A few months ago, I came across a website that I thought (and still do) was a brilliant idea. I can’t think why it hasn’t been done before – or maybe it has, but I haven’t found it yet. Art in Fiction: listings of novels that are inspired by the arts, whether it be music,Continue reading “Art in Fiction: Overture is Novel of the Week”
Tag Archives: historical novel
Marie-Thérèse’s France 3: Bordeaux
This is the third and final part of a series of posts that looks at the principal places in France in Overture, Book 1 in the Alouette Trilogy. The main character, Marie-Thérèse, has ambitions to be an opera singer. The story moves mainly between rural Aveyron in Southwest France and Paris, but Marie-Thérèse also spendsContinue reading “Marie-Thérèse’s France 3: Bordeaux”
Marie-Thérèse’s France 2: Paris
This is the second part of a series of posts looking at some of the settings that Marie-Thérèse, my main character in Overture, would have known. How do you cover Paris in one blog post? I’m not even going to try. Instead, I’ll focus on a few of the places that are mentioned in theContinue reading “Marie-Thérèse’s France 2: Paris”
Emma Calvé: Forgotten Singing Star of the Belle Epoque
Have you heard of Emma Calvé? I hadn’t, until I read about her in a French novel. However, she was one of the brightest stars of her time in the singing world and had a highly-acclaimed international career. Hers is a fascinating rags-to-riches-to-rags story, which has inspired my latest novel, Overture.
Happy Birthday, Zaronza! Win a Signed Copy to Celebrate
My first novel, The House at Zaronza, is four years old and to celebrate I have one signed paperback copy to award to a lucky winner. Read on to find out how to enter.
Wartime Secrets in Tuscany: an Interview with Katharine Johnson
I’m delighted to welcome back Katharine Johnson, whose historical mysteries make engrossing reading. She’s already told us a little about her latest novel, The Secret, when it was a work in progress. Now, publication day is approaching on 1st June, and I’m looking forward to The Secret popping onto my Kindle that day. The bookContinue reading “Wartime Secrets in Tuscany: an Interview with Katharine Johnson”
An Excerpt from ‘The Corsican Widow’
With less than two weeks to go before the publication of the second novel in my Tales of Corsica series, here’s an excerpt from the beginning of The Corsican Widow. Set in mid/late 18th-century Corsica and Marseille, the novel concerns a young Corsican woman, Valeria Peretti, who must marry a wealthy widower she does notContinue reading “An Excerpt from ‘The Corsican Widow’”
New Horizons: Tales of Corsica
April will see the reissue of The House at Zaronza, my novel set in early 20th-century Corsica and at the Western Front during World War I. It was first published by Crooked Cat Books in 2014, and I’m eternally grateful to them for taking me on and for everything I have learned in the process. They tellContinue reading “New Horizons: Tales of Corsica”
History People: Nancy Jardine and Real Historical Figures
A big welcome to Nancy Jardine, a great author and a specialist on Roman Britain. She raises a familiar dilemma for historical novelists: how do you get plausibly into the mind of someone who lived two thousand years ago? What sort of guesswork do you have to do? And what contemporary sources can you relyContinue reading “History People: Nancy Jardine and Real Historical Figures”
Scent of Corsica: the Maquis
Can you name some famous Corsicans? There’s the obvious one, Napoleon Bonaparte. Slightly less obvious ones are the singer Tino Rossi, and Pasquale di Paoli, who headed the short-lived independent Corsican republic in the 18th century. But did you know that François Coty, who founded the famous Coty perfume empire, was also Corsican?
Vanessa Couchman 