1920s . 1930s . Bloomsbury Group
How I learned to love the Bloomsbury Group
On 21 August 2015 by AdminI must confess that I started watching ‘Life in Squares’, the new three-part drama about the Bloomsbury Group, which was recently shown on BBC2, with considerable reservations. What on earth was there left to say about these – to be frank – rather self-indulgent and privileged people, that hadn’t already been said in a host
Detective fiction . First World War . Game of Chance . Historical Fiction
‘Sitting on a sofa, playing games of chance…’
On 31 March 2015 by AdminMy latest novel, Game of Chance – the second in a series of detective stories set in the late 1920s – centres, as the title suggests, around a game of cards, specifically, Solo Whist. I chose this particular game, rather than Bridge (which was actually more popular in the period I’ve been writing about) for
Detective fiction . Films . Game of Chance . Historical Fiction . Line of Sight . Novels
Dial ‘M’ for Murder – the telephone in twentieth century fiction
On 12 May 2014 by AdminHaving just published a novel – Line of Sight (Arbuthnot Books, 2014) – in which the telephone plays a key role, I’ve been thinking about the significance of this particular piece of technology, invented (or at least patented) in 1876, by Alexander Graham Bell, but only in common domestic use for around a hundred years.
Detective fiction . Line of Sight . Writing
Writing a different book every time – why I can’t seem to stick with a ‘brand’….
On 30 April 2014 by Admin‘All your books are different,’ said a friend who’d just read the latest one. He meant it as a compliment, but I’m afraid that – given the way that the book world is these days – it’s a serious disadvantage. A cursory glance at the ‘three for two’ tables in any bookshop, or at the