John Broughton, a British novelist and historian, received international recognition for his historical fiction set in the Anglo-Saxon period. His most recent book is Bar Tales (2025).
John Broughton was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. He attended grammar school before studying Medieval and Modern History at the University of Nottingham, with Archaeology as a subsidiary subject.
He later recalled one of his early academic mishaps: “The subsidiary course led to one of my greatest academic achievements: tipping the soil content of a wheelbarrow from the summit of a spoil heap on an old lady hobbling past the dig; fortunately, we subsequently became firm friends.”
After university, Broughton taught History and English, becoming Head of Department in a Manchester grammar school. He later worked in a variety of roles, including managing a day-care centre, directing a trade institute and teaching English at a university.
He also lived in several places, including Radcliffe-on-Trent, Leamington, Glossop, the Scilly Isles, Puglia and Calabria. During his time in the Scilly Isles, he worked as a fisherman and a flower picker. In 1992, he settled in Calabria, where he taught English at the University of Calabria. He has lived there with his wife, Maria, ever since.
Broughton first wrote children’s books in the 1980s. Six were published in Britain by Hamish Hamilton and Thomas Nelson. He resumed fiction writing in 2014 after retiring from teaching and translation. His debut historical novel, The Purple Thread (2014), was published by Endeavour Media. This was followed by Wyrd of the Wolf and further novels set between 450 and 1066 AD, including two trilogies. He wrote Angenga, a time-travel novel linking the ninth century to the twenty-first, which led to a series about psychic investigator Jake Conley.
In later work, Broughton wrote detective novels, including The Quasimodo Killings and The London Tram Murders, as well as the science-fiction novel The Remnant (2022). He returned to historical themes with Expulsion, on the Viking diaspora after their defeat in Dublin. His Anglo-Saxon novels Saints and Sinners and Mixed Blessings centred on the figures of Guthlac and Æthelbald.
His most recent book, Bar Tales (2025), drew on his experience of village life in Calabria. It follows Johnny, an English expatriate, and his friend Mario in a small hilltop community, where they celebrate friendship and the warmth of local life.
John Broughton continues to live and write in southern Italy.
John Broughton was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. He attended grammar school before studying Medieval and Modern History at the University of Nottingham, with Archaeology as a subsidiary subject.
He later recalled one of his early academic mishaps: “The subsidiary course led to one of my greatest academic achievements: tipping the soil content of a wheelbarrow from the summit of a spoil heap on an old lady hobbling past the dig; fortunately, we subsequently became firm friends.”
After university, Broughton taught History and English, becoming Head of Department in a Manchester grammar school. He later worked in a variety of roles, including managing a day-care centre, directing a trade institute and teaching English at a university.
He also lived in several places, including Radcliffe-on-Trent, Leamington, Glossop, the Scilly Isles, Puglia and Calabria. During his time in the Scilly Isles, he worked as a fisherman and a flower picker. In 1992, he settled in Calabria, where he taught English at the University of Calabria. He has lived there with his wife, Maria, ever since.
Broughton first wrote children’s books in the 1980s. Six were published in Britain by Hamish Hamilton and Thomas Nelson. He resumed fiction writing in 2014 after retiring from teaching and translation. His debut historical novel, The Purple Thread (2014), was published by Endