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.

18/04/202625/05/2026

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.

11/04/202613/05/2026

To Be A Queen by Annie Whitehead: Forged in Duty

History does not crown its queens gently. It tempers them: through loss, through expectation, through demands of survival. 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 appearances. Is resilience something we possess… or something we are forced to become?

Daisy Chain, a short story by Annie Whitehead, appears in our historical fiction anthology Courage: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope.

07/04/202613/05/2026

A Mischief of Murder by Helen Hollick: Which Truth We Seek?

History rarely buries its secrets cleanly. We often mistake quiet for innocence. 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 confronted with the past, is it the truth we seek… or the version we can live with?

A beautiful story by Helen Hollick is featured in our new historical fiction anthology COURAGE: Tales of History, Mystery and Hope.

01/02/202613/05/2026

When Secrets Bloom Reviewed by the Historical Novel Society

HNR Historical Novel Society review When Secrets Bloom Feb 2026

This week brought news I have been quietly hoping for since my latest novel When Secrets Bloom first found its readers: a review from the Historical Novel Society. Penned by Williamaye Jones, the review is available on their website and is published in their print magazine Historical Novel Review HNR Issue 115 (February 2026).