Set in the heart of Regency England, A Bachelor Establishment is a tale of love, scandal, and second chances. Independent, sharp-witted, and determined Elinor Bascombe is widowed and tied to an impoverished estate. When an unexpected twist of fate forces her into the company of Lord Ryde, sparks fly—but not necessarily the romantic kind. After being exiled abroad after a scandal, he has returned to strip his estate and make a new start in America.

As circumstances conspire to throw them together, they find themselves navigating a world of misunderstandings, mischief, and meddling acquaintances. A deeper connection begins to form, challenging both to confront their pasts and reconsider their futures.

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However, History seems to have different plans for them and when Max finds herself delivering a child in a peasant's hut, she can't help wondering what History is up to.

Enjoy this extract from When A Child Is Born read by bestselling author Jodi Taylor. Available in Kindle and audiobook formats and included in the short story anthology The Long and Short of It.

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It's drama, darling! In this year's festive tale, the nation's favourite film producer, Calvin Cutter, returns to darken the doors of St Mary's once again... Jodi Taylor and the disaster magnets of St Mary's return with a story of chaos and catastrophe to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

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Jodi Taylor reads an extract from White Silence, the first book in the Elizabeth Cage paranormal thriller series.

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Have you discovered the Elizabeth Cage series yet?

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Significant Events in History on 31st October

The date 31st October is best known today for Halloween, but historically, it has been a day marked by a number of significant events across centuries. From notable political occurrences to groundbreaking discoveries, 31st October has seen events that have shaped both British history and the world at large. Below is a look at some of the key events that took place on this date.

1. 1517 – Martin Luther Nails His 95 Theses

On 31st October 1517, German monk Martin Luther famously nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, challenging the practices of the Catholic Church, especially the sale of indulgences. This act is widely regarded as the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation in Europe, a movement that had profound religious, political, and cultural implications. The Reformation led to the establishment of Protestantism and significantly altered the landscape of Christianity, influencing European society for centuries to come.

2. 1795 – Britain Acquires Control of Cape Colony

On 31st October 1795, Britain officially took control of the Cape Colony (modern-day South Africa) from the Dutch, marking the start of British colonial rule in the region. This was part of Britain’s strategic expansion during the Napoleonic Wars, and it had long-term consequences for South Africa, which would become an important part of the British Empire. British influence in the Cape Colony laid the foundation for centuries of social, economic, and political dynamics in Southern Africa.

3. 1926 – Death of Harry Houdini

The world-famous magician and escape artist Harry Houdini died on 31st October 1926, in Detroit, Michigan, from peritonitis caused by a ruptured appendix. His death, occurring on Halloween, added to the mystique surrounding his life and career. Known for his extraordinary escape acts, Houdini had captivated audiences worldwide with feats that included escaping from chains, handcuffs, and sealed water tanks. His life and mysterious death have inspired countless films, books, and legends in the world of magic.

4. 1940 – The Battle of Britain Ends

31st October 1940 marks the official end of the Battle of Britain, a crucial military campaign during World War II. The German Luftwaffe’s sustained aerial attacks on the United Kingdom had begun in July 1940, with the objective of weakening Britain’s air force and paving the way for an invasion. However, the Royal Air Force (RAF) successfully resisted the Luftwaffe, preventing Germany from achieving air superiority. The victory in the Battle of Britain was a turning point in WWII, bolstering British morale and proving that Hitler’s forces could be withstood.

5. 1961 – Soviet Union Tests the Tsar Bomba

On 31st October 1961, the Soviet Union tested the Tsar Bomba, the largest and most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. The hydrogen bomb, tested on the remote Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, had a staggering yield of 50 megatons. The explosion produced a mushroom cloud that reached 60 kilometres into the sky, with shock waves felt hundreds of miles away. The Tsar Bomba remains the largest man-made explosion in history and marked a peak in the nuclear arms race during the Cold War, intensifying the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.

6. 1984 – Assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

On 31st October 1984, Indira Gandhi, the first and only female Prime Minister of India, was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. The assassination followed Operation Blue Star, a controversial military action ordered by Gandhi against Sikh separatists who had taken refuge in the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Her assassination led to widespread anti-Sikh riots across India, resulting in thousands of deaths and long-term repercussions for communal relations in India. Indira Gandhi’s death was a significant moment in Indian history, marking the end of an era in Indian politics.

7. 1993 – Maastricht Treaty Comes Into Effect

The Maastricht Treaty, formally known as the Treaty on European Union, officially came into force on 31st October 1993. This treaty, signed by members of the European Economic Community, established the European Union (EU) and paved the way for the creation of the Euro, the single European currency. The Maastricht Treaty was a pivotal moment in European history, as it introduced a new level of economic, political, and social integration across Europe. It shaped the modern EU, influencing policies, economic cooperation, and a common European identity.

