The book is nearly ready...the lovely folks at Arcade Publications have edited, chopped, laid out, illustrated and proofed it to within an inch of its left and it's about to go to print. Expecting a launch in early December, at an appropriately Victorian (in every sense) sort of venue. Edward Oxford is now tweeting @Edward_oxford. he seems to enjoy retweeting his book, his letters and the odd pronouncement of Queen Victoria. He always did have a soft spot for her.

Queen Victoria's journals came online a few weeks ago (thanks to Shooting Victoria for the heads-up.) The entry in which the Queen writes about seeing Oxford try to shoot her, and her complete lack of fear - it didn't even occur to her when the gun went off that it was meant for her - is here.

I suppose one shouldn't promote the competition. But I've just received my copy of Paul Thomas Murphy's Shooting Victoria, which looks at all the people who shot at, wrote rude letters to and whacked her Majesty over the head, and it looks great. A huge enterprise to do them all and Murphy's book is more concerned with the Queen herself and the wider picture - he said to me in an email that he leaves Oxford at the gates of Bedlam and so he does, so the fascinating second half of his life isn't in that book - but I admire his scholarship and I'm really excited about reading the story of all the "assassins" without having to do the archival legwork! In other developments, the manuscript is rolling along - I am reviewing Arcade's changes and we are getting serious about images and design and publication dates - and although there are plenty of distractions, the book itself - A Walking Shadow is starting to look like a reality.

just a little update...the manuscript is with Arcade and we are in the early stages of editing...the book will be out later this year. I am now working on a PhD on Oxford, which is quite a different process to a book! fewer pictures for one thing. Part of the PhD will be a creative piece based on Oxford's life, so I'm spending a lot of time thinking about how fiction and history can work together, not against each other.