Viper Bite Fatalities A couple of early readers queried my inclusion of a death by adder bite in the opening pages of Blood Among the Threads - and whether such things ever actually happened. Well, of course, we all know that this was exactly what killed Ragnar Lodbrok, wasn't it? Maybe more relevant, I was lucky to come across the review … [Read more...] about 1876, Viper Bites
Victorian Crime
Settings and interesting trivia arising from the author's twelfth novel, Blood Among the Threads, set in Wrexham during the town's "anno mirabilis", 1876.
1876, Wrexham’s High Street
For Blood Among The Threads, we needed to recreate at least most of the shops along Wrexham's High Street in 1876, like this... My favourite? J.F. Edisbury's pharmacy, at Number Three. He sells medications, ginger beers, and much more, including special “Wrexham Exhibition” souvenir versions of (a) his special pomade, Wrexham … [Read more...] about 1876, Wrexham’s High Street
Great Historical Crime Novels Set in Wales
Purely my own favourites... Number One West Wales, 1850. When an old tree root is dug up, the remains of a young woman are found. Harry Probert-Lloyd, a young barrister forced home from London by encroaching blindness, has been dreading this discovery. He knows exactly whose bones they are. Working with his clerk, John Davies, Harry is … [Read more...] about Great Historical Crime Novels Set in Wales
1876, Wrexham’s “Year of Wonder”
There have been many memorable years in Wrexham's history.1463, and the great fire which destroyed so much of the town and the original church; 1643, another fire and Cromwell's troops occupy the town; 1715, and the terrible anti-Dissenter Sacheverell riots; 1857, and the town receives its borough charter; 1864, and Wrexham AFC formed. But then … [Read more...] about 1876, Wrexham’s “Year of Wonder”
It’s Here – Blood Among the Threads
Wrexham, 1876. Meet Alfred Neobard Palmer, an unlikely hero. “It was a death which had brought him here. Death by snake venom, of all things.” Palmer – and his more courageous sweetheart, young Ettie Francis. A series of accidental deaths which increasingly seem – well, more than simply accidental. Deaths luring Palmer and Ettie, slowly but surely, … [Read more...] about It’s Here – Blood Among the Threads