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Historical Crime and Mystery
Devilish characters, twisting plots, foggy streets and dastardly deeds. There's more afoot here, Watson, than meets the eye... without the mixing of metaphors.
Andrew Taylor
Andrew has written over 45 books - mainly crime novels and historical novels. The Roth Trilogy was televised (as Fallen Angel), and two other books have been number one bestsellers.
He is particularly delighted to have been awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger for excellence in crime writing, and to be the unique (if immodest) triple winner of the CWA Historical Dagger. When The King's Evil won the Gold Crown of the Historical Writers Association, awarded for best novel of the year, the boundaries between the crime novel and the historical novel became even more blurred in his mind than they already were.
For two years, he edited The Author, the quarterly journal of the Society of Authors, and he continues to write The Author's regular 'Grub Street' column. Andrew was the Spectator's crime fiction reviewer for ten years and occasionally contributed reviews to The Times, the Spectator and elsewhere.
He has served on the Management Committee of the Society of Authors and on the committee of the Crime Writers Association. Andrew initiated what became the CWA’s Debut Dagger scheme, and administered it for its first two years. He has helped to judge a number of literary prizes for the Crime Writers Association, the Historical Writers Association and others.
Andrew also does events for festivals, bookshops and libraries in the UK and abroad. he sometimes teaches writing courses for the Arvon Foundation, Moniack Mhor (Scotland’s Creative Writing Centre) and Cheltenham Festival of Literature, etc.
He grew up in the Fen country of East Anglia, and went to university at Emmanuel College Cambridge and University College London.
When he was a useful member of society, Andrew worked as a boatbuilder, wages clerk, teacher, librarian, labourer and freelance publisher's editor. Since 1981, He has been a full-time writer and, since 1982, has lived in the Forest of Dean on the borders of England and Wales.
Because of RSI, He sometimes dictates, which involves him prowling up and down his workroom and talking to himself in strange voices. In fine weather, he sits under an apple tree and talk to himself in the fresh air instead. On the other hand, sometimes he uses a notebook, and sometimes a computer.
One of the few things he knows for certain about writing fiction is that there is no one way to write a novel. But it is ALWAYS a long, difficult and sometimes frustrating process.
Andrew Swanston
Andrew read a little law and a lot of sport at Cambridge University, and held various positions in the book trade, including being a director of Waterstone & Co, and chairman of Methven’s plc, before turning to writing. Inspired by a lifelong interest in early modern history, his ‘Thomas Hill’ novels are set during the English Civil Wars, and the early period of the Restoration. Andrew is published by Penguin.
He lives with his wife in Surrey, near to their three children and two grandchildren. His interests include golf, gardening, and drawing.
Candace Robb
Candace Robb did her graduate work in medieval literature and history, and has continued to study the period while working first as an editor of scientific publications and now for some years as a freelance writer. Candace has published 17 crime novels set in 14th century England, Wales, and Scotland. The Owen Archer series is based in York and currently extends over 12 novels beginning with THE APOTHECARY ROSE; the most recent is A CHOIR OF CROWS. The Margaret Kerr trilogy explores the early days of Scotland’s struggle again England’s King Edward I, and includes A TRUST BETRAYED, THE FIRE IN THE FLINT, and A CRUEL COURTSHIP. The Kate Clifford series is set in York but slightly later than the Owen Archers; so far there are three books in the series--THE SERVICE OF THE DEAD; A TWISTED VENGEANCE; A MURDERED PEACE.
Writing as Emma Campion, Candace has published historical novels about two fascinating women she encountered while researching the Owen Archer mysteries, Alice Perrers (THE KING’S MISTRESS) and Joan of Kent (A TRIPLE KNOT).
Candace was born in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has lived most of her adult life in Seattle, Washington, which she and her husband love for its combination of natural beauty and culture. Candace enjoys walking, hiking, and gardening, and practices yoga and vipassana meditation. She travels frequently to Great Britain.
E.M. Powell
E.M. Powell’s medieval mystery and historical thriller Stanton & Barling and Fifth Knight novels have been #1 Amazon and Bild bestsellers and have achieved sales of 400,000 copies worldwide.
Born and raised in the Republic of Ireland into the family of Michael Collins (the legendary revolutionary and founder of the Irish Free State), she now lives in northwest England with her husband, daughter and a Facebook-friendly dog.
As well as writing crime, thriller and mystery novels, she loves to read them and is a contributing editor to International Thriller Writers’ The Big Thrill magazine.
She’s represented by Josh Getzler at HG Literary.
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Robert J Lloyd
Robert grew up in the London suburbs, south of the river, and then in Sheffield.
At school he wanted to be an artist, thinking he was going to be the next great English painter. Robert did a BA degree in Fine Art, in Coventry, but moved more into art theory, ideas, and writing.
His MA thesis was on Robert Hooke and the ‘New Philosophy’, detailing his work as Curator of Experiments of the Royal Society, and as architect of the new London after the Fire. The ideas and characters Robert came across when researching stayed with him; years of tinkering resulted in The Bloodless Boy and its sequel The Clockwork Assassins.
He’s represented by Gaia Banks at Sheil Land Associates literary agency, and thanks are due to Gaia, who has championed both books with an astonishing energy and attention to detail.
Robert is married, with three splendid children and a very lovely wife. They live in the Brecon Beacons.
J.C. Briggs
J.C briggs writes historical crime fiction. Her amateur detective is the great Victorian novelist, Charles Dickens. Dickens was fascinated by crime and murder. He went out with the London Police into the grim slums and visited the police stations to see how they all worked. According to a recent biographer, Dickens would have enjoyed being a detective. Jean gave him his wish. He makes a good detective - he is very observant, very clever at working out motive and following the clues with his partner, Superintendent Jones of Bow Street.
Victorian London is a great setting for a murder mystery - all that fog and very sinister alleys. It is fascinating to research the period from Dickens's own novels, the biographies and Dickens's letters. Jean likes to know what he's up to in the periods of his life when the stories take place. All the books are based on something which really happened in Dickens's life. He set up a home for fallen women. Jean wondered what he would do if one of the girls was murdered and that was the idea for the first book.
When she’s not reading Dickens or writing Dickens, Jean gives talks about him and other Victorian novelists and enjoy her garden in the Yorkshire Dales.
Peter Tonkin
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Peter Tonkin attended the Queen’s University, Belfast, 1969 – 75, where he studied with Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, Bernard MacLaverty and Ciaran Carson; and directed Ciaran Hinds in Hamlet. He published his first novel, Killer, to international acclaim in 1978. Since then, he has divided his time between writing and teaching. He has published 37 other novels including the Master of Defence series of Elizabethan murder mysteries and the 30-book Mariner series of action-adventure-thrillers. Since retiring from teaching, he has been preparing crime thrillers set in Ancient Rome and Elizabethan court. He is pictured here preparing to attend a Literary Evening at Trinity College, Oxford, of which he is a Benefactor.
