This is aimed at all those writers interested in the area of historical fiction and who are keen to know more about it. The many different kinds of historical fiction are covered in detail - the family saga, the romance, the nostalgia novel, the adventure story, the 'straight' historical. The particular requirements of this genre are that the novel must be believable. Painstaking, but enjoyable research needs to be carried out to establish convincing background and characters. Observations from a number of leading historical novelists, including Rosemary Sutcliff, Winston Graham and Jean Plaidy are included in the book. Rhona Martin won the Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Award for "Gallows Wedding". Other novels include "The Unicorn Summer", "Mango Walk" and "Goodbye Sally".