Ben Bergonzi

Announcing my new historical crime novel A Cruel Corpse. When a sergeant is murdered, two soldiers, Jasper and Hayden, are forced to turn detective to protect their secrets - Hayden is really a woman, and Jasper's secret could see him hanged. www.amazon.co.uk/Cruel-Corpse... #womensoldiers

Read all about how I got on at the Historical Novel Society Conference in Maynooth, Ireland, last weekend thepastinthepresent.substack.com/p/how-i-help...

A poignant tale on my Substack this week thepastinthepresent.substack.com/p/not-just-a...

Today, I believe the Kindle edition is only 99p or (even cheaper) 99c

Calling all procastinators - If you have not yet got around to buying A Cruel Corpse, I can tell you that the publisher has now reduced the Kindle edition to 99p (or even 99c) for the proverbial 'limited period' #ACruelCorpse tinyurl.com/BenBergonziA...

The Castles we Rush Past open.substack.com/pub/benbergo...

A Cruel Corpse is an ideal Christmas Present in paperback. If you just want to read it, the Kindle edition is now only 99p or even 99c. But only for, as they say, a limited time (and only from Amazon.) Thank you! #HistoricalFiction #WritingCommunity tinyurl.com/BenBergonziA...

Very pleased to see A Cruel Corpse as a recommendation for Christmas Reading in Historia Magazine, thanks to Mark Turnbull historiamag.com/xmas-reading... tinyurl.com/BenBergonziA...

It feels like this river should be frozen solid, but no. The Chess Valley as landscaped by Capability Brown; an estate somewhat beyond the reach of the characters in A Cruel Corpse, but whose landscapes have inspired its author #EighteenthCentury #HistoricalFiction tinyurl.com/BenBergonziA...

Excited to find that A Cruel Corpse has an Editor's Choice review (written by someone I don't know at all) in the Historical Novels Review. It ends with the words 'Highly Recommended'. See for yourself at tinyurl.com/BenBergonziA...

Some of the eighteenth century splendours of Yorkshire - the Georgian Theatre at Richmond, Captain Cook looking out over Whitby bay, and the dome of Castle Howard. All writerly inspiration for the follow up to A Cruel Corpse tinyurl.com/BenBergonziA...

Windmills are very evocative. Advanced technology in their day, now quaint. But the internal machinery is dangerous, as discovered by Hayden Gray, heroine of #ACruelCorpse #Windmills

The Chiltern Society's excellent quarterly magazine features an article by me about the three classic pubs in West Wycombe, one of the National Trust villages. #Gravitydispense #Eighteenthcentury #Unspoiltbyprogress

'There was a window showing a distant view of the Westmoreland mountains; as she walked down the room, their blue-grey curves rippled through the flaws in the glass. It seemed a long walk.' (from Chapter 41 of my book A Cruel Corpse) tinyurlcom/BenBergonziA... #acruelcorpse #historicalfiction

A perceptive interviewer prompts me to some writerly self-reflection. Published today historicalnovelsociety.org/launch-ben-b...

'They took him into the Keep and laid him to rest on a bier in the old chapel. Inside the massive stone walls it was silent, and the round arches rose above in the gloom, peaceful in their symmetry. Hayden sat with him for a while.' From Chapter 28 #ACruelCorpse #WritingCommunity

'Hayden, dressed as a maid, was making her way along the battlement gangway, a long wooden platform built onto the inside of the old wall. At the end of the gangway was a closed oak door with iron studs, with a big keyhole. There was no handle.' From Chapter 23 #ACruelCorpse

Very honoured to receive a 5* review of A Cruel Corpse from Katherine Mezzacappa, author of The Maiden of Florence, in which she writes 'An intriguing and absorbing historical novel, one of the most original I have read in a while.' #ACruelCorpse

Some of the films set in the 17th and 18th centuries that I had mind, more or less consciously, while writing my novel A Cruel Corpse. My regular postings of extracts will finish now.If you have enjoyed them, you will know where to find more... #ACruelCorpse

'The soldiers had been ordered to watch, but Jasper could not bear to look at this slow death. He lowered his eyes and stared at the the curving walls. There were little gun ports, and he occupied his mind wondering what weight of gun might be behind them.' #ACruelCorpse #CarlisleCitadel

'Jasper was on the coach’s box, the reins to the pair of horses in his hands. 'A sensitive touch on a leather strap is something I can usually manage pretty well.' He smiled as he looked ahead, above the four bobbing points of the horses’ ears.' From Chapter 37 #ACruelCorpse

'‘Was he, by Christ?' said the captain. 'And how would you even know that?’ By now they had stopped walking, and stood together, unseen in a blind archway in the curtain wall. ‘It’s like this,' said Hayden...' (from Chapter 36) #ACruelCorpse #CarlisleCastle

'An hour later, the sun well set now, she was by the window in the barrack hall on the highest storey of the Keep, resting her eyes on the familiar view, across the town’s rooftops, past the lofty cathedral tower, to the distant mountains of Westmoreland.' (From Chapter 3) #ACruelCorpse

📚2 dukes, 2 marquesses, and a notorious rogue... It's going to be a good week! 🙌 ❤️ Find store links and other bingeworthy Historical Romances at historicalromancebookdeals.com! #historicalromancebookdeals #historicalromance #historicalromancebooks #booksky

'Mrs Gilchrist took them around a series of rooms, well plastered and panelled, lit by fine leaded windows, but all nearly empty. She said what each one would be used for, once they had furniture and funds – a dining room, a school room, a work room.' From Chapter 37. #ACruelCorpse

'‘The machinery in these windmills can do a lot of harm to a lady’s looks.’' From Chapter 38. #ACruelCorpse #Windmillmachinery #WritingCommunity

'There was a ghastly scream, a male scream, from one of the upper windows. They looked up and saw a figure, silhouetted against the flames filling the room behind him.' (From Chapter 31) #ACruelCorpse #HistoricalFiction #WritingCommunity

A suitable quiet spot,’ said Hayden pointing into a narrow alleyway under an arch. ‘Aye,’ said Edmund doubtfully, ‘if we are proceeding with this little prank.’ From Chapter 31. #ACruelCorpse #Carlislebynight #WritingCommunity #HistoricalFiction

'She was on guard duty in the Market Place. A market ‘cross’, in fact a column topped by a strange sculpture of a large-rumped lion holding a book, formed the focus of this open space. Every market day two soldiers had to stand here observing the people.' Chapter 14 #ACruelCorpse

The soldiers reached their destination and formed up facing the twin towers of the Citadel. On top of one of the towers a gaunt wooden frame was silhouetted against the sky. It was a fine crisp autumn day. What a fine day to see your last of this poor old world. #ACruelCorpse

'Here he was, the son of a Midlands gentry family, giving up his life on a quiet estate where there was still just enough land for a decent shoot, and where usually the outside world left them well alone with their family of retainers and their private chapel.' (from Chapter 4). #ACruelCorpse

There were closely-packed tables and benches where lawyers and clerks sat over piles of books and papers. Above all the judge presided, his nose jutting out from between the curtains of wig, his eyes darting this way and that, keen as any peregrine peering out from its eyrie. #ACruelCorpse

'As the Latin words washed over him, Edmund felt his mind sinking back into a comfortable groove. But it was also a source of pride – martyrs had died for this Mass.' From Chapter 13 - a scene in a concealed Catholic chapel, like the pictured one in Harvington Hall #ACruelCorpse

'The weavers were intent on their work, speedily sending the shuttles to and fro as they pulled the frames in and out… Typical women’s work: the kind of work Hayden had scrupulously avoided for twenty-five years.' From Chapter 7. #ACruelCorpse #Handweaving #Eighteenthcentury

