dark historical fiction

  • The Return of the SS Strumble

    About a 24-minute read or a 36-minute listen. At White Head Lighthouse, Thomas Darling keeps the lamp burning through a violent storm. Then a half-drowned stowaway brings a warning about his former berth, SS Strumble, an empty ship, recorded lost, and now carrying ticking machinery that can calculate the future, and perhaps alter the coming…

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  • Merlin and the Unburied King

    About a 22-minute read or a 34-minute listen. Three days after the battle at Arfderydd, Brother Robert searches for the missing bard, Merlin, amidst the devastation. As he and two others navigate the battlefield, they grapple with the dead king Gwenddolau’s unburied body, Merlin’s potential madness, and the need for a proper farewell.

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  • The Broomfield Witch

    The Broomfield Witch

    About a 30-minute read or a 41 minute listen. Jess Harwood returns to her late mother’s home after seven years, uncovering memories and remnants of her mother’s life and secrets. As she begins to help the village with herbal remedies, she discovers a powerful stone, the Eye of the Dracan, which deepens her connection to…

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  • The Severed Heads

    The Severed Heads

    About an 11-minute read or 17-minute listen. In 1812, French artist Théodore Géricault painted ‘The Severed Heads’. With a reputation for macabre works, and a morgue supplying him with subjects, this was just one of several. The pair were unknown but France was in the turmoil of post-revolutionary governance, so who could this couple have…

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  • The Ghosts of Godstow Abbey

    The Ghosts of Godstow Abbey

    About an 8-minute read or 14-minute listen. Lady Katherine Bulkeley grapples with a letter concerning the crown’s inquiry into her abbey, feeling the weight of change and uncertainty. In the chapel, she encounters the spirits of Henry and Rosamund, who share insights on legacy, authority, and love.

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