A recent trip to Normandy has opened my eyes to the ubiquity in the Pays d’Auge of well-preserved medieval half-timbered houses, and the persistence of this style of architecture even in contemporary construction....

Lyveden New Bield in Northamptonshire stands as an enigmatic testament to its creator’s obdurate faith. Begun around 1594, towards the end of Elizabeth I’s reign, it remains much as it did in 1605...

Skims like a stone over water… This is a fascinating, thought-provoking and heart-rending good read. Tracy Chevalier’s narrative skims like a stone over smooth water, warping time as effectively as fire transforms glass....

Fortune (Peepal Tree Press, 2021; shortlisted for the 2022 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction) packs a lot into a cracking good read. It’s a tense thriller, a moving love story, and a fascinating...