Raymond Chandler’s 1944 essay in The Atlantic Magazine, The Simple Art of Murder, is a great touchstone for anyone writing genre fiction. Chandler was incredibly influential. He was one of [...]
When the Revolutionary War ended in 1783 and the King’s soldiers departed for England, the King’s laws went with them. Good riddance, most people said. British rule had been oppressive, [...]
“As far as I can tell, the first murder in New England was committed in 1630 with a gun.” Thomas McDade, The Annals of Murder. John Billington was probably not the first man to commit [...]
One of the most absorbing parts of writing historical fiction is the deep dive you make into the small stuff. What did people eat? What kinds of houses did they live in? What did they wear? The [...]
I’m writing historical novels, so I use old maps a lot in my research. Over the last few years, more and more map owners have put their maps on the web, so it’s become increasingly [...]
Here it is, ladies and gentlemen, the official hardback cover of The Devil’s Half Mile. It arrived the mail the other day – or at last a half dozen covers arrived, in a long flat [...]
On Saturday 19 August 1797, just after seven o’clock in the morning, New York’s Catherine Market burst into an uproar. Shoppers and traders rushed to Catherine Slip, at the lower end of the [...]
City Hall Park is one of those rare quarters of New York – a green space that has remained green since it was first laid down by the city planners. You can see quite clearly from the four [...]
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