It always pays to do some research, even, when as I am, you are creating your literary world. My novels are set in a post-apocalyptic but not dystopian future England, very roughly Edwardian society meets Tudor politics. This means that I can play a little bit with how things are in relative safety and the … Continue reading Ely… The visit that nearly unravelled my plot…
Idressed down for my visit to Vernon’s base near the docks. My oldest coat, a battered wide brimmed hat, a moth eaten checked scarf, a long knife in my outside coat pocket. Underneath the coat a jacket with thin, hardened steel, plates sewn inside it, a prudent precaution even in normal times in that part … Continue reading Chapter 4 – Urban Living
This lockdown has had very odd effects for me. Since I was in a crash on the motorway just before lockdown I don't have a car. Where I live public transport is rubbish so working from home is good. It has also meant that I walk everywhere. My world has telescoped to a radius of … Continue reading Smallworlditis…
A few people have queried some of the technology that is, and is not, present in my vision of a post-apocalyptic world. The commonest queries are about phones... no one seems to believe that the mobile phone (cell phone for our friends across the pond) would cease to exist! Many people of course can't imagine … Continue reading After The Deluge… Part 10: Telephones
Given my previous post about war and questioning the representation of it maybe it is a little perverse to set down to write a brief canter through the history of fortifications. However, defensive structures can, and have, prevented conflict for millennia. They have also be the focus of conflict, resistance, survival and defeat. Many castles … Continue reading Fortification – A Brief History… Part 1
Modern houses are made, for the most part, of brick and concrete blocks. Topped with tiled roofs. At least in the UK. There is a lot of labour in making the bricks but a major reason that they were, historically, expensive was the cost of fuel. Where timber is used as the fuel there is … Continue reading After The Deluge… Part 9: Houses
An odd subject I know but.one that has an odd fascination for me: fish traps. These labour saving devices have been independently invented by cultures all over the world and have a very ancient pedigree. At their most basic they are baskets that a set in a strong current to catch fish that seek to … Continue reading After The Deluge… Part8: Fish Traps
Irecently received a couple of reviews where my readers had problems with the co-existence of cars and steam engines. This, I must confess, I found baffling. Historically this happened. Steam trains were in commercial service in the UK until the mid 1960s. Steam traction engines were a common sight on the roads and especially on … Continue reading After The Deluge… Part 6: Steam Power
Jeremiah Hope 