Katherine Mezzacappa
@katmezzacappa.bsky.social
Irish historical novelist living in Italy, published by Fairlight (Oxford), Histria (LV) and (to come) Stairwell (York). Writes too as Katie Hutton (Zaffre Books) and Kate Zarrelli (Romaunce). Rep'd by Annette Green Authors' Agency. katherinemezzacappa.com
Pinned
It being a wet and horrible day, I decided to cheer myself up. I started in 2016 with a short story in Ireland's Own #historicalfiction #romance #womensfiction @zaffrebooks.bsky.social @romaunce.bsky.social #Fairlight I'd to take them all down afterwards as they are on the kittens' Parkour route.
My #bookreview of Bill Hodson's Worktown for @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/work... #historicalfiction #1930s #bolton the lives the volunteers assiduously recorded on paper... are recounted with an empathy both uncompromising and devoid of sentimentality.
February 8, 2026 at 9:24 PM
My #bookreview of Bill Hodson's Worktown for @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/work... #historicalfiction #1930s #bolton the lives the volunteers assiduously recorded on paper... are recounted with an empathy both uncompromising and devoid of sentimentality.
My #bookreview Richard Dennis's Rumbling of the Waters @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #1920s 'an absorbing historical and psychological thriller... warning of what happens in a democracy when the rule of law is subverted and instrumentalised.' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-...
February 7, 2026 at 2:45 PM
My #bookreview Richard Dennis's Rumbling of the Waters @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #1920s 'an absorbing historical and psychological thriller... warning of what happens in a democracy when the rule of law is subverted and instrumentalised.' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-...
My #bookreview of Martin Campbell's The Insanity Inspectors for @histnovsoc.bsky.social 'Individual case notes are heartrending, taking the reader into a world remote in time and geography' #historicalfiction #scottishhistory #insanity historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-... #victorian
February 6, 2026 at 10:34 AM
My #bookreview of Martin Campbell's The Insanity Inspectors for @histnovsoc.bsky.social 'Individual case notes are heartrending, taking the reader into a world remote in time and geography' #historicalfiction #scottishhistory #insanity historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-... #victorian
My #bookreview of Rosemary Griggs 'The Mistress of Dartington Hall' for @histnovsoc.bsky.social 'Griggs’s achievement lies in her ability to evoke vividly an intimate portrait of life in a 16th-century West Country manor house' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/mist... #historicalfiction #devon
February 5, 2026 at 11:18 AM
My #bookreview of Rosemary Griggs 'The Mistress of Dartington Hall' for @histnovsoc.bsky.social 'Griggs’s achievement lies in her ability to evoke vividly an intimate portrait of life in a 16th-century West Country manor house' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/mist... #historicalfiction #devon
My #bookreview Pnina Shinebourne's Love in the Time of the Medici for @histnovsoc.bsky.social: a tragic story, in which Livia is punished for her attempt to exercise free emotional will in defiance of patriarchal convention #historicalfiction #renaissance historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/love...
February 4, 2026 at 8:09 PM
My #bookreview Pnina Shinebourne's Love in the Time of the Medici for @histnovsoc.bsky.social: a tragic story, in which Livia is punished for her attempt to exercise free emotional will in defiance of patriarchal convention #historicalfiction #renaissance historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/love...
My #bookreview of @livimichael.bsky.social's Elizabeth and Ruth @saltpublishing.com for @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/eliz... #historicalfiction #victorian #manchester 'the best-intentioned philanthropists...saw frailty and weakness where they ought to have seen heroism'
February 3, 2026 at 9:21 PM
My #bookreview of @livimichael.bsky.social's Elizabeth and Ruth @saltpublishing.com for @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/eliz... #historicalfiction #victorian #manchester 'the best-intentioned philanthropists...saw frailty and weakness where they ought to have seen heroism'
My #bookreview of Mike Hollow's The Bloomsbury Murder for @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-... #cosycrime #noir #historicalfiction 'This is cosy crime at its best, confidently written and painstakingly researched'
February 2, 2026 at 2:52 PM
My #bookreview of Mike Hollow's The Bloomsbury Murder for @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-... #cosycrime #noir #historicalfiction 'This is cosy crime at its best, confidently written and painstakingly researched'
Something to do over Christmas, people. #Flashfiction #competition with the Florentine Literary Society; 150 words inspired by Florence (not hard, surely?) and your work could feature in @theflorentine.bsky.social www.theflorentine.net/2025/10/31/f...
December 7, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Something to do over Christmas, people. #Flashfiction #competition with the Florentine Literary Society; 150 words inspired by Florence (not hard, surely?) and your work could feature in @theflorentine.bsky.social www.theflorentine.net/2025/10/31/f...
No, I've not been sulking about being pipped to the post by none other than Kevin Barry for @historia-hwa.bsky.social Gold Crown award; I've just been madly busy. I'd a great time at the awards evening and was so pleased to have made it to such a stellar #shortlist #historicalfiction #irishwriting
December 7, 2025 at 12:44 PM
No, I've not been sulking about being pipped to the post by none other than Kevin Barry for @historia-hwa.bsky.social Gold Crown award; I've just been madly busy. I'd a great time at the awards evening and was so pleased to have made it to such a stellar #shortlist #historicalfiction #irishwriting
My #bookreview of @annaluciaauthor.bsky.social's Broken Madonna #historicalfiction #italia for @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/brok... 'a lyrical, elegiac and empathetic portrait of a small-town community and a vanished way of life'
November 2, 2025 at 1:00 PM
My #bookreview of @annaluciaauthor.bsky.social's Broken Madonna #historicalfiction #italia for @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/brok... 'a lyrical, elegiac and empathetic portrait of a small-town community and a vanished way of life'
My #bookreview of John Banville's Venetian Vespers @faberbooks.bsky.social for @histnovsoc.bsky.social 'This tour de force of a novel has all the creeping menace of The Turn of the Screw' #historicalfiction #irishwriting historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/vene...
November 2, 2025 at 12:55 PM
My #bookreview of John Banville's Venetian Vespers @faberbooks.bsky.social for @histnovsoc.bsky.social 'This tour de force of a novel has all the creeping menace of The Turn of the Screw' #historicalfiction #irishwriting historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/vene...
Gulp! #TheMaidenofFlorence made it onto the #shortlist! #historicalfiction @historia-hwa.bsky.social Thank you @fairlightbooks.bsky.social for believing in this book and to @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social for the residency that made it possible #firenze #renaissance #irishwriting #writingcommunity
October 15, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Gulp! #TheMaidenofFlorence made it onto the #shortlist! #historicalfiction @historia-hwa.bsky.social Thank you @fairlightbooks.bsky.social for believing in this book and to @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social for the residency that made it possible #firenze #renaissance #irishwriting #writingcommunity
Oh what a great day this is! The Maiden of Florence has made the last 12 on the @historia-hwa.bsky.social Gold Crown award #longlist! #historicalfiction #renaissance #Firenze @fairlightbooks.bsky.social
September 17, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Oh what a great day this is! The Maiden of Florence has made the last 12 on the @historia-hwa.bsky.social Gold Crown award #longlist! #historicalfiction #renaissance #Firenze @fairlightbooks.bsky.social
A perfect day... end of season at the beach, with a great book:
@catherinekullmann.bsky.social's latest, #LordFredericksReturn, elegantly written #Regency #historicalfiction #bookrecommendation
A perfect day... end of season at the beach, with a great book:
@catherinekullmann.bsky.social's latest, #LordFredericksReturn, elegantly written #Regency #historicalfiction #bookrecommendation
September 1, 2025 at 9:23 PM
A perfect day... end of season at the beach, with a great book:
@catherinekullmann.bsky.social's latest, #LordFredericksReturn, elegantly written #Regency #historicalfiction #bookrecommendation
A perfect day... end of season at the beach, with a great book:
@catherinekullmann.bsky.social's latest, #LordFredericksReturn, elegantly written #Regency #historicalfiction #bookrecommendation
Thirty years ago today (well, in about an hour's time, to be exact). I have been so lucky. #weddinganniversary
August 29, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Thirty years ago today (well, in about an hour's time, to be exact). I have been so lucky. #weddinganniversary
Feast day of St Rose of Lima, holding the baby in this altarpiece by Giambattista Tiepolo, in the church of the Gesuati, on the Zattere, in my most loved city #Venezia She's with other Dominican saints, Catherine of Siena (left) and Agnes of Montepulciano (seated) #Italianart #rococo
August 23, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Feast day of St Rose of Lima, holding the baby in this altarpiece by Giambattista Tiepolo, in the church of the Gesuati, on the Zattere, in my most loved city #Venezia She's with other Dominican saints, Catherine of Siena (left) and Agnes of Montepulciano (seated) #Italianart #rococo
Delighted to feature on @hobeckbooks.bsky.social #podcast shows.acast.com/the-hobcast-... #writingcommunity #historicalfiction @presshenshaw.bsky.social
233: The Romance of Italy - with Katherine Mezzacappa | The Hobcast Book Show
An award-winning Irish author explores how Italy has inspired her writing
shows.acast.com
August 23, 2025 at 11:44 AM
The #feastday of San Rocco (Roch), invoked against the plague since the 14C; he caught it nursing victims. Painted by Giovanni Santi (father of Raphael) showing the plague sore on his leg and by Bernardo Strozzi with the dog who brought him food, and Sebastian, another plague saint #italianart
August 16, 2025 at 10:45 AM
The #feastday of San Rocco (Roch), invoked against the plague since the 14C; he caught it nursing victims. Painted by Giovanni Santi (father of Raphael) showing the plague sore on his leg and by Bernardo Strozzi with the dog who brought him food, and Sebastian, another plague saint #italianart
August 5, 2025 at 10:56 AM
My #bookreview of @elodieharper.bsky.social's Boudicca's daughter for @histnovsoc.bsky.social @apollopublishers.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/boud... #historicalfiction 'a compelling account of what happens in the red mist of vendetta'
August 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM
My #bookreview of @elodieharper.bsky.social's Boudicca's daughter for @histnovsoc.bsky.social @apollopublishers.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/boud... #historicalfiction 'a compelling account of what happens in the red mist of vendetta'
My #bookreview of Timothy Crellin's The Land of the Living (Green Place Books) @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #sicilia #cefalu 'sensitivity,lyricism and clear-eyed avoidance of folklorism and sentimentality.' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-...
August 3, 2025 at 12:05 PM
My #bookreview of Timothy Crellin's The Land of the Living (Green Place Books) @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #sicilia #cefalu 'sensitivity,lyricism and clear-eyed avoidance of folklorism and sentimentality.' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-...
My #bookreview of @clarkegeorgina1.bsky.social's The Viper in the Nest (Verve Books) for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #GeorgianLondon @historia-hwa.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/vipe... 'teems with period details; a Hogarth painting on the page'
August 3, 2025 at 11:06 AM
My #bookreview of @clarkegeorgina1.bsky.social's The Viper in the Nest (Verve Books) for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #GeorgianLondon @historia-hwa.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/vipe... 'teems with period details; a Hogarth painting on the page'
My #bookreview of Sheena Kalayil's The Others @flyonthewallpress.bsky.social for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #Berlin: 'a love story of almost unbearable tenderness, in the cold climate of a country it is nearly impossible to escape from.' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-...
August 2, 2025 at 7:47 PM
My #bookreview of Sheena Kalayil's The Others @flyonthewallpress.bsky.social for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #Berlin: 'a love story of almost unbearable tenderness, in the cold climate of a country it is nearly impossible to escape from.' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-...
My #bookreview of David Park's Ghost Wedding for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #Belfast #Irishwriting 'This extraordinary novel will remain long in the memory, its characters always present, just out of sight.' @oneworldbooks.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/ghos...
August 1, 2025 at 9:31 PM
My #bookreview of David Park's Ghost Wedding for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #Belfast #Irishwriting 'This extraordinary novel will remain long in the memory, its characters always present, just out of sight.' @oneworldbooks.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/ghos...
Read my #interview with @lucykpick.bsky.social on her new #historicalnovel #thequeenscompanion here: historicalnovelsociety.org/launch-lucy-... @histnovsoc.bsky.social
July 8, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Read my #interview with @lucykpick.bsky.social on her new #historicalnovel #thequeenscompanion here: historicalnovelsociety.org/launch-lucy-... @histnovsoc.bsky.social