Tales Through Time

Blog about history, historical fiction, and writing

News, views, and reviews, and a space for commentary
and discussion about history in fiction and non-fiction,
in particular, historical fiction, historical fantasy, time-slip
novels, and alternative history as well as anthropology,
social history, and related fields. I accept occasional guest
blogs about the craft of researching and writing about
historical figures, historical places, or anything else related
to history that has found its way into your books.

July 2, 2020

Children and Community Gardens in New York City

I have had the great good fortune to fall in love—no, not with a person, though that has happened to me as well. I fell in love with an entire population—community gardeners all over New York City. This love emerged out of a research project about people rehabilitating abandoned buildings through sweat equity labor. As…

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June 27, 2020

Review: Souvenirs from Kiev – Ukraine and Ukrainians in WWII, by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

  Throughout history, Ukraine has been at the crossroads of various powers including Polish-Lithuania, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia. This has been particularly and painfully apparent during the 1930s and 1940s. In the early 1930s, Ukrainian suffered through the Holodomor, a devastating man-made famine created by the Soviets, and resulting in the deaths of…

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June 4, 2020

The Study and Practice of Medicine in 13th Century Salerno

In a deleted chapter in my historical fiction book, The Falconer’s Apprentice, my protagonist Andreas, after a long journey, is on his way to Salerno, carrying a letter of recommendation from Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in his pocket. Arriving at the courtyard of Maahir Ibn Ghaiyyas, Andreas comes upon a chaotic scene, a woman…

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May 26, 2020

The Struggle for Eden: Community Gardens in New York City

I am pleased to announce the release of the E-book version of The Struggle for Eden: Community Gardens in New York City.  I am happy to be able to make this book, originally released only as a hardcover, available to a wider audience. This book is a portrayal of the political, economic, and cultural history…

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May 12, 2020

Review: The Upside of Hunger, by Roxi Harms

It gives me great pleasure to post my review of this compelling biographical account of an extraordinary individual who has lived through extraordinary times. This brilliantly executed narrative, based on a true story, is both a story of the old world and the new world. The novel focuses on Adam Baumann, an ethnic German born…

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May 1, 2020

Review and Guest Post: TRILLIUM, by M.L. Holton

May 1, 2020 It is my great pleasure to draw your attention to the latest release by the award-winning Canadian author and artist Margaret Lindsay Holton. TRILLIUM is a sweeping historical fiction saga that spans 250 years of the lives of three families in Ontario, Canada. I came across M.L. Holton’s work through my interest…

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April 13, 2020

Falconello – Prisoner in Bologna

“[Andreas] walked across the Piazza Maggiore and looked at the palace where Enzio was imprisoned. In the half light of the early evening, its clean lines and simple grey-pinkish sandstone façade gave the building a soft and inviting character. It was hard to think of this elegant edifice as containing prison cells and dungeons. The…

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March 19, 2020

Castel del Monte

Imagine traveling on horseback through the gently rolling hills and open plains of Apulia with its olive groves, stands of pines and holm oak, and almond trees. It’s hot, the air leaves you feeling dry and parched, and your eyes hurt from the strain of the bright sun. Then, adjusting your hat, you happen to…

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