Iain Harper / C.Q. Turnstone - Historian and Author

Avarice of Empire • Historical Fiction • Historical Research

Commemorating Charles Agnew

Today marks the 152nd anniversary of the death of Charles Agnew “by the hand of assassin” in Egypt on Saturday 22nd March 1873, the tragedy that became the catalyst for researching and writing Avarice of

Avarice of Empire

Book Signing in March

Blackwell’s Bookshop at the University of Exeter will be hosting an Avarice of Empire book signing with me on Tuesday 18th March between 11am and 1pm. I’ll be more than happy to sign copies of

Avarice of Empire • Historical Fiction • Writing and Publishing

Publication Day!

Avarice of Empire is published today in paperback and ebook editions. After nearly ten years since first becoming acquainted with the name Charles Agnew, today I’m excited and incredibly proud to finally be able to

Avarice of Empire • Historical Fiction • Writing and Publishing

In Conversation With Brindle Books

With only a week to go until the release of Avarice of Empire in ebook and paperback on 6th March, I thought I’d share a recent interview with my publisher about the story and my

Avarice of Empire • Historical Fiction

Avarice of Empire – Cover Reveal

With six weeks to go until the publication of Avarice of Empire, today I’m thrilled to be able to reveal the book’s stunning front cover design. I owe a huge debt of thanks to Dean

Three Good Questions

Disaster on the Thames (1878) Part Two

Three Good Questions (and some answers) about the sinking of the SS Princess Alice on the Thames in 1878 Last month I invited you to imagine that while doing some historical research you’d found a

Studying History

Studying History at the University of Exeter

I’m delighted to be able to share the news that I’m going to be studying towards a Masters in Imperial and Global History at the University of Exeter. Joining the Masters cohort as a

Three Good Questions

Anarchist Conspirators In London (1894) Part Two

Three Good Questions (and some answers) about Martial Bourdin and the Greenwich Park Explosion Last month I invited you to imagine that while doing some historical research you’d found a piece in the Illustrated London

Three Good Questions

Disaster on the Thames (1878)

Three Good Questions This is the sixth in an ongoing series of posts about historical research, featuring news articles, adverts, and other sources mostly from Britain in the 19th century. Just for fun, imagine you

Three Good Questions

Scenery of Cashmere and the Upper Indus (1865) Part Two

Three Good Questions (and some answers) Last month I invited you to imagine that while doing some historical research you’d found a piece in the Illustrated London News from 4th February 1865 about fortresses on

Welcome to ThreesWrite

My name is Iain Harper. I’m an historian and author of biographical historical fiction.

During the 2024/5 academic year, I’m studying towards a Masters in Imperial and Global History at the University of Exeter.

Avarice of Empire, my debut novel written under the pseudonym C.Q. Turnstone and published by Brindle Books (March 2025), tells the true story of Captain Charles Agnew of the 16th Lancers, a 19th-century British cavalry officer who is memorialised in a unique way at Canterbury Cathedral.