8. 1999 – World Population Reaches 6 Billion

On 31st October 1999, the United Nations marked the birth of the world’s six billionth person, symbolising a milestone in global population growth. While it is difficult to determine the exact moment when the population reached this figure, the UN selected a symbolic "six-billionth baby," born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, for this milestone. The rapid population growth highlighted issues of resources, environmental sustainability, and social infrastructure, prompting international discussions on family planning, healthcare, and economic development.

9. 2011 – UNESCO Declares Palestine a Full Member

On 31st October 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) granted full membership to Palestine, despite opposition from the United States and Israel. This decision was seen as a significant symbolic step towards Palestine’s recognition on the world stage and sparked intense diplomatic debate. It also had practical implications, as the U.S. subsequently withdrew funding from UNESCO due to the decision. The event highlighted ongoing tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the complexities surrounding international recognition.

From ancient religious reformations to political milestones, scientific discoveries, and cultural developments, 31st October has witnessed a wide array of events that continue to resonate. Each year, Halloween shares its date with these important moments in history, reminding us that 31st October is more than just a day for costumes and candy—it’s a date with a profound historical legacy.

When we think of Halloween, many of us picture trick-or-treaters in spooky costumes, pumpkins with grinning faces, and perhaps the odd black cat slinking across a moonlit street. While Halloween may seem like an American import, the truth is that many of its traditions and spooky stories have deep roots right here in the UK. Halloween in Britain is a fascinating mix of history, myth, and modern-day fun, from ghostly processions to ancient rituals aimed at warding off spirits. So, let’s dive into some of the best British Halloween myths and traditions.

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Enjoy this very entertaining extract from The Toast of Time, in which the Security Department embraces World Naked Gardening Day just as the Parish Council is due to arrive. The Toast of Time is available in Kindle and Audiobook formats and in print in The Most Wonderful Time of the Year anthology.

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From the globally bestselling author of the Chronicles of St Mary's and Time Police series - the origin story of bounty hunters extraordinaire: Smallhope and Pennyroyal.

Meet Lady Amelia Smallhope, for whom there is no problem that can't be solved by a drink and a think.

And Pennyroyal, for whom there is no problem. Ever.

Everyone's favourite bounty hunters. Sorry - recovery agents.

No bad guy they can't handle. No expense account too flexible. No adventure too outrageous.

Join them as they settle scores, break every rule in the book and take the world by storm.

Fasten your seatbelts. The timeline doesn't know what's hit it.

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With their children off on a school trip Russell and Jenny are contemplating their first peaceful weekend for many years.

SPOILER ALERT: That doesn't happen.

The telephone lines are down.
The lights have gone out.
The weather is closing in.
And that's not the only thing . . .

Out in eBook and audiobook format on 25th April

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NEW! Exclusive range of notebooks available in hardback and paperback covers

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Extract from The Battersea Barricades by Jodi Taylor

It was St George’s Day at St Mary’s. That’s the St Mary’s Institute of Historical Research. We’re located just outside Rushford, although, as Leon often points out, if I don’t keep a firm grip on Professor Rapson, Miss Lingoss, Mr Swanson and all the other nutters in R&D, we won’t be located here for very much longer. We investigate major historical events in contemporary time.

It was St George’s Day at St Mary’s and most of us were wearing a rose. No, not the same rose, obviously. It’s at this point Markham always gives thanks for not being Welsh – as, I suspect, do the Welsh – because he says he would never know where to put his leek. Mr Evans frequently offers to demonstrate. Markham points out that Evans is from Halifax so what does he know, and there’s often a bit of a scuffle, resulting in a light blizzard of Deductions From Wages to Pay for Damages Incurred forms dropping from on high.

So – where was I?  St George’s Day at St Mary’s. Done that. Roses. Yes, we’ve done that, too. Have I mentioned the fire-breathing dragon? As Miss Lingoss had pointed out in the scorched aftermath of that particular trauma – it had been a perfectly legitimate experiment designed to ascertain whether it was possible for a dragon to manufacture and breathe fire without blowing its own head off and yes, all right, shame about the apple tree, but it would probably grow back. Better than ever. Like eucalyptus trees. I’d felt a headache coming on and requested she go and annoy someone else.

Returning yet again to the present – St George’s Day – Rosie Lee, my assistant – and trust me, you’re far more likely to catch sight of a fire-breathing dragon than of her actually doing any work – had pushed off early. ‘It’s St George’s Day, Max,’ as if that was any sort of excuse, and I was alone which, trust me, at St Mary’s, is not necessarily a Bad Thing.

I tidied up a bit, dictated two reports and pulled out a copy of next month’s assignments to take down to Mrs Enderby in Wardrobe so she could make a start on assembling the costumes.

