Tag Archives: history

IT’S 1929. LET’S GO CLUBBING

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Colin Falconer

Your girlfriend is late, as always. There’s a newspaper on the hall table and you look at the headline: “TWO WOMEN IN FIGHT, ONE STRIPPED, OTHER EATS BAD CHECK”. What is this? The Evening Graphic. Of course. You reach for … Continue reading →

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LIVIN’ THE VIDA LOCA: JUANA OF CASTILE

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Colin Falconer

Juana of Castile’s little sister may be more familiar to English-speaking readers; she was Catherine of Aragon, Henry the Eighth’s first wife. Catherine became, in the eyes of history, the betrayed wife of a fickle king. Thomas Cromwell said of … Continue reading →

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CAN YOU CONTROL YOUR DESTINY - OR IS YOUR FATE ALREADY DECIDED?

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Colin Falconer

Can we control our fate - or is our destiny carved in stone? It’s the basic question of life, of all philosophy and religion. Those who believe in Fate say that we only find peace through acceptance and that struggle … Continue reading →

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THE QUEEN WHO WOULD BE KING

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Colin Falconer

It was once written of her: “To look upon her was more beautiful than anything.” But these days Hapshetsut is not the beauty she once was. Her eyes are black resin, her nostrils plugged with linen. She is bald. But … Continue reading →

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WHAT IF YOUR PARENTS HAD MURDERED YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER?

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Colin Falconer

Some time past your thirtieth birthday you discover that your godfather arrested and possibly tortured and murdered your mother. You also find out that your parents are not your parents at all, that they have hidden your real identity from … Continue reading →

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WHAT MAKES A WOMAN GREAT?

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Colin Falconer

Is it sex appeal, like Marilyn Monroe? Is it saintliness, like Mother Theresa? Is it political ambition, like Cleopatra? Or is it something more elusive than any of these? It is now fourteen years since Diana, Princess of Wales, died … Continue reading →

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ARMAGEDDON: GET IT FRESH RIGHT HERE

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Colin Falconer

Bethlehem, Israel The letters “PLO”, are sprayed in Arabic script on the rusted shutters of a shop, using aerosol paint. Underneath, scrawled in English for the benefit of the tourists: “FUCK ISRAEL”. In September of 1992, when I wrote FURY, … Continue reading →

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BEAUTY, PASSION, JEALOUSY, CORRUPTION, TREACHERY, LUST

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Colin Falconer

Beauty, passion, jealousy, corruption, treachery, lust. It could be just another day in Washington or Hollywood; instead these are the key ingredients in a story that happened over three thousand years ago, in the Middle East. The tale was inspired … Continue reading →

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I GIVE AMAZON REVIEWS HALF A STAR

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Colin Falconer

It doesn’t happen often, but today I am really pissed off. Last week, we spoke at some length about bending the ‘truth’ in historical fiction. I believe we reached a sort of consensus that if an historical author messes with … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY, WRITING | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

THE HISTORY OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Colin Falconer

The most widely accepted date for the inception of the Ancient Olympics is 776BC; the dating is based on inscriptions, found at Olympia, listing the winners of a footrace held there every four years. The Games were a series of … Continue reading →

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