Today women have the rights and equality our Victorian sisters could only dream of, and with those privileges comes the responsibility of standing up and being counted.

Writers of novels live in a strange world where what's made up is as important as what's real.

Without archives many stories of real people would be lost, and along with those stories, vital clues that allow us to reflect and interpret our lives today.

If we don't value the people who inspire us (and money is one mark of that) then what kind of culture are we building?

History at its best is a gritty, dirty business.

As an historical novelist - there are few jobs more retrospective.

Change occurs slowly. Very often a legal change might take place but the cultural shift required to really accept its spirit lingers in the wings for decades.