Category: Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope

The anthology gathers together stories from a remarkable group of writers exploring courage in many forms: quiet courage, desperate courage, historical courage, the kind that emerges only when ordinary people are pushed into extraordinary moments.
Fifteen historical short stories by Judith Arnopp, Anna Belfrage, Derek Birks, Cathie Dunn, Patricia Furstenberg, Jean Gill, Kathy Hollick-Bater, Helen Hollick, Carolyn Hughes, Amy Maroney, Alison Morton, Elizabeth St.John, Marian L Thorpe, Antoine Vanner, Annie Whitehead. With an introduction by Lorna Fergusson.

02/05/202613/05/2026

Ghost Encounters: The Lingering Spirits Of North Devon by Helen Hollick and Kathy Hollick

There are histories that are recorded and histories that are felt. Not in dates or documents, but in the way the air shifts, the sense of a presence, the inexplicable certainty that a place remembers more than it reveals. So, when we walk through a landscape shaped by centuries, are we ever truly alone?

Two memorable stories by Helen Hollick and Kathy Hollick are part of our historical fiction anthology Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope.

28/04/202613/05/2026

Hunting the Sun by Jean Gill – Beauty as Testimony

Power rarely announces itself. It shimmers inviting admiration while concealing the cost of its making – much like silk under candlelight. But history and human nature also suggest otherwise.

Ahead of an anticipated collaborative anthology, I’ve enjoyed new historical fiction authors and discovered what’s hidden beneath quiet surfaces. But when beauty is crafted under constraint, does it remain beauty… or does it become testimony?

Jean Gill joins our historical fiction anthology Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope with a moving tale.

21/04/202613/05/2026

Hell Hath No Fury: The Story of Marguerite of Anjou by Judith Arnopp

I’ve been exploring a remarkable group of historical voices lately – ahead of a new anthology – and discovered what lies beneath quiet surfaces. Power rarely arrives gently. More often it is forced into unwilling hands demanding a price long before it grants authority. But, when survival demands transformation, when does need become something else entirely?

Our historical fiction anthology Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope features a compelling contribution from Judith Arnopp.

18/04/202613/05/2026

Ascent: A story of danger, adversity, and love by Cathie Dunn

Empires are rarely born in triumph. More often empires rise from ruin — the smoke, broken walls, the lives abruptly unmade and forced into new shapes. But history and human nature also suggest otherwise. I’ve been exploring a remarkable group of historical voices lately and discovered what lies beneath quiet surfaces. When the world is remade around us, do we shape it in return… or are we shaped beyond recognition?

Included in our historical fiction anthology Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope is a story by Cathie Dunn.

14/04/202613/05/2026

Their Castilian Orphan by Anna Belfrage: Keeping Secrets

Power rarely announces itself with noise. More often poser moves in silence: through lineage, allegiance, and the dangerous secrets of what must remain hidden. But history and human nature also suggest otherwise. I’ve been exploring a remarkable group of historical voices lately and discovered what lies beneath quiet surfaces. Is it blood that defines us… or the secrets kept to protect it?

Anna Belfrage contributes a powerful story to our historical fiction anthology Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope.