June Competition

To win a copy of Helen Peters' Anna at War, just answer the following question in the Comment section:

"Towards the end of Anna at War, Anna has a very dramatic encounter with Winston Churchill. If you had the chance to meet any famous historical figure, who would you choose and why?"

Then copy your answers in an email to this address: maryhoffman@maryhoffman.co.uk

Closing date 7th July

We are sorry that our competitions are open to UK Followers only.

Good luck!

June competition

To win a copy of Sara Sheridan's latest novel (see yesterday's guest post), just answer the following question in the Comments section below. Then copy your answer to me at maryhoffman@maryhoffman.co.uk so that I can get in touch with you if you win.



"Who are your favourite  WW2I heroines?"

Closing date: 7th July

We are sorry that our competitions are open to UK Followers only

June Competition

To win a a copy of Julia Gregson's Monsoon Summer, answer the question below in the Comments section:

"Who do you consider to have been the greatest female health educator in history and why?"

Then email your answer to: maryhoffman@maryhoffman.co.uk so that we can contact you if you win.

Closing date 14th July - you get a bit longer this time because of holidays.

We're sorry but our competitions are open to UK Followers only. 

June Competition

We have five copies of Rebecca Mascull's new novel, Song of the Sea Maid, to give away to five UK residents with the most interesting and persuasive answers to this question: 

"What is the best novel you've ever read about science or scientists and why was it so good?"

Please leave your answers in the comments below, but also send them to readers@maryhoffman.co.uk so that winners can be contacted. 

Closing date 7th July. Sorry, but our competitions are open to UK residents only.  

June Competition

Are competitions are open only to UK residents - sorry!

We have five copies of The Lion of Sole Bay to give away to those who answer this question:


"What is your favourite novel about any battle at sea – whether historical or invented?"


Leave your answers in the Comments below and remember also to send them to me at readers@maryhoffman.co.uk so I can have email addresses for contacting the winners.


Closing date 7th July

June Competition - double opportunity!

Competitions are open to UK residents only

Because Charles Palliser's new novel, Rustication, has been postponed till November, we are offering instead two signed copies of The Quincunx to the first commenters to answer this question correctly:

"He out-Dickenses Dickens" says former History Girl Essie Fox. What is the connection between John Huffam, the protagonist of The Quincunx, and Charles Dickens?

(The Quincunx is a long book, so two copies are roughly the equivalent of ten novels!)

And as a bonus, Linda Buckley-Archer is generously donating two sets of her Timequake trilogy, about Gideon (the Cutpurse). Her question is:

"In the context of eighteenth-century criminality, what was the difference between a highwayman and a cutpurse?"



You have till 7th July to enter. Winners will be announced on 8th July. Good luck!

June competition

We have two sets of books to give away this month:

Ann Turnbull is one of our History Girl Reservists, to whom we are very grateful. She asks the question:
'If you felt compelled to emigrate, where would you go - and why?' She wrote about travelling with a baby in the seventeenth century here.

Five winners may choose either Alice in Love and War or Seeking Eden. You can read about them here and here.

And new History Girl Manda Scott, who will be joining us full time in August, offers five copies of The Eagle of the Twelfth, which she wrote about here 

She asks: 'If you could rewrite history by changing the outcome of just one big battle, which one would it be - and why?'

As always, the competitions are limited to UK readers. Closing date 9th July.