Finola Austin's Blog: The Secret Victorianist

Back in June, I spent a wonderful weekend in Las Vegas for my third in-person Historical Novel Society North America Conference. I recapped some of the quotable takeaways from fellow historical novelists in my Part One blog post, which I wrote on the plane on the way home. Dressed as Miss Havisham for the costume contestBut one of the best things about HNSNA is that the conference isn’t over

Allison Epstein’s 2025 novel, Fagin, the Thief, is a prime example of the sort of book that made me launch this Neo-Victorian Voices blog series, exploring and reviewing works set in the nineteenth century, but written in the twenty-first. In this highly engaging and thought-provoking novel, she takes a beloved Victorian classic, Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist (1838), but then focuses on the

Welcome back to my Neo-Victorian Voices series, focused on books set in the nineteenth century, but written in the twenty-first. Today, I’m blogging about Louis Bayard’s 2024 novel, The Wildes, which delves into celebrated Victorian writer Oscar Wilde’s conviction for “gross indecency” for his romantic relationship with a man, Lord Alfred Douglas, and the impact of the scandal on his wife and

Yesterday I returned home from my third in-person Historical Novel Society North America (HNSNA) conference and my sixth HNS conference overall. This time the conference took place in Las Vegas! As I’ve done at the last few conferences, I’m sharing some of the favorite quotes I heard from fellow authors and a handful of publishing professionals over the last few days. A Part Two post will follow

The latest title I’m reviewing as part of Neo-Victorian Voices series, covering novels set in the nineteenth century, but written in the twenty-first, is James McBride’s 2013, National Book Award winner, The Good Lord Bird.Our memorable protagonist is Henry Shackleford, who’s been born into slavery in the Kansas Territory. In 1857, aged around 12, he is “freed” (read: “kidnapped”) by abolitionist

Welcome back to my Neo-Victorian Voices series, where I review books set in the nineteenth century but written in the twenty-first!Today’s novel is a dual timeline historical that alternates between the perspectives of a present-day American divorcee, who finds herself in Paris after unexpectedly becoming single in her fifties, and the widow behind the Veuve Clicquot champagne house, who writes

It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post in my Writer’s Questions series, covering the most searched questions from fellow writers. Previously, I’ve covered topics as diverse as AI and fiction writers, novel openings, pacing your story, and appearing on podcasts. Today, I’m diving into the subject of writer websites.Why have a website?Having a website is a great way to increase your profile

Realism is as synonymous with nineteenth century-set novels as petticoats and corsets, but Virginia Feito’s 2025 Victorian Psycho isn’t a “realistic” tale of a serial killer governess. Instead, the novel, the latest I’m reviewing as part of my Neo-Victorian Voices series, is a sort of historical fever dream of the most gruesome kind, that relies on its period setting, unlikely murderer/

It’s no secret that I love a book based on real Victorian scandals (after all, I did write a novel about the affair between Branwell Bronte and Lydia Robinson!), so I was excited to read Laura McNeal’s 2024 The Swan’s Nest as part of my Neo-Victorian Voices series, reviewing works set in the nineteenth century, but written in the twenty-first.The Swan’s Nest tells the story of the relationship

Welcome back to the Neo-Victorian Voices review series, covering novels set in the nineteenth century, but written in the twenty-first. Today I’m blogging for the first time about a book set in 1800s Australia! The closest I’ve gotten previously was 1800s New Zealand, when reviewing Eleanor Catton’s 2013 The Luminaries back in 2018. It’s 1896 in Western Australia when Eliza’s father, the