aBurntShip

                                                  New Novel by Matt Tipper This novel has been on kindle for a few weeks and the printed book version is due for publication on 16th September 2026 via Amazon. A most impressive novel. The author follows the 'official' narrative. There is no attempt at an 'alternative' history: The conspirators make a deliberate attempt to devastate Westminster with actual gunpowder. There are no claims of any 'framing' of innocent Roman Catholics, or planting of another substance instead of gunpowder. Robert Cecil or other figures in power are not portrayed as having devised or manipulated the conspiracy towards their own ends. And there lies the strength of the novel. It recreates the story that so many readers are broadly familiar with, or have even studied, in such a captivating manner. Certainly Guy Fawkes is moved centre stage ...

                                            NEW AND IMPROVED SECOND EDITION 2025   Pity for the Guy ( Peter Owen publishers Ltd.)    first appeared in 2010. The revised edition is now available on kindle, but a paperback edition will be available soon, The author , John Paul Davis, is a historian and a successful writer of historical thrillers.  Although there was some interest in the Gunpowder Treason with the 1605-2005 anniversary, biographies of Guy Fawkes were in short supply for such a renowned figure. Pity for the Guy was a welcome addition to Gunpowder Treason studies, being well researched from the perspective of a historian but lively enough for the reader who knows little about the subject. This era is full of conspiracies, spies, intrigue,codes, with a large cast of historical figures. Another Guy Fawkes biography has appeared Nick Holland's The Re...

      Is an Alternative History of the Gunpowder Treason Possible? So far there was nothing in the Plot itself which guaranteed failure -and with its sheer daring, there was a great hope of a triumphant if gruesome success - Antonia Fraser  ( 2005) Not everyone agrees that there is any value in 'What If' speculation. 'Facts, facts, facts,' as Mr Bounderby from 'Hard Times' would put it, 'You are never to fancy'.  On the other hand counter factual history has been popular in recent decades and it is surprising that few seem to have fancied what would have had happened, if in fact Westminster been devastated by gunpowder as intended back in 1605. With a huge swathe of Britain's ruling elite amongst thousands of casualties, there would have been a power vacuum. Along with horrendous damage to the city itself, dying and injured to attend to, countless funerals to organise. Administration records destroyed in the blast.             ...

                                  First broadcast by the BBC on 1st November 1980  The Discovery of the Gunpowder Plot and the Taking of Guy Fawkes  (c. 1823) by  Henry Perronet Briggs . In the Public Domain, courtesy of 'Wikipedia'  At time of writing the Play is  available to  Listen Here   Michael Bully, 27th October 2025 . 'Gunpowder, Treason & Plot; Radio Drama, was part of the 'Saturday Night Theatre' series, written by A.J.Walton, with Michael Spice, Christopher Scott and John Moffat. Produced by Margaret Etall. Said to be influenced by Francis Edwards 'The True Story of the Gunpowder Plot' ( 1969). A description of the play read .... But what if the legend is based on a deliberate plan to deceive the country and discredit the Catholics? Why Guy himself was a voluntary participant, only on condition that he would reprieved.  The play starts with G...

                        William Harrison Ainsworth  (1805-1882)  William Harrison Ainsworth  by Daniel Maclise ( died 1870) donated to the National Portrait Gallery in 1949 : In public domain, courtesy of Wikipedia.  William Harrison Ainsworth  1805-1882 was the son of a Manchester solicitor and moved to London in 1824 to study law. As well as being a poet , magazine editor and journalist,  Ainsworth belonged to a crop of Victorian novelists who were widely read during during the middle of the 19th century but fell from favour, being  largely neglected by the end of his life. 'Guy Fawkes or The Gunpowder Treason -An Historical Romance'  appeared by installments, included in 'Bentley's Miscellania'  magazine from January 1840- November 1841 The historical novel was quite a new genre , arguably starting with Sir Walter's Scott's  'Waverley' from 1814. Ainsworth contributed  a...