The Past

We had some science last night so lets consider one of my other passions. I love history, I find the past fascinating. I really do believe that the only way to understand the present is to study the past.

I have a lot of history books. Some are left over from the history degree I did but I've bought a lot since then. The last time I did an audit there were about 140 of them. Storing them is a bit of a pain, but I'll need them on day to fill out my own library.

So what parts of history are of interest to me? Would it be annoying to say all of it? Probably, but I am interested in pretty much everything. My main focus though tends to be British imperial history. It hard to not be drawn to the world's largest empire. Not only that but it's a really interesting story, how a small damp island on the edge of Europe went on to achieve so much.

Recently I've also been intrigued by the Eastern Roman Empire; popularly, but inaccurately, known as the Byzantine Empire. This is another riveting story of power, corruption and decline.

My interest in history does inform my writing somewhat. I know I tend towards big stories with big scope. All too often in my stories there are great empires hammering away at each other. I know that isn't everyone's cup of tea but it is mine.