Hello hello,

There hasn’t been much to report of late, not because I haven’t been busy, but for that very reason. Book 2, RESTORATION: 1666: A YEAR IN ENGLAND – available to pre-order here – is currently going through editorial revisions and should be finished by the end of the year. It’s been an exciting, if sometimes challenging, task to follow up BLAZING STAR with a more ‘conventional’ social history book, but hopefully it’ll be packed full of surprising, poignant and sometimes hilarious stories about everyday life in 1666 England, affecting everyone from the king to beggars.

The other magnum opus, tentatively entitled BYRON’S WOMEN, is nearing completion. I don’t mind admitting it has been something of a behemoth to write (and no doubt will be to edit), but I see it as a riposte to the male-dominated traditions of Byron biography. And where else could you get an eclectic cast of characters including Mary Shelley, Ada Lovelace, Caroline Lamb and countless other lovers, family members, confidantes and nemeses?

Finally I continue to work as a journalist, reviewing for The Observer and the Express amongst other titles, and writing features for The Resident, Discover Britain and The Arbuturian. All of which takes time, but I look forward to catching up with all of you next year in another round of talks, readings and Q & As…

A x