Review:
Vulcana
by Rebecca F. John From Planet 251
Rita Singer
reviews
Vulcana
by Rebecca F. John
Honno, £9.99
It is sometimes said that historical fiction is not so much about history as the present wrapped in yesterday’s clothes. A cursory glance at the national and international news in recent weeks gives us stories of gross flaws in Welsh policing (including fatalities), sustained public smear campaigns against trans folk, and mind-boggling billionaire chauvinism, to name just a few. Reading Rebecca F. John’s new novel about Kate Williams, stage name Vulcana, with this background noise sharpens awareness of injustices inherited from generations past.
Sign in to read moreAbout the author
Rita Singer is a researcher who specialises in historical fiction from and about Wales, and travel writing. She has just finished working for the EU-funded ‘Ports, Past and Present’ project that promoted tourism in five port towns around the Irish Sea.
