History - Helen Callaghan

Orkney Baking – Beremeal and Birsay Biscuits

June 29, 2020June 28, 2020 Blog, Recent Cookery, History, Research

So now Night Falls, Still Missing is being released on July 23rd, I wanted to start sharing why I wrote the book and set it on Orkney. I’d been fascinated with the islands and their

Face to face with Jane Eyre

March 25, 2015August 18, 2016 Blog, Recent Books, Events, Fiction, History, Random

Had a lovely day – I had decided yesterday to pitch up at the Folio Prize Festival at the British Library. I was late and missed most of the first panel, so I lunched vaguely and turned up for the first

The Chronophage – the Eater of Time

February 15, 2015August 21, 2016 Blog, Recent, Video Cambridge, Dear Amy, History, Random, Research, Weird

One of the Cambridge landmarks that features in the latest book is the Corpus Clock. The clock is this large, imposing creation set into the corner of Corpus Christi College where Trumpington Street and Bene’t Street meet.

Visiting Felbrigg Hall

January 29, 2015August 21, 2016 Blog, Recent Dear Amy, Fiction, History, Research, Travel

One of the things that I did this year, while writing Dear Amy, was get out to visit some country houses. One of these was Felbrigg Hall. At the centre of the book is a

Medieval Cookery: Roo Broth

November 6, 2014August 21, 2016 Blog, Recent Cookery, History, Research

Roo broth – I know, right? What is it, some kind of medieval kangaroo soup? Well, no. Roo broth is more of a bruet – a kind of thickly sauced meat dish – a bit

Medieval Cookery: Frumenty

October 30, 2014August 21, 2016 Blog, Recent Cookery, History, Research

So, for a while I’ve been promising myself I’d have a go at making frumenty. For a start, it’s easy, and also, it’s ubiquitous. It was a very common thing to serve in medieval times.

Review: Medea

September 8, 2014August 21, 2016 Blog, Recent Drama, History, Reviews

So, a friend of mine mentioned that she was off to see Medea at the cinema, in a live broadcast from its last night at the NT. This reminded me I’d not seen it despite having really

Medieval Cookery: Pies de Parys

September 4, 2014September 5, 2016 Blog, Recent Cookery, History, Research

So, since it’s Sunday and I’ve been working very hard on the book, I fancied something indulgent, and settled on Pies de Parys, a meat pie from Pleyn Delit. This pie, from Harleian MS 4016 (dating from around

Adventures in Dystopia: the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment on Orford Ness

August 26, 2014September 6, 2016 Blog, Recent, Video History, Research, Weird

So, this weekend I did something a little different. I’ve been thinking ahead to my future projects. I wondered which crime project will follow Bethan Avery, the first draft of which is nearly complete. With this

Writing in the Cambridge University Library

July 28, 2014September 6, 2016 Blog, Recent Books, Cambridge, Dear Amy, History, Research, Travel

Had a wonderful day writing in the university library, with a whole room-with-a-view in the North Front to myself because there was only one desk there, complete with plug. I must have been inured

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