I'm delighted to welcome Helen Hollick, author of the fabulous Sea Witch Voyages series (pirates! white witches! adventure on the high seas!) onto the blog today. Helen discusses how she faces the challenge of creating a heroine who will appeal to 21st century readers without turning her into a modern girl in historical costume. The 18 th century was a time of great change: what busy years the 1700s were for England and Britain: Scotland becoming part of the United Kingdom – although gain some, lose some, for Britain lost the American Colonies towards the end of the 1700s. Several kings – and a couple of queens; several wars, still some squabbling about Catholic v Protestant. Advancement in the sciences, exploration and shipping (by the end of the 1700s the English Navy was the best in the world.) Not a lot happening for women. Women were the property of men – although this was starting to (slowly) change. Women’s rights were on the cusp of being recognised, but it woul...

In 1913 and 1914 a bomb was found at the Bank of England in London. Other incendiary devices discovered in the capital included one with “Votes for Women” labels on it at the Grand Hotel. Loud ticking led to the discovery of a device in St Paul’s Cathedral, and other bombs were discovered in the Church of St John the Evangelist in Westminster, and at Westminster Abbey. A bomb was sent to the chief magistrate at Bow Street Police Court, and a tube of nitro-glycerine was found on the London Underground. Around the country similar incidents were recorded in Manchester, where a bomb destroyed the cactus house in Alexandra Park. Glasgow’s Winter Gardens also came under attack. In Taunton a device was discovered at the Lyceum Theatre, at that time under construction. A bomb appeared on the steps of Cheltenham Town Hall. A house under construction for David Lloyd George at Walton-in-the-Hill was bombed by Emily Wilding Davison and other suffragettes. Explosives were found at Cambridg...