In researching the period of the novels, I’ve attended scholarly conferences marking the bicentennial of Trafalgar; studied the architecture, furnishings and art of the period; and read upwards of an hundred relevant histories and biographies, as well as the eyewitness accounts of Prime Minister Perceval’s assassination found in the newspapers and magazines of May and June 1812. An avid cross country rider, I’m also–so they tell me–an accomplished pianist and accompanist, having regularly performed music of the period. I’ve also been a professional book critic for most of my career–specialising in European history.  So no surprises there.