ALAN FISK'S HOME PAGE

Writing about other times and places

This site will close on 26th. October 2009. After that, you will be able to find it at http://www.alanfisk.com which should be live soon, but it may look a mess until I get all the coding sorted out!

Writing historical novels

My main interest is in writing historical novels. I have had five historical novels published: The Strange Things of the World in 1988, The Summer Stars in 1992 (republished in 2000), Forty Testoons (republished in 2007) in 1999, Lord of Silver in 2000, and Cupid and the Silent Goddess in 2003.

I am a member of
The Historical Novel Society and the
The Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators

Available now: a New Edition of Forty Testoons

See the publisher's website:



In 1504, King Henry VII of England paid a priest to go and minister to the fishermen in "the new isle". Forty Testoons tells the story of the young Father Ralph Fletcher's winter in Newfoundland. Ralph also appears in my latest historical novel, Cupid and the Silent Goddess, set in Florence 40 years later, as Father "Fleccia".

"...a fascinating story of intrigue that holds the reader's attention." (The Historical Novels Review, February 2001).

"Excellent" (Red Island Reviews)

You can order Forty Testoons in England from the Book Depository.

Cupid and the Silent Goddess



My most recent historical novel Cupid and the Silent Goddess is about an artist's apprentice in sixteenth-century Florence who saves an autistic young woman from exploitation. In Cupid and the Silent Goddess they appear as the models for Cupid and Venus in the painting Allegory with Venus and Cupid by Bronzino in the National Gallery, London.

"...a fiction which is as intriguing as the painting itself... an excellent read" (The Historical Novels Review, February 2004).

"Well-crafted, witty and instructive, it is a brilliant, imaginative novel" (Boheme, January 2005).

"Fans of authors such as Susan Vreeland and Tracy Chevalier who enjoy these what-if forays into art history will also enjoy Alan Fisk's imaginative story about how the painting 'Allegory with Venus and Cupid' came into being." (Copperfield Review, May 2005).

"I was engaged by this novel from beginning to end." (The Romance of History, April 2007).

For more information about Cupid and the Silent Goddess, including how to order it, see: the publisher's website.
My previous historical novel, Lord of Silver



In the Museum of London is a Roman roof tile bearing the scrawled words "Austalis has been going off by himself every day for thirteen days".

In the nearby countryside of Kent is the beautifully-preserved Lullingstone Roman villa, with its magnificent wall paintings, mosaic floors, and the earliest known private Christian chapel in Britain.

In 366 A.D. Austalis, a young warrior from beyond Hadrian's Wall, passes through the frontier of Roman Britain. Austalis finds a home, a wife, and a respected status in Roman Britain, but loses everything and takes a terrible revenge at great cost to all that he loves, to Rome, and to himself.

"...a strong whiff of authenticity." (The Historical Novels Review, May 2001).

Lord of Silver is currently being revised. A new improved version of the first chapter will appear here in a few months' time.



A full review of the original edition of Lord of Silver.


The Summer Stars



The Summer Stars is a fictional account of his life by the bard Taliesin. There have been many fantasy novels about Taliesin, but as far as I know The Summer Stars is the only novel to have attempted a reconstruction of his actual life as it might have been in sixth-century Britain. (The Lullingstone Roman villa, which features in Lord of Silver, also appears in The Summer Stars.)

"A story with strong holding-power, which kept me reading until much too late every night." (Rosemary Sutcliff).

"...a well-written, engaging blend of history, fiction, and memoir." (The Historical Novels Review, February 2001).

Read the first chapter of The Summer Stars
You will need Adobe PDF Reader. If you don't already have it, you can download it free from this site.

The Strange Things of the World



My novel The Strange Things of the World tells the story of what has been called "the world's first tourist cruise", when in 1536 a group of London scholars and merchants, eager to see "the strange things of the world", hired two ships to sail across the Atlantic to Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland.

"One of the best books of its type to be published locally." (Newfoundland Herald).

"This is what we ask of historical fiction." (Atlantic Provinces Book Review).

Read the first chapter of The Strange Things of the World
You will need Adobe PDF Reader. If you don't already have it, you can download it free from this site.

Non-Fiction Books

Technical Communication - International

I contributed a chapter to Technical Communication - International, which was published by the German technical communication society tekom.

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Links to other sites on the Web

Pauline Montagna's The Romance of History e-zine, containing articles and book reviews dedicated to all authentic historical fiction, not only romances.

Soon's historical fiction website. A treasury of information and links about historical novels.

Shara Smock's site for writers.

Charles Goulet's page about his Canadian historical novels.

The homepage of the Canadian Air Force. I was in 1 Tactical Aviation Wing.

Enter Author's LAST Name, eBook Title, ISBN or Keyword

This site has been added to Catherine Karp's "Historical Fiction" webring.

Copyright 1997 Alan Fisk Send me an e-mail

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