18 Cities to Travel Back in Time and the Historical Fiction Books Opening Their Doors

Venture through the gates of ages, dare to time-travel and choose one journey to one of the 18 cities where history still breathes. Pick a historical fiction novel from the list below and walk the streets of ancient Rome or Athens; jump into the middle ages in Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Madrid; explore Renaissance in London, Florence, Prague; enjoy early modern life in Amsterdam or Geneva, Victorian Edinburgh or fin-de-siècle Vienna and Venice; read yourself into post-WW1 Moscow, or WW2 Lisbon and Paris, or deep-dive into the historical fiction of Dubrovnik and Budapest as if you belonged there. And if you are ready for more, there’s also a bonus read.

30/10/202530/10/2025

The Night of Returning Souls, It’s All Saints’ Night

On All Saints’ Night, when the veil between the living and the dead grows thin, I return through story to my Transylvanian roots. The Night of Returning Souls, written for Romania Insider is my take on the folklore and ghostly legends that haunt October.

17/10/202517/10/2025

Transylvanian Witches: from Popular Healers to Hunted Outcasts

In the frost-bitten winters of 15th-century Transylvania the line between savior and sorceress could be drawn by a whisper. A woman might spend her days easing childbirth pains, binding wounds, or coaxing fevered children back from death only to face the stake by nightfall, accused of witchcraft.

This was the brutal paradox faced by countless women across medieval Europe and perhaps nowhere was it more stark than in the fortified towns of Transylvania, where Saxon, Vlach, Magyar, and Jewish communities shared the safety of walls, but not always trust. Here, a woman’s skill could make her indispensable and dangerous in equal measure.

25/08/202525/08/2025

Shoes, Status, and Survival, Historical Footprints from Medieval Transylvania

In medieval Transylvania shoes were more than mere protection… Yes, like almost everywhere in the world by that time. In medieval Transylvania shoes were markers of identity, status, and survival.

12/08/202512/08/2025

Truth in Historical Fiction, Why Readers Ask and Why It Matters

Black Gate Kronstadt Brasov as seen in When Secrets Bloom

Does When Secrets Bloom holds truth in its historical fiction setting, story line, secrets? Does it stay true to history? Ask my readers. Here’s why these questions matter.