The research library

Anatomy of a City: The Hunterian Museum and London’s Dissection Past

Where to trace London's dissection past: the Hunterian Museum, the Old Operating Theatre, the Wellcome Collection and Barts Pathology Museum, plus the resurrection men, the Murder Act and…

Where Did The Idea For Blood Vintage Come From? J.F. Penn On The Unreserved Wine Talk Podcast

How visiting two English vineyards, and the strange practices of biodynamic winemaking, sparked Blood Vintage, a folk horror novel. J.F. Penn talks to Natalie MacLean on The Unreserved…

Exploring Ancient Relics and Writing Thrillers. J.F. Penn On The Ancient Heroes Podcast

In May 2024, I was interviewed for the Ancient Heroes Podcast about my inspiration for writing modern thrillers based on ancient relics, historical places and artifacts, as well…

“Where Do You Get Your Ideas?” How Travel Inspires My Thriller Novels With J.F.Penn

In this video, I explain how I get my story ideas from travel — from how I decide to go to a place, and where I go when…

The Hidden Side Of Strange And Unusual Bath, England

I’ve been living in Bath for several years now, and although on the surface, it seems like a genteel little place, there is a darker side to the…

14 Weird And Wonderful Places To See In Spain

Spain is one of my favorite places, somewhere I return to over and over again. I particularly love the Sagrada Familia and the beachside tapas of Barcelona, the…

12 Of The World’s Best Anatomical Museums

When you book a trip to a new city, thoughts turn to popular attractions or places you might like to see. For most people, anatomical museums don’t usually…

10 Beautiful And Unusual Places To Visit In Venice

Venice is naturally a strange place to visit. Rising out of the Adriatic Sea, the city comprises 118 islands, connected by over 400 bridges and walkways. Getting lost…

13 Of The Most Mysterious Places In India

India is the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, as well as having a deep cultural history with Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It is a country of…

13 Strange But Awesome Places To See In New Orleans

So far, my ARKANE books have largely focused on the ancient world and Europe. But ever since Jake went to America for One Day in New York I’ve…

A Walk Around The Historical And Occult Sites Of Oxford, England

Oxford holds a special place in my heart. I read Theology at Mansfield College 1994 – 1997, so I spent formative years cycling around the streets, spending my…

12 Of The World’s Weirdest Museums That You Really Should Visit

If you think of museums, you might think of the majesty of the British Museum or the industrial heritage of the Railway Museum. But you’d miss out on…

9 Secret Libraries Around The World And How To Find Them

For book lovers around the world, secret libraries hold the promise of mysteries and hidden knowledge. So where can you actually find them? The destruction of the ancient…

Like The Da Vinci Code? Try These 9 Weird Conspiracy Theories About Art

If you love The Da Vinci Code, you might also enjoy my ARKANE thrillers: relics, hidden history and secret societies across the world’s most sacred places. Start with…

25 Quirky And Unusual Things To See In London

I love London. I lived there back in the 1990s and again 2011 – 2015, and I still go back every few months. The city is rich with…

15 Powerful Ancient Goddesses From Around The World

Ancient cultures around the world venerated powerful goddesses. Kali, the Hindu goddess who destroys evil. Sekhmet, the lion-headed warrior of Egypt. The Morrigan, the Irish goddess of war…

15 Weird and Wonderful Religious Relics You Can Still See Today

I’m fascinated by religious relics. They appear in a number of my thrillers because they hold so much meaning for believers, and many of them are really strange.…

ARKANE Book Research In Israel With Thriller Author J.F.Penn

Last month, I spent a couple of weeks traveling around Israel doing book research for End of Days, ARKANE #9. You can watch a video specifically of Jerusalem’s…

A Walk Through The Old City Of Jerusalem With Thriller Author, J.F.Penn

In November 2016, I did a book research tour of Israel for ARKANE #9, End of Days. As part of that trip, I visited the Old City of…

Tattoos And London. Behind The Scenes Of Deviance, A Crime Thriller.

If you love crime fiction, then you’ll love CrimeFiction.fm, which is a great show where Stephen Campbell interviews authors about their books. I was on the show talking…

Pentecost, An ARKANE Thriller. The Research Behind The Book.

My aim is always to write a thriller that could be real, because it is so grounded in real places and real historical events. There’s an edge of…

One Day In Budapest. The Research Behind The Book.

In November 2012, I visited Budapest with my husband for a research trip. Find out more about One Day in Budapest and where to buy it → In…

Death In Art. Interview With A Collector Of Death Ephemera

I recently visited Death: A Self-Portrait, an amazing exhibition at the Wellcome Collection in London. The collection contains drawings, sculpture, photos, models and other artistic representations of death…

John Soane. Architect, Sculptor Of Light, Creator Of The Freemason’s Ark

London has so many layers of history and so many iconic places to visit that many forget the smaller museums, the hidden gems behind the busy streets. One…

Ancient Book: Codex Sinaiticus And Sinai Palimpsests

One of the important clues in the next ARKANE book, Exodus (now titled Ark of Blood), comes from a manuscript fragment found in the monastery of St Catherines…

Sacred Sites: Abu Simbel, Southern Egypt

There are some places that continue to stay with you years later, and Abu Simbel is such a place for me. It features in a pivotal scene in…

The Devil’s Bible: The Legend of the Codex Gigas

The Devil’s Bible, properly known as the Codex Gigas or ‘Giant Book’, is the largest surviving medieval manuscript in the world. Standing almost a metre tall and weighing…

Psychology Of Religion: Freud Museum, Hampstead, London

While researching my thriller, Ark of Blood, I read Sigmund Freud’s final book, Moses and Monotheism, written in London in the final year of his life after being…

Ancient Cities, Sacred Sites: Ossuaries And Catacombs

Setting is incredibly important in my writing. I often start with setting and then write a scene to fit the place, rather than the other way around. I’m…

Ancient Book: Carl Jung’s Red Book

Note: Pentecost, the first ARKANE thriller discussed below, has since been rewritten and retitled as Stone of Fire. The Red Book scene is still in the story. As…