Author's Afterword

She's back! Charlie and E C Fremantle (The Honey And The Sting) discuss producing a book that is utterly devoid - and then some - of filler, Black people of the Stuart era, and the film of Fremantle's first novel, which will star Jude Law and Alicia Vikander. The Honey And The Sting George Villiers Frances Coke John Felton Eleanor Davies Miranda Kaufmann's Black Tudors Pearl diver Jacques Francis...

Charlie and Cecelia Tichi (A Fatal Gilded High Note) discuss the Gilded Age in its success and its crimes, her rebellious 1890s character who defies class, and the history of French Bulldogs. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address int...

Charlie and Kate Glanville (The Peacock House) discuss her main character who is 90 years old, and villains who aren't so villainous after all. Kate also discusses the way her dyslexia has effected her reading, and some of her thoughts on education in this vein in the context of her younger character. Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode. Some podcast apps do not show descrip...

Charlie and Kristin Harmel (The Forest Of Vanishing Stars) discuss the true story, and Kristin's own fictional one, of a group of over a thousand Jewish people who during WW2 slowly escaped to and hid in a vast forest away from the Nazis. Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcas...

Charlie and Sally Page (The Keeper Of Stories) discuss story collection, the forgotten mistress of the abdicated Edward VIII, and dogs who swear something chronic! Please note that there are some spoilers throughout the episode. Please also note that there is a mild swear word in this episode. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. I...

Charlie and Natalie Jenner (Bloomsbury Girls) discuss Jane Austen in all Natalie's interesting concepts, tales of related auctions she has been involved in, and the work to 'preserve and pull together' a record of the books that inspired her. They also discuss Natalie's inclusion of Daphne du Maurier in her novel, Persephone Books, and genre in its context as a label. Please note that there are (v...

Charlie and Chloe Timms (The Seawomen) discuss Chloe's dystopian fictional religious cult in all its fantasy and reality, the major changes she made to the book as the editing progressed, and her own interpretations of the various parts of the ending. Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes...

Charlie and Amanda Geard (The Midnight House) discuss buying big derelict houses, the importance of community in County Kerry, and Amanda's stunning epilogue - which is one of Charlie's favourites. Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and...

Charlie and Grace D Li (Portrait Of A Thief) discuss Chinese American identity, art theft and repatriation, and bonkers fun fictional heists. Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following a...

Charlie and Yvonne Bailey-Smith (The Day I Fell Off My Island) discuss the effects on children of immigration from Jamaica to the UK, the effects on parents, and the lack of educational care afforded to and the assumptions made about Black British students. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and...

Charlie and Jennifer Saint (Elektra) discuss the Trojan War in terms of the women the men left behind - Elektra, Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and, arguably, Helen. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the epi...

Charlie and Melissa Fu (Peach Blossom Spring) discuss the experiences of Chinese refugees during the Second Sino-Japanese War - particularly those who fled to Taiwan - the centuries old hand scrolls that inspired her own character's scroll, and how the lives of her family influenced her work. Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode. Some podcast apps do not show description link...

Charlie and Natasha Miller (Relentless) discuss Natasha's incredible and inspirational life as a classical violinist and jazz singer, and founder and owner of a multi-million dollar events company. Our discussion includes her childhood - she's a survivor of abuse - and being a parent who strives to get it right. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribe...

Charlie and Kate Quinn (The Rose Code; The Diamond Eye) discuss the extraordinary people behind Bletchley Park's successes, including socialite Osla Benning, and her relationship with Elizabeth II's future husband, Prince Philip. And, in a nod to her latest novel, Kate introduces us to Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a WWII Soviet sniper from Kyiv. Please note there is a swear word in this episode. Some pod...

Charlie and Imogen Clark (Impossible To Forget) discuss her latest novel - a pre-release bestseller, creating the story as she goes and publishing what is her first draft, and beginning her career as a novelist in her 50s. Please note that there is a very mild swear word in this episode. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you...

Charlie and Patrick Gale (Take Nothing With You; Mother's Boy) discuss musicality - his own and his character's, setting a childhood in a care home, the beloved Cornish poet Charles Causley, and a future stage production of Take Nothing With You. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish...

Charlie and Kaia Alderson (Sisters In Arms) discuss the little-known 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black female US unit in WW2 - their day-to-day work dealing with a backlog of post that no one else could figure out, the leaders, and the various responses to them then and now - and Kaia tells us about the influential Dr Mary McLeod Bethune as well as the baseball Negro Le...

Charlie and Sara Nisha Adams (The Reading List) discuss books! The ways they can bring very different people together, the importance of libraries in Sara's life and their impact as a community hub, and her family in the context of her work. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to s...

Charlie and Edward Carey (B: A Year in Plague and Pencils; The Swallowed Man) discuss his epic drawing project wherein he undertook to create a sketch each day of the pandemic, the various individuals whose lives became a part of the wider picture, and finish on a completely different but relevant subject - the literary and social history of Pinocchio. Some podcast apps do not show description lin...

Charlie and Janie Chang (The Library Of Legends) discuss the incredible journeys made by Chinese university students, during the 1937 Japanese invasion, as they evacuated their campuses and made their way on foot to safer areas of the country. We also discuss the Shanghai International Settlement and Janie's compelling family history. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless...

Samantha Sotto returns! We discuss her latest book The Beginning Of Always (its inspiration was the woman whose death mask was used to create the first aid dummy Resusci Annie), and, not to be outdone, Sam's dog Alfie also returns to make a second appearance. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below a...

Charlie and Rebecca F John (The Haunting Of Henry Twist) discuss being gay and bisexual in the 1920s, the way the flapper years could mask the effects of War, and the fictional man who cannot believe that his male partner is not some sort of reincarnation of his dead wife. Please be aware that there are spoilers throughout this episode; we couldn't discuss the book properly without them! Some podc...

Charlie and Rosie Travers (The Theatre Of Dreams) discuss writing novels set amongst the working class of the south coast, Art Deco buildings we've lost and those we've saved, and the sporting professional heroine publishers rejected. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscrib...

Charlie and Jennifer Robson (Our Darkest Night) discuss the horrors of life as an Italian Jew during the Second World War, those who fled and those who helped them, and the people who chose to stay behind. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the followi...

Charlie and Hazel Gaynor (The Bird In The Bamboo Cage) discuss the lives of the pupils and teachers of the Chefoo school for missionaries' children in China during the Japanese occupation, and the way being Brownie Guides helped to keep them going. We also discuss the beginnings of her career, and her collaborations with fellow historical fiction writer, Heather Webb. Some podcast apps do not show...