From the Library With Love

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This year marks 112 years since the Titanic hit an iceberg on 14 April 1912, and in that time the doomed vessel has spawned countless myths, thousands of books and, of course, James Cameron’s Oscar-winning film Titanic . But In our quest to get to get closer to the so-called ‘Ship of Dreams’ have we overlooked the human tragedy at the heart of the disaster? In this conversation, historian and author Claes Wetterholm, from Stockholm, reveals some heartbreaking, untold personal stories…

Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.

Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.

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Libraries are about so much more than books. Just ask librarian for Kingston Upon Thames, Marion Tessier, who trained as a boardgame librarian. On National Boardgame Day, she gives us a fasincating glimpse into her job. 

Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.

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Brianna Labuskes is more than just a gifted writer,  she is a story hunter, who delves deep into the past and finds histories forgotten heroines. 

In this fascinating conversation, Brianna shares the true story of the Council of Books in Wartime--the WWII organisation founded by booksellers, publishers, librarians, and authors to use books as "weapons in the war of ideas" This book inspired, The Librarian of Burned Books.

Her latest, The Lost Book of Bonn,  is about the librarians who worked for the Library of Congress, sent to Germany as part of an effort led by the Monuments Men to return Nazi-plundered books to their rightful owners.  

Both of these titles are a book lovers dream. 

'Language has always been a reflection of ourselves, and silencing it, banning it, destroying it, silences, bans and destroys people,' Brianna says.

Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.

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It's March, the month of daffodils, pussy willow and lambs - what better time to pay a visit to Twig Farm!

Paula Steer is one of a new breed of shepherdesses blazing a trail across social media. Paula’s been farming sheep farm at Twig Farm in Devon for the past twenty years, following in the footsteps of her great-great grandmother Lily Warne. Despite battling a brain tumour this irrepressible female sheep farmer is also writing her memoirs. I started by asking her how she made the leap from accountancy to sheep…

To visit Paula's divine shop, Lily Warne Wool, click here  

Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.

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Historical fiction author, Jacquie Bloese draws her inspiration from atmospheric locations with intriguing histories, and people – both real and imaginary – whose stories are calling out to be told.

Her latest release, The Golden Hour, set in Victorian Brighton is a compelling and deeply atmospheric read. In this fascinating episode, Jacquie discuses the inspiration for her second novel, the challenges of researching the Victorian age and growing up in Guernsey, the island which inspired her debut novel, The French House,

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In the genteel squares of late-Victorian Brighton, Ellen and Reynold Harper - twins, companions, colleagues - ply their trade as portrait photographers.

But at the golden hour, the models arrive to pose for the lucrative - and illicit - photographs that really keep the Harpers' business afloat. This is the other, shadowy world of the city: a world of erotic tableaux, boundary-crossing music hall performers, and the sinister figure of the local gangster, the Croc.

When Ellen is drawn into the orbit of unhappy newly-wed Clementine, she finds herself torn between loyalty to her brother, her dangerous attraction to new model, Lily, and her burgeoning friendship with Clem. And as the two worlds of Brighton collide, the three women discover that there is only a knife edge between the promise of freedom, and the threat of ruin . . .

Atmospheric, sensual and powerfully moving, The Golden Hour is a spellbinding portrait of three women determined to find their freedom - perfect for fans of Sarah Waters, The Doll Factory and The Essex Serpent.

Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.

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To celebrate the launch of my thirteenth book, The Wartime Book Club, historical fiction author Iona Grey has turned the tables and is asking me the questions.

In this discussion we talk about the Occupation of the Channel Islands, how I discovered and researched the story, how and why we write and SO much more. I hope you enjoy. Kate x

Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.

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From the author of The School for German Brides, this captivating historical novel  by Aimie K.Runyan is set in nineteenth-century and post-World War II Paris follows two fierce women of the same family, generations apart, who find that their futures lie in the four walls of a simple bakery in a tiny corner of Montmartre.

In this episode, Aimie discusses ideas, writing, history, research, unsung heroines...and of course warm crusty baguettes.


The Paris Bakery....

1870: The Prussians are at the city gates, intent to starve Paris into submission. Lisette Vigneau--headstrong, willful, and often ignored by her wealthy parents--awaits the outcome of the war from her parents' grand home in the Place Royale in the very heart of the city. When an excursion throws her into the path of a revolutionary National Guardsman, Theodore Fournier, her destiny is forever changed. She gives up her life of luxury to join in the fight for a Paris of the People. She opens a small bakery with the hopes of being a vital boon to the impoverished neighborhood in its hour of need. When the city falls into famine, and then rebellion, her resolve to give up the comforts of her past life is sorely tested.

1946: Nineteen-year-old Micheline Chartier is coping with the loss of her father and the disappearance of her mother during the war. In their absence, she is charged with the raising of her two younger sisters. At the hand of a well-meaning neighbor, Micheline finds herself enrolled in a prestigious baking academy with her entire life mapped out for her. Feeling trapped and desperately unequal to the task of raising two young girls, she becomes obsessed with finding her mother. Her classmate at the academy, Laurent Tanet, may be the only one capable of helping Micheline move on from the past and begin creating a future for herself.

Both women must grapple with loss, learn to accept love, and face impossible choices armed with little more than their courage and a belief that a bit of flour, yeast, sugar, and love can bring about a revolution of their own.

Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.

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Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.

Send us Fan Mail

Congratulations to international bestselling author, Natasha Lester, on the publication of her latest book, The Disappearance of Astrid Briccard out in North America today.

Natasha is known to her army of fans around the world for her evocative and escapist storytelling, focusing on the women the history books forgot. In this episode she shares her tips and advice for research and writing, her love of strong women like war photographer Lee Miller and the novel that made her want to be a writer, as well as an exclusive peek into the French resistance heroine who stole her heart. Book and history lovers, you do not want to miss this one.

Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.

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Holocaust survivor Renee Salt has seen things no human should ever witness, much less an innocent 15-year-old girl. Her experiences of Łódź Ghetto, Auschwitz-Birkenau and then Bergen-Belsen bear witness to some of the foulest atrocities of the past.

And yet, this remarkable 94-year-old woman tells her story of surviving unspeakable evil over and over, so that "we never forget. We never think that it was not true."
I went to interview Reneee in her North London home and asked her to share her story of courage and survival, including the remarkable coincidence that led her to the love of her life.

Thank you to our media partner: Family History Zone – a website covering archives, history and genealogy.  Please check then out at www.familyhistory.zone and consider signing up for their free weekly newsletter.