I knew something was going on outside because, at his request, I’d loaned the entire History Department to Professor Rapson. I could hear voices. Lots of voices. But no screaming. Not yet, anyway. I would investigate later when it was too late for me to be implicated in whatever was about to happen. I grabbed the schedule and trotted around the gallery, down the stairs, through the deserted Great Hall, and into the Wardrobe Department.

The three of them were sitting together at the far end of the room. They were all wearing black with a red rose pinned to their dresses. Mrs Mack had kicked off her shoes and sat with her legs curled underneath her. Mrs Enderby sat primly in her seat, unusually free from the French chalk that was a hazard of her profession, and Mrs Shaw was staring blankly out of the window. They were in a world of their own.

I had forgotten today was their anniversary. I don’t know how I managed that. It’s not as if the dates and events hadn’t been drummed into us in school. But I had.

I’m going to digress again. Brace yourselves.

Constitutional monarchy. People think because the monarch reigns rather than rules, he or she has no teeth. That’s not actually true – something people who think our hereditary monarchy should be replaced by easily bought, corrupt, publicity-seeking criminals with egos the size of a planet, or politicians as they’re sometimes known, don’t seem to be able to comprehend.

The monarch advises and warns and, because he or she can say no, a wise politician – sorry, just struggling with the unfamiliar use of the words ‘wise’ and ‘politician’ in the same sentence – a wise politician ensures they never have to. It’s a system that worked well, give or take a few tweaks, until comparatively recently. Until something went wrong. No one knows what. The details are restricted under the Hundred Years Rule and possibly won’t be made public even then, because no politician wants the electorate to realise that power actually resides with the people, so no one knows exactly what happened, but something did.

‘Constitutional Crisis’, shrieked the headlines. Except in the Daily Mail, of course – this was before it was banned – which led with a double page full-colour spread on women in the public eye, highlighting their losing battle with cellulite.

Anyway, it seemed the government either had done or planned to do something even more amazingly stupid than usual. It would probably all have died down eventually, but the old king, an amiable duffer by all accounts and idealistically the polar opposite of then very right-wing government, made a statement. It was comparatively mild – as he was himself – but it flicked the government on the raw. And then, having chucked the royal cat amongst the political pigeons, he went on to make an extremely ill-advised broadcast to the nation, attempting to explain his position and justify his actions. He would have done better to have kept quiet. You could almost hear Edward I, a man who never explained or justified anything in his entire life, turning in his grave.

The government, alarmed by the magnitude of support for the royal point of view, panicked, and assumed what it called Emergency Powers, and what everyone else called Losing the Plot.

Sadly, despite his best efforts, the old king had only succeeded in making things very much worse. He was bundled from the political scene before he could do any more harm and despatched to Scotland – which was being even more than normally fractious – on the grounds that each deserved the other.

There was a great deal of muttering across the country, which probably wouldn’t have come to much because we’re British and we mutter all the time, albeit quite politely, but having got the hang of overreacting, the government, aware of what had happened in the US, suspended a few more civil liberties and announced their latest, greatest idea – the possible future introduction of what they liked to call, ‘The People’s President’.

Once everyone stopped laughing, however, this was discovered to be a very real threat and suddenly people woke up. The thing is – in this country, everything belongs to the Crown and not the government. The police and armed forces swear their oath of allegiance to the monarch and his/her elected government. The courts belong to the monarch. People are detained at His Majesty’s pleasure. The laws might be passed by Parliament, but they’re upheld by the Royal Courts. The real power of the throne is that it holds no powers itself, but prevents those powers being held by others, which means that, theoretically, the government can’t arrest a bunch of dissidents and bundle them into court with instructions to the judge to find them guilty and send them down for twenty years.

Well, obviously, all that was being kicked into touch and people didn’t like it. That’s not the way we do things. We’ve chopped people’s heads off for less. Politely, of course.

The mutterings increased and in Cardiff, of all places, people channelled Owain Glyn Dŵr and Llewellyn the Great and, for all I know, Ifor the Engine, and took to the streets to voice their opinion of things in general and the government in particular.

And not just in Cardiff. All over Wales they came down from the mountains, climbed out of the valleys and sang at people. Well, no, obviously they didn’t, but you get the drift.

The Northern Irish, writhing under the yoke of British oppression – they said – joined in as well, and the Scots, never ones to be late to a party, lined up behind Hadrian’s Wall and prepared for the traditional summer pursuits of cattle rustling, maiden-snatching and independence declaring.

I’m exaggerating, but only slightly. And, obviously, it wasn’t a spontaneous uprising. None of this happened overnight. It took about a decade for the slow erosion of freedoms and civil liberties to come to a head. It wasn’t a case of a single section of society feeling disconnected. Everyone felt disconnected. The government had finally achieved a perfect score because, now, no one was happy. Anyway, inevitably, matters came to a head.

