Eugene Francois Vidocq, born in 1775, was a thief turned detective, Europe’s first bona fide private eye. At fourteen he killed a fencing master in a duel and this incident paved the way to a life of crime. After serving his time as a convict in the galleys, Vidocq became a police spy and later the head … Continue reading Vidocq – The First Detective by Hannah Howe
Christmas in the Victorian era differed considerably from the Christmas we celebrate today as these extracts from the Glamorgan Gazette reveal. In 1876 the Gazette reported that: ‘The Sunday Schools belonging to the Calvinistic Methodists in this district held a meeting on Christmas Day at Cornelly, to recite portions of “Hyfforddwr Charles.” The following schools took part: … Continue reading A Victorian Christmas – Mansel Jones
You have probably heard of Dick Turpin, but who was he and what happened to him? Dick Turpin was baptised on 21 September 1705 at Hempstead, Essex. He established himself as a butcher, stealing stock from local farmers. Later, while on the run, he resorted to robbing smugglers who roamed the local coast. On 4 May … Continue reading Stand and Deliver
On 21st December 1911, a French anarchist gang made history by using the first getaway car. The car, a 1910 Delaunay-Belleville luxury limousine (pictured), registration number 783-X-3, was stolen on 14th December 1911 by four members of the gang who changed the plate to 668-X-8. A week later they used the car to intercept a … Continue reading Mini Mystery The First Getaway Car
Several poems attributed to the sixth century poet Taliesin also refer to Arthur. These poems include ‘Kadeir Teyrnon’ (‘The Chair of the Prince’), making reference to ‘Arthur the Blessed’, ‘Preiddeu Annwn’ (‘The Spoils of Annwn’), which recounts Arthur’s expedition to the Otherworld, and ‘Marwnat Vthyr Pendragon’ (‘The Elegy of Uther Pendragon’), a poem that refers … Continue reading Arthur of the Britons
In September 1912 Charles Dawson, a respected country lawyer, made a shocking discovery. He found a prehistoric humanoid skull in a gravel pit near Piltdown Common, Sussex. The skull proved Charles Darwin’s 1859 Theory of Evolution. Or did it? Dr Arthur Smith Woodward of the British Museum joined Charles Dawson on his archaeological dig. Together, … Continue reading Mini Mystery: Piltdown Man
In May 1604 Robert Catesby rented rooms adjacent to the House of Lords and, along with over a dozen conspirators, instigated a plot to kill James I and replace him on the throne with Elizabeth, James’ nine year old daughter. One of the conspirators was Guido Fawkes, an explosives expert. The conspirators learned that the … Continue reading The Gunpowder Plot
During the summer of 2014, I had an idea to write a private detective novel. I outlined the main character, a female narrator with a wacky sense of humour who lived and worked from a houseboat. The initial idea made me laugh, but then I realised that the character was too light-weight and didn’t really … Continue reading Sam, the Genesis of a Series
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