Emma Darwin
@emmadarwinwriter.bsky.social
Writes fiction & non-fiction, teaches, blogs @ This Itch of Writing https://linktr.ee/emmadarwinwriter
Brand new on This Itch of Writing for everyone: thinking about how the fundamental decisions about narrative setup and psychic distance work together - and using The Bruegel Boy as a real-world example.
buff.ly/SbEzkgq, linktree in bio or search this itch of writing substack
buff.ly/SbEzkgq, linktree in bio or search this itch of writing substack
November 21, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Brand new on This Itch of Writing for everyone: thinking about how the fundamental decisions about narrative setup and psychic distance work together - and using The Bruegel Boy as a real-world example.
buff.ly/SbEzkgq, linktree in bio or search this itch of writing substack
buff.ly/SbEzkgq, linktree in bio or search this itch of writing substack
One of the things that's such fun about doing events for The Bruegel Boy is having such gorgeous images to work with! Wonderful evening chaired by Lucy Popescu for The Author's Club. I'm probably saying, "Gil modelled for St Michael, there in the middle, and both of the angels in white dresses..."
November 21, 2025 at 4:33 PM
One of the things that's such fun about doing events for The Bruegel Boy is having such gorgeous images to work with! Wonderful evening chaired by Lucy Popescu for The Author's Club. I'm probably saying, "Gil modelled for St Michael, there in the middle, and both of the angels in white dresses..."
Still thrilled at Antonia Senior’s review of The Bruegel Boy in The Times, Book of the Month and top of their list of the best historical fiction of 2025: vividly creates a rich, lost world and dives fearlessly into deep themes. buff.ly/73oYYWR
November 21, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Still thrilled at Antonia Senior’s review of The Bruegel Boy in The Times, Book of the Month and top of their list of the best historical fiction of 2025: vividly creates a rich, lost world and dives fearlessly into deep themes. buff.ly/73oYYWR
Brand new for everyone on This Itch of Writing: thinking about how the fundamental decisions about narrative setup and psychic distance work together - and using The Bruegel Boy as a real-world example.
buff.ly/SbEzkgq, linktree in bio or search this itch of writing substack
buff.ly/SbEzkgq, linktree in bio or search this itch of writing substack
November 21, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Brand new for everyone on This Itch of Writing: thinking about how the fundamental decisions about narrative setup and psychic distance work together - and using The Bruegel Boy as a real-world example.
buff.ly/SbEzkgq, linktree in bio or search this itch of writing substack
buff.ly/SbEzkgq, linktree in bio or search this itch of writing substack
Heads up for all Itch of Writing subscribers and supporters: it’s our second birthday, and I’m celebrating with a competion. Enter before Mon 24 Nov for your chance to win your question answered as a full Itch of Writing post, and an exclusive Itch of Writing notebook! buff.ly/1RjLLxe
November 17, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Heads up for all Itch of Writing subscribers and supporters: it’s our second birthday, and I’m celebrating with a competion. Enter before Mon 24 Nov for your chance to win your question answered as a full Itch of Writing post, and an exclusive Itch of Writing notebook! buff.ly/1RjLLxe
Beyond thrilled at Antonia Senior’s review of The Bruegel Boy in The Times, Book of the Month and top of their list of the best historical fiction of 2025: vividly creates a rich, lost world and dives fearlessly into deep themes. buff.ly/73oYYWR
November 15, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Beyond thrilled at Antonia Senior’s review of The Bruegel Boy in The Times, Book of the Month and top of their list of the best historical fiction of 2025: vividly creates a rich, lost world and dives fearlessly into deep themes. buff.ly/73oYYWR
Writing historical fiction? @sanjida.kay and I have taught 1000s of writers: join us for a masterclass! 7-8.30 pm GMT Weds 26 November. Through the lens of our own fiction we'll explore what makes historical fiction resonate. research vs storytelling, characters, voice & pitfalls: luma.com/0m0ddh4y
November 15, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Writing historical fiction? @sanjida.kay and I have taught 1000s of writers: join us for a masterclass! 7-8.30 pm GMT Weds 26 November. Through the lens of our own fiction we'll explore what makes historical fiction resonate. research vs storytelling, characters, voice & pitfalls: luma.com/0m0ddh4y
Brand new for supporters on This Itch of Writing: have you been told to “write what you know”? Was it unhelpful? Limiting? Pointless? I’ve come up with TEN better ideas about writing than “write what you know”... yet that apparently unhelpful adage is still worth bearing in mind: buff.ly/OTT9Zlc
November 14, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Brand new for supporters on This Itch of Writing: have you been told to “write what you know”? Was it unhelpful? Limiting? Pointless? I’ve come up with TEN better ideas about writing than “write what you know”... yet that apparently unhelpful adage is still worth bearing in mind: buff.ly/OTT9Zlc
Down by the flaring fire Sint-Johannes—Gil—sat on a stool, fast asleep, with his mouth dropped open. ‘Even the most faithful servants are only human,’ said Bruegel. Then into the evening quiet came the mewling of a baby.