It was a long, hot summer. Tempers frayed, hosepipe bans were imposed, England were kicked out of the first round of the World Cup, beaten 3 - 0 by the People’s Republic of Somewhere Or Other, population twenty-five thousand if you included the livestock. Suddenly a further series of draconian laws hit the statute books, rushed through the Commons on the nod and not allowed anywhere near the House of Lords at any price because some twenty or thirty of the few remaining peers had publicly announced their intention of kicking the Bill up the arse – together with the government it came in on. The House of Lords was quietly ignored and everyone geared themselves up for the Summer of Discontent.

I don’t think anyone expected things to escalate quite so quickly or quite so dramatically. Troops were despatched to Cardiff – to ensure public safety, they said, and for the good maintenance of order. Anti-government protesters became out-and-out rebels and took to the streets.  

Terrified of losing what control remained, the government tried to tighten its grip and succeeded only in losing it completely. It must have been like clutching at smoke. The tiny town of Thirsk – at no small cost to themselves – publicly declared their support for Cardiff. Additional troops were deployed northwards and we were off.

Violence began to spread across the country like a fringe of fire on lighted newspaper. Pitched battles were fought in the streets. Property was destroyed. Schools and universities closed. Local authorities were disbanded and their powers claimed by the government. Only temporarily, of course. They said. Public gatherings of more than five people were forbidden.  Hundreds of people were hurt. Some died. The government issued warning after warning. Additional powers were granted to the police and the military. Habeas corpus was suspended. There were running battles in the streets.

Of course, when law and order breaks down, everything breaks down. The streets weren’t safe, even during daylight. There were food riots and power cuts which led to widespread looting. Private scores were settled, and it seemed there was no way of preventing the country from sliding into anarchy and chaos.

The government hit back. Those deemed to be … less British … were informed they were no longer welcome. Political dissidents – and there were a lot of them by this time – were rounded up. Snatch squads at dawn became a common event and the rest of the world looked on, appalled, as Britain seemed set to disappear, like Narnia, in fire and water.

There was no one to help. Europe was imploding. No one had a clue what was happening in the US, but according to the few who had made it out, it wasn’t good. Russia and China had stopped talking to one another which was generally reckoned to be about the only good news around. Storms, droughts, and floods played havoc across the world. People started to believe that it was the beginning of the end of the world.

We hope you enjoyed this free extract. CLICK HERE to buy The Battersea Barricades from Amazon. Available in ebook and audiobook formats. Also in print in Long Story Short.

'It's time, Max.' And so, a whole new chapter opens up...

It's long been known that if a thing can go wrong, it will. With knobs on, usually. Disasters start to pile up. A new colleague with no respect for the past and a great deal to prove. Historians lost in time. And - worst of all - Rosie Lee on her very first jump. Then there's the small matter of Max's dishonourable discharge.

From Tudor England to the Tower of Babel - it's all going horribly wrong.

Jobless and homeless, Max receives an offer she can't refuse. Another time, another place. A refuge, perhaps.

She's got that wrong, too.

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BOOK 14 IN THE CHRONICLES OF ST MARY'S SERIES

St Mary's is under investigation. Their director has been shot and Max is Number One Suspect. Can things get any worse? We all know the answer to that one.

Max needs to get away - fast - and a Brilliant Idea soon leads her to a full-scale uprising in twentieth-century China. If she can come by a historical treasure or two in the process, even better. That is, if she makes it out alive.

Then there's the small matter of Insight - the sinister organisation from the future hell bent on changing History for their own dark ends. Having successfully infiltrated their ranks, Max is perfectly placed to stop them. But she knows her cover will soon be blown - because it's already happened.

Can Max take down Insight before they come after her? The circle is closing, and only one can survive...

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I don't know who I am. I don't know what I am.

The identity of Elizabeth Cage has always been a mystery. Even she doesn't know who, or what, she is. But she's learned to live with it.

Until now, when what should have been a peaceful holiday turns into anything but, and Elizabeth is forced to recognise that she isn't what she seems.

But neither is anyone else. Has her whole life been a lie?

Someone very badly wants to know the truth about Elizabeth Cage. And they'll do anything to find out. But who will live to regret it?

Twisty, dark and incredibly gripping, the Elizabeth Cage novels are perfect for fans of Sarah Painter and Genevieve Cogman.

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Available in paperback, eBook and audiobook formats

Twenty-four hours is a long Time in the Time Police.

When a fateful mission to apprehend a minor criminal selling dodgy historical artefacts goes very wrong, Commander Hay faces the longest day of her career.

An officer is attacked within TPHQ. A prisoner is murdered. And investigations are about to lead to the one place where no officer can legally tread.

Worst of all, trouble is brewing for Luke, Jane and Matthew as a shocking revelation threatens to tear Team Weird apart for good....

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