 80s. He has pursued a lifelong passion for History, inspired by his grandfather’s stories and legends. Jemahl was educated in Christ College Brecon, St Mary’s University College (Strawberry Hill), and U.W.E. Bristol. Jemahl graduated with an MA in History, focussing on poetry and propaganda during the Wars of the Roses, and then worked for IBM in London. At the turn of the millennium, he left the grind of the office and spent a couple of years travelling and working abroad. After time spent in India, Australia, and South East Asia he returned to Britain and took up a teaching post in West London in 2005. He left his role as Head of Year in the Heathland School in 2010, and returned to Wales citing hiraeth. His Blandford Candy series of books set during the English Civil War and Restoration have been critically acclaimed, and he followed this with a series of novellas on the life of Thomas Becket in 2020. His latest novel is The Charioteer set during the last days of the Roman Empire and published by Sharpe Books.
Jemahl writes in other eras too.
Elizabeth St John
Elizabeth St.John spends her time between California, England, and the past. An acclaimed author, historian, and genealogist, she has tracked down family papers and residences from Lydiard Park and Nottingham Castle to Richmond Palace and the Tower of London to inspire her novels.
Although the family sold a few country homes along the way (it's hard to keep a good castle going these days), Elizabeth's family still occupy them-- in the form of portraits, memoirs, and gardens that carry their legacy. And the occasional ghost. But that's a different story.
Having spent a significant part of her life with her seventeenth-century family while writing The Lydiard Chronicles trilogy and Counterpoint series, Elizabeth St.John is now discovering new family stories with her fifteenth-century namesake Elysabeth St.John Scrope, and her half-sister, Margaret Beaufort.
Samantha Wilcoxson
Writer of historical fiction and sufferer of wanderlust, Samantha enjoys exploring the lives of historical figures through research and visiting historic places. Certain that no person is ever purely good or evil, she strives to reveal the deep emotions and motivations of historical figures, enabling readers to connect with them in a unique way. Samantha is an American writer with British roots and proud mother of three amazing young adults. She can frequently be found lakeside with a book in one hand and glass of wine in the other. Currently in the works: Women of the American Revolution, published by Pen & Sword, July 2022, and But One Life: The Story of Nathan Hale, also coming in 2022.
Philip Yorke
Philip Yorke (known as "Tony") is a former Fleet Street journalist who has a special interest in history – and loves reading intelligent, multi-layered plots and well-told stories. His books about the English Civil Wars – Rebellion and Redemption – have received widespread acclaim as they recreate the brutal and uncertain times of seventeenth-century Britain when a brother fought against a brother, and a King waged war against his people.
Francis Hacker, a renowned Parliamentarian figure, is the complicated, central character, and his extraordinary life and deeds provide significant amounts of action, tragedy, intrigue and surprises.
Recent reviews include:
• "Yorke ably demonstrates the irrevocable physical, mental and spiritual wounds war inflicts on soldiers."
• "Readers are rewarded with a tale as intricately interlaced as a spider's web."
• "Yorke masterfully crafts a solution that prevents characters from violating who they are and what they believe."
Married to Julie, with whom he has five children, Philip enjoys relaxing to classical music; reading the works of Nigel Tranter, Bernard Cornwell, Robyn Young and CJ Sansom; and supporting Hull City and Leicester Tigers.
He lives in Leicestershire, England