'So here I am,' said Colonel Guise, 'in this state of nudus, for the sake of a classical setting. Do you think it’s worth it, private?’ ‘Sir. You are very like a Senator, sir,’ said Hayden, eyes to the front. From Chapter 10 of A Cruel Corpse #ACruelCorpse #ColonelJohnGuise

And where might our morning jaunt take us today? Longtown last week, must be Gretna this week. Or, God forbid, might it be somewhere original?’ Monday was one of the days they marched out of the city on one of a few almost identical patrol routes. (From Chapter 10) #ACruelCorpse

'You’ve got the walk all right. And as to your face, you have very regular features, Miss Hayden, but you’re not really – forgive me –pretty. That phizog of yours is quite plain.’ ‘So you insult me and then tell me to sign me up as a soldier?’ (From Chapter 9) #ACruelCorpse

THE ART OF A LIE, is out TODAY! It's a tale of murder, trickery, love, betrayal & Georgian London's first 'iced cream' parlour. I can't wait for you to meet Hannah & William, my two favourite characters of any of my books. Look at that beautiful cover 💚🍍🍦 BUY NOW: www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Lie-Grip...

'Down the spiral staircase she went, feeling her way with bare feet on the old steps worn to curves. She remembered another staircase, two years before...' 'From Chapter 3. #ACruelCorpse #researchtrip #authorlife #historicalfiction

First time all my books have been in one spot together: Castles of Nottinghamshire (2008), A Palace for Our Kings (2016), Historic Building Mythbusting (2024) & Tattershall Castle (2025). Next month I shall sit down to write The Buildings Archaeologist (expected 2026).

Just *some* of the background reading that went into my book A Cruel Corpse...This is why (speaking on behalf of all the other authors too) historical fiction is Very Good Value. #HistoricalFiction #WritingCommunity #eighteenthcentury #ACruelCorpse #AuthorLife

Many thanks for supporting my book to get this high up the charts so soon. When you have read it, I would love to see what you think in a review on Amazon. #ACruelCorpse #Historicalfiction #Eighteenthcentury

'Jasper quietly pushed the door open. It led straight into the front parlour. Across the room was the buttery hatch. This was where the women’s voices were coming from.' From Chapter 11. #ACruelCorpse #HistoricalFiction #butteryhatch #gravitydispense #writingcommunity

My book A Cruel Corpse has just made it into the top 50 of the Amazon chart for best selling historical military fiction. A reason to beat the drum! tinyurl.com/BenBergonziA... #historicalfiction #authorlife #eighteenthcentury #Redcoats #ACruelCorpse

FANTASTIC review @thetimes.com for Eva Björg Ægisdóttir's #HomeBeforeDark t V Cribb! 'A complex, increasingly creepy tale of young love, dysfunctional families, long-buried secrets…psychological depth and physical shocks recall the work of the great Ruth Rendell' www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

'This tunnel runs in the thickness of the castle wall which becomes the City wall. You’ll come out in a stable yard in Fenkle Street.’ He patted her arm as she stepped through, then closed the door behind her. From Chapter 3 #CarlisleCastle #ACruelCorpse #WritingCommunity

The Depths of Carlisle Castle, from Chapter One; 'The lamp shone on the crude vaulting overhead and the damp greenish walls, slime glistening as they passed. ' #ACruelCorpse #CarlisleCastle

Of all the 'ex county towns', Buckingham is the senior, having been sidelined in favour of Aylesbury in the 16th century. However John Speede still included a street map in his 1610 map of the county. Some streets may have changed little since #historicalfiction #authorlife #Buckingham #JohnSpeede

On that summer's day in Greenwich Park, I wonder if it was hot as it is today? But no-one would have worn shorts then, because status and dignity ranked higher than mere comfort. #eighteenthcentury #authorlife #bibliophile #Greenwich #LaurieandWhittle

Carlisle Castle and City, the setting for my forthcoming novel