MAGAZINE FEATURES
The Historical Novel Society publishes original articles and interviews in its members-only print magazine, the Historical Novels Review. In addition to six features per issue (along with 300+ book reviews), this quarterly publication also contains columns on debut authors, historical fiction market news, agent Q&As, historical film and television, and more. The Society previously published a magazine with longer-form HF content, called Solander. Some of the content from these print publications is available through the HNS website, but access to complete content is available only to members, so we welcome you to join us.
In general, features are commissioned by HNS editors and authored by members on their features teams, who are unpaid volunteers. If you are a member interested in joining the features team, print or web, please Contact Us.
New books by Historical Novel Society members, November 2025
If you’re a HNS member who’s written a historical novel or nonfiction work published (or to be published) in June 2025 or after, send the following details via our contact form by January 7, 2026: author, title, publisher, release date,... Read More
History & Film | The Spanish Armada in Film, Fiction, and Fact
Subjects:
16th CenturyHistorical Novels ReviewNauticalTudor
WRITTEN BY JENNY BARDEN ‘Throw away the history books and behold the majesty.’ This was BBC Movies’ review of Shekhar Kapur’s epic: Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).¹ The film was, by Kapur’s own admission: ‘…based on mythology. It is the... Read More
Painting Power: Matthew Plampin’s These Wicked Desires
Subjects:
17th CenturyHistorical Novels ReviewInterview
WRITTEN BY LUCINDA BYATT Early modern Roman politics were murky and violent: abetted by external forces, families contended for power, above all in the Curia, where age-old ritual was subject to the pressure of contemporary geopolitical influences. Combine this with... Read More
A Haunted Past: Simon Tolkien’s Literary Journey
Subjects:
20th CenturyGreat DepressionHistorical Novels ReviewInterview
WRITTEN BY KRISTEN MCDERMOTT If there’s one author with a personal knowledge of the weight of the past, it’s Simon Tolkien. Reflecting on the journey that has brought him to his latest novel, The Room of Lost Steps (Lake Union,... Read More
Borgia of Blythswood: Love and Other Poisons by Lesley McDowell
Subjects:
19th CenturyHistorical Novels ReviewInterviewMystery & CrimeVictorian
WRITTEN BY KAREN HOWLETT In 1857, at the High Court in Edinburgh, a young woman went on trial for the murder of her lover. The case caused a sensation, not just due to the nature of the alleged crime, but... Read More
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