The Bruegel Boy is available @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/aSXr72l
The Bruegel Boy is available @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/aSXr72l
November 14, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Down by the flaring fire Sint-Johannes—Gil—sat on a stool, fast asleep, with his mouth dropped open. ‘Even the most faithful servants are only human,’ said Bruegel. Then into the evening quiet came the mewling of a baby.
The Bruegel Boy is available @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/aSXr72l
The Bruegel Boy is available @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/aSXr72l
Brand new for supporters on This Itch of Writing: have you been told to “write what you know”? Was it unhelpful? Limiting? Pointless? I’ve come up with EN better ideas about writing than “write what you know”... yet that apparently unhelpful adage is still worth bearing in mind: buff.ly/OTT9Zlc
November 14, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Brand new for supporters on This Itch of Writing: have you been told to “write what you know”? Was it unhelpful? Limiting? Pointless? I’ve come up with EN better ideas about writing than “write what you know”... yet that apparently unhelpful adage is still worth bearing in mind: buff.ly/OTT9Zlc
Pieter Bruegel the Elder: the Richard Scarry of the Northern Renaissance ... Chidren's Games, 1560
Link in bio or search the bruegel boy
Link in bio or search the bruegel boy
November 12, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Pieter Bruegel the Elder: the Richard Scarry of the Northern Renaissance ... Chidren's Games, 1560
Link in bio or search the bruegel boy
Link in bio or search the bruegel boy
Thrown out of his family for a crime he didn’t commit, Gil becomes model and muse to the great Pieter Bruegel. But in Bruegel's world politics, art and religion are explosively combined and soon love and vocation are also at war. The Bruegel Boy is available now Holland House Books: buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
November 8, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Thrown out of his family for a crime he didn’t commit, Gil becomes model and muse to the great Pieter Bruegel. But in Bruegel's world politics, art and religion are explosively combined and soon love and vocation are also at war. The Bruegel Boy is available now Holland House Books: buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
Thrown out of his family for a crime he didn’t commit, Gil becomes model and muse to the great Pieter Bruegel. But in Bruegel's world politics, art and religion are explosively combined and soon love and vocation are also at war.
The Bruegel Boy is out @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy is out @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
November 8, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Thrown out of his family for a crime he didn’t commit, Gil becomes model and muse to the great Pieter Bruegel. But in Bruegel's world politics, art and religion are explosively combined and soon love and vocation are also at war.
The Bruegel Boy is out @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy is out @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
So thrilled to see Gil and Bruegel going out into the world with so many kind words.
“Tender, vivid, subtle and absorbing” Elizabeth Fremantle
“Beautifully written, gorgeous to look at and very moving” Elizabeth Buchan
“A triumph of a novel” Essie Fox buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
“Tender, vivid, subtle and absorbing” Elizabeth Fremantle
“Beautifully written, gorgeous to look at and very moving” Elizabeth Buchan
“A triumph of a novel” Essie Fox buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
November 7, 2025 at 11:49 PM
So thrilled to see Gil and Bruegel going out into the world with so many kind words.
“Tender, vivid, subtle and absorbing” Elizabeth Fremantle
“Beautifully written, gorgeous to look at and very moving” Elizabeth Buchan
“A triumph of a novel” Essie Fox buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
“Tender, vivid, subtle and absorbing” Elizabeth Fremantle
“Beautifully written, gorgeous to look at and very moving” Elizabeth Buchan
“A triumph of a novel” Essie Fox buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
Brand new on This Itch of Writing for everyone: the latest pick of the Itch of Writing Ask Me Anything ' Chats: Viewpoints Colouring Narrative Voice, Shocking Advice, and What's Wrong with 'It was a dark and stormy night'?
Link in bio or buff.ly/SfK6BSA
Link in bio or buff.ly/SfK6BSA
November 7, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Brand new on This Itch of Writing for everyone: the latest pick of the Itch of Writing Ask Me Anything ' Chats: Viewpoints Colouring Narrative Voice, Shocking Advice, and What's Wrong with 'It was a dark and stormy night'?
Link in bio or buff.ly/SfK6BSA
Link in bio or buff.ly/SfK6BSA
Brand new on This Itch of Writing for everyone: the latest pick of the Itch of Writing Ask Me Anything ' Chats: Viewpoints Colouring Narrative Voice, Shocking Advice, and What's Wrong with 'It was a dark and stormy night'?
Link in bio or buff.ly/SfK6BSA
Link in bio or buff.ly/SfK6BSA
November 7, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Brand new on This Itch of Writing for everyone: the latest pick of the Itch of Writing Ask Me Anything ' Chats: Viewpoints Colouring Narrative Voice, Shocking Advice, and What's Wrong with 'It was a dark and stormy night'?
Link in bio or buff.ly/SfK6BSA
Link in bio or buff.ly/SfK6BSA
Thrown out of his family for a crime he didn’t commit, Gil becomes model and muse to the great Pieter Bruegel. But in Bruegel's world politics, art and religion are explosively combined and soon love and vocation are also at war
My new novel The Bruegel Boy is published today! buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
My new novel The Bruegel Boy is published today! buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
November 6, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Thrown out of his family for a crime he didn’t commit, Gil becomes model and muse to the great Pieter Bruegel. But in Bruegel's world politics, art and religion are explosively combined and soon love and vocation are also at war
My new novel The Bruegel Boy is published today! buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
My new novel The Bruegel Boy is published today! buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
It's publication day!Thrilled to see Gil and Bruegel going out into the world with so many kind words. buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
“Tender, vivid, subtle and absorbing” Elizabeth Fremantle
“Beautifully written, gorgeous to look at and very moving” Elizabeth Buchan
“A triumph of a novel” Essie Fox
“Tender, vivid, subtle and absorbing” Elizabeth Fremantle
“Beautifully written, gorgeous to look at and very moving” Elizabeth Buchan
“A triumph of a novel” Essie Fox
November 6, 2025 at 11:50 AM
It's publication day!Thrilled to see Gil and Bruegel going out into the world with so many kind words. buff.ly/vbnyB0Y
“Tender, vivid, subtle and absorbing” Elizabeth Fremantle
“Beautifully written, gorgeous to look at and very moving” Elizabeth Buchan
“A triumph of a novel” Essie Fox
“Tender, vivid, subtle and absorbing” Elizabeth Fremantle
“Beautifully written, gorgeous to look at and very moving” Elizabeth Buchan
“A triumph of a novel” Essie Fox
The fresh paint caught the light and filled the parlour with scarlet and ochre and sky-blue, the swirl of gowns, the yowl of bagpipes and stamping of feet, the flicker of hands catching and parting, the round cheeks of wine-jugs
The Bruegel Boy: 6th Nov @hollandhousebooks@bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6th Nov @hollandhousebooks@bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
November 6, 2025 at 8:23 AM
The fresh paint caught the light and filled the parlour with scarlet and ochre and sky-blue, the swirl of gowns, the yowl of bagpipes and stamping of feet, the flicker of hands catching and parting, the round cheeks of wine-jugs
The Bruegel Boy: 6th Nov @hollandhousebooks@bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6th Nov @hollandhousebooks@bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
‘Rest,’ Bruegel said. Gil eased his back upright, and was hauling the bow and belt over his head, when Dorothea burst into the studio and said in a tight voice, ‘There’s a priest and two men. They’ve come to fetch Gil to the Inquisitors’
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
November 5, 2025 at 10:22 AM
‘Rest,’ Bruegel said. Gil eased his back upright, and was hauling the bow and belt over his head, when Dorothea burst into the studio and said in a tight voice, ‘There’s a priest and two men. They’ve come to fetch Gil to the Inquisitors’
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
Five lines, and a woman was huddled in a cloak, ten more and there was the donkey she rode, a few more and there her man. Bruegel hesitated, then between the fronts of her cloak he touched in a tiny face.
The Bruegel Boy: 6 November @hollandhouse3525 buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 November @hollandhouse3525 buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
November 4, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Five lines, and a woman was huddled in a cloak, ten more and there was the donkey she rode, a few more and there her man. Bruegel hesitated, then between the fronts of her cloak he touched in a tiny face.
The Bruegel Boy: 6 November @hollandhouse3525 buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 November @hollandhouse3525 buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
Gil stood how soldiers at ease stand the world over. ‘The soldier doesn’t want this,’ Bruegel said. ‘Yet something in him won’t let him turn away,’ and Gil’s body swayed back, even as one foot started forward. Bruegel grunted, and picked up his pencil.
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
November 3, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Gil stood how soldiers at ease stand the world over. ‘The soldier doesn’t want this,’ Bruegel said. ‘Yet something in him won’t let him turn away,’ and Gil’s body swayed back, even as one foot started forward. Bruegel grunted, and picked up his pencil.
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
I'm not going to apologise for all the Bruegel pictures, because I've spent the best part of a decade living with them and writing about them, and I STILL never tire of them. But if you're wondering what they're about, it's @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social
November 2, 2025 at 7:43 PM
I'm not going to apologise for all the Bruegel pictures, because I've spent the best part of a decade living with them and writing about them, and I STILL never tire of them. But if you're wondering what they're about, it's @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social
Soldiers were pressing forwards, one with a crossbow, another with armour and an axe. Only Balthasar, standing a little apart on the bleak rock, was turned to eye you, as if he alone could see the danger that was coming.
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
November 2, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Soldiers were pressing forwards, one with a crossbow, another with armour and an axe. Only Balthasar, standing a little apart on the bleak rock, was turned to eye you, as if he alone could see the danger that was coming.
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
Gil found a fletcher’s leather apron and then the back half of a breastplate. ‘Am I a soldier?’ This time, Bruegel looked properly. ‘You said I’m the first to realise I can’t cast a stone. Was I charged with leading the stoning?’
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
November 1, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Gil found a fletcher’s leather apron and then the back half of a breastplate. ‘Am I a soldier?’ This time, Bruegel looked properly. ‘You said I’m the first to realise I can’t cast a stone. Was I charged with leading the stoning?’
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g
The Bruegel Boy: 6 Nov @hollandhousebooks.bsky.social buff.ly/Jpm9R0g