It was overheard, word for word, by High Street Ken at the Independent…
Archive for the ‘Rampant self-aggrandisation’ Category
…and then there was silence
All quiet on the blogging front, alas, as I prepare the manuscript of my new book, THE PLANTAGENETS, due for publication by Harper Press next year. However, I continue to contribute columns on the sporting world to the London Evening Standard - you can read an archive here.
Moonlighting
Not at all medieval alert: One for those medievalists who also enjoy the fine world of sport. I am now writing a regular column for the London Evening Standard. You can read it online or pick up a copy of the paper outside any London Tube station of an afternoon.
Summer of Blood paperback review
Boyd Tonkin at the Independent thought that the recent paperback edition of Summer of Blood was a ’swift and thrilling close-up history of the Peasants’ Revolt’. You can read his generous review here.
Churchilliana
Here’s a link to my lead review from this week’s Spectator. I discuss three recent books about Sir Winston Churchill, attempting to get to grips with his views on Empire (’I have not become the King’s First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire’) and race (’I hate people with slit eyes and pig-tails’), as well as his attitudes towards standing up (best avoided) and his mother’s predilection for ‘dinner or tea or sex’ with members of the royal family.
Enjoy.
Summer of Blood paperback reviews
Two little plugs for the paperback edition of Summer of Blood, released this week, have appeared in The Telegraph and The Times.
Give a clown a gun and whaddya got?
‘Summer of Blood’ in paperback
My first book, “Summer of Blood: The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381″, is released in paperback on March 4th. You can pre-order it here. It looks rather natty in soft-cover.
Vampires: Why They Bite
If you want to have another look at tonight’s BBC3 show, ‘Vampires: Why They Bite’, which was presented by the brilliant Lisa Hilton, then jog on over to BBC iPlayer. You will spot me banging on about the historical significance of the vampire myth at several points.




My Evening Standard column
I am covering Sam Leith’s beat while he’s away. Read my Evening Standard column here. Enjoyment guaranteed, or your money back. I can say that, now the Evening Standard is free.