Childhood Contradictions
I’m still reading Louis XIII, The Making of a King. It really delivers in terms of giving me insight into Louis’s character. I’ve found some shocking contradictions. The death of Henri II of France and all four of his childless sons, weighed over Henri IV. The vital...
Military Logistics
It’s great news about the liberation of Kherson. As the Russian war machine began grinding to a halt, earlier in the year, I read something said by a general, I think. He said “amateurs talk about military strategy, professionals focus on logistics.” It rang true to...
Book Launch – Called to Account
Book Launch day! Called to Account, the fourth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, is now available on Amazon as a Kindle ebook. Amazon are grinding through their quality checks on the paperback, but that’s usually quite quick. My producer has already started...
Jean Héroard
I’m now twelve pages into reading Louis XIII: The Making of a King, by Elizabeth Marvick. It’s part of my research for the next book. The fellow in the picture is Jean Héroard, the personal physician to the infant prince. I can’t say that I’m warming to Monsieur...
The Making of a King
I posted earlier about book 5. Well, it’s really beckoning to me now. Called to Account, book 4 in the Sir Anthony Standen adventures, is published. Although I’ve got marketing things to do, like a radio interview which airs later this month, they say that nothing...
Power Politics
I have Niccolo Machiavelli and Louis XIV of France, as my options today, for an “on this day” style post. In 1512 the Medici family expelled Machiavelli from Florence, and in 1651, Louis became of full age and absolute monarch in his own right. Machiavelli’s...
Practice Makes Progress
Claire and I love Strictly Come Dancing. The professional dancer Katya Jones often says that practice makes progress. She doesn’t say that practice makes perfect, although that is the more common saying. I doubt that her celebrity partner this year, the footballer...
The Northern Rebellion
The “on this day” site tells me that the Northern Rebellion started on 9th November in 1569. The rebels seized Durham on the 14th November. It depends what you mean by beginning. The persecution of Catholics had been going on throughout Elizabeth’s reign. Mary Queen...
The Lincoln Play
Abraham Lincoln was born in poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky, and self-educated. He was elected the 16th president of the United States on 6th November 1860. Lincoln is perhaps best remembered for the Gettysburg Address, arguably the best expression of American...
Childhood Contradictions
I’m still reading Louis XIII, The Making of a King. It really delivers in terms of giving me insight into Louis’s character. I’ve found some shocking contradictions. The death of Henri II of France and all four of his childless sons, weighed over Henri IV. The vital...
Military Logistics
It’s great news about the liberation of Kherson. As the Russian war machine began grinding to a halt, earlier in the year, I read something said by a general, I think. He said “amateurs talk about military strategy, professionals focus on logistics.” It rang true to...
Book Launch – Called to Account
Book Launch day! Called to Account, the fourth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, is now available on Amazon as a Kindle ebook. Amazon are grinding through their quality checks on the paperback, but that’s usually quite quick. My producer has already started...
Jean Héroard
I’m now twelve pages into reading Louis XIII: The Making of a King, by Elizabeth Marvick. It’s part of my research for the next book. The fellow in the picture is Jean Héroard, the personal physician to the infant prince. I can’t say that I’m warming to Monsieur...
The Making of a King
I posted earlier about book 5. Well, it’s really beckoning to me now. Called to Account, book 4 in the Sir Anthony Standen adventures, is published. Although I’ve got marketing things to do, like a radio interview which airs later this month, they say that nothing...
Power Politics
I have Niccolo Machiavelli and Louis XIV of France, as my options today, for an “on this day” style post. In 1512 the Medici family expelled Machiavelli from Florence, and in 1651, Louis became of full age and absolute monarch in his own right. Machiavelli’s...
Practice Makes Progress
Claire and I love Strictly Come Dancing. The professional dancer Katya Jones often says that practice makes progress. She doesn’t say that practice makes perfect, although that is the more common saying. I doubt that her celebrity partner this year, the footballer...
The Northern Rebellion
The “on this day” site tells me that the Northern Rebellion started on 9th November in 1569. The rebels seized Durham on the 14th November. It depends what you mean by beginning. The persecution of Catholics had been going on throughout Elizabeth’s reign. Mary Queen...
The Lincoln Play
Abraham Lincoln was born in poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky, and self-educated. He was elected the 16th president of the United States on 6th November 1860. Lincoln is perhaps best remembered for the Gettysburg Address, arguably the best expression of American...