Watch the first of our History Books author event series for schools, kicking off with bestselling author Robin Stevens.
Robin is the author of the ‘Murder Most Unladylike’ and ‘The Ministry of Unladylike Activity’ series, set in the 1930s and 40s where her school-aged detectives solve murders, uncover mysteries and find themselves in a world of secrets and spies. Her characters: Daisy, Hazel, Nuala, May and Eric all encounter a mysterious world that ventures from the seemingly comfortable Deepdean school in Gloucestershire to Hong Kong and Egypt via The Orient Express and Bletchley Park.
‘History Books’ is part of The National Year of Reading 2026 encouraging everyone to Go All In with reading for pleasure.
Our new ‘History Books’ series aims to explore how authors write fiction and non-fiction for children, based on historical research. The events are cross-curricular, focused on English and History, and aim to encourage reading for pleasure for students with an interest in history.
In this session, Robin talks about her process, the research she undertook and how historical records can inspire great stories. We also take a look at some special historical documents from the archives that relate to their books and discover real life historical people and events that can come to life on the page. Students had the opportunity to submit questions which Robin answers at the end of the event.