I have been honoured to join the performing authors at a public reading event from October 24 – 27, 2019. My historical novel “Von tadellosem Ruf” (”Of impeccable reputation”) took the audience back in time to the England of Jane Austen. I read together with big names of the German book scene, as Dorothée Kreusch-Jacob, a noted author and song writer for children, Quint Buchholz, a leading illustrator, and novelist and journalist Ruth Eder.

A stylish local roasting facility hosted the latest literary event organised by book shop Kempter in Hoehenkirchen / Germany. The treat for the audience: tasting freshly brewed espresso, and listening to three new authors presenting their books.

It was a lovely idea, and I am delighted to have been offered the chance to read from the first chapter of my historical novel “Von tadellosem Ruf” (‘Of impeccable reputation’).

Joining Simon Gerold, author of a novel set in ancient Rome, and Thomas Buttgereit, who read from the travel diary of this motorbike tour along the Pan-American Highway, was great fun.

Thanks to everybody for creating an inspiring and entertaining event!

Thomas, Anna, Simon

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Dear Regency Enthusiast

I had the pleasure of perfoming “Ladies, Smugglers and the Glamour of the Ballroom” at the City Library in Nidderau / Germany. The programm is a mix of excerpts from my novel and entertaining information about the Regency Period.

Let me share with you a couple of pictures from a premiere: Continue reading →

In this post:

• Four examples of note-taking software
• Organising my Historical Research Database
• Defining my categories (or: Why chocolate matters)

Writing historical novels – be it about the Middle Ages or the Regency – requires access to a lot of historical information. I want the data I have collected as handy as possible. Today I invite you to have a look at the set-up of my Historical Research Database.

Continue reading →

Author’s Note

Here is my new 5-Minute Novel. Inspiration hit me when I was doing research for my post “Writer’s Travel Guide: The Jersey Connection“. I found a most useful book about the Isle of Jersey during the Romantic Age: Balleine’s History of Jersey. While I read the passages about the French émigrés at Jersey, plot bunnies sprang up. Read here the story they carried with them.

A stroke of luck

The Isle of Jersey (photo by Lady Dorothy)

Wiltshire, 1793: The orphaned siblings Eliza (24) and William Redruth (20) live with their elderly aunt Margret in shabby-genteel circumstances in the countryside. One day in May, they receive a letter: A distant uncle, Baronet John Redruth, died in old age on the Isle of Jersey. Being without children, John Redruth has decided to make William the heir of his manor house on the isle. These are exciting news. Williams wants to travel to the Isle of Jersey immediately to inspect the inheritance. The ladies warn him: Due to the war with France, the island located so close to France is in danger of being invaded. Continue reading →

In this post:
The storyline of The Castle of Atraños
8 historical facts that bred plot bunnies

Author’s Note

This is my first 5-Minute Novel. Inspiration hit me when I was doing research for my introductory text to the new exhibition about letterpress printing at the Museum of Creativity. I found a most useful book about printing at the university library: Michael Twyman’s “Printing 1770 – 1970, an illustrated history of its developments and uses in England”. It provides helpful information about the printing business in the Regency period and new techniques. While I read it, plot bunnies started hopping all around me. Read here the story they carried with them, and find out which historical facts inspired them.

A Writer of a Gothic Novel

It is the City of London in June of the year 1808. The Honourable Thomas Morrington is the second son of a squire. He is 20 years old and fond of novels and writing. It is his dream to write a great gothic novel and become as famous as Ann Radcliffe.

Some time ago, Thomas finished writing his novel “The Castle of Atraños”, an eerie tale about an alchemist practising magic in the dungeons of his castle, which his perched above the village of Atraños in the Spanish Pyrenees. Mysterious ingredients are required for the magic, including the locks of blond virgins. A lady in distress has to be rescued by the hero of Thomas’s novel, whose looks bear a striking resemblance with Thomas’s, but owns a great fortune (whereas Thomas’ allowance is meagre). Continue reading →

Regency Explorer starts a new series of posts combining entertainment and facts about the Regency: the 5-Minute Novel.

When researching history, you come across historical facts that turn into plot bunnies just by themselves. A plot bunny is an idea for a scene or a story. So you read something about history and immediately get an idea for using it in a story. You think some more about it and see a whole novel developing.

Continue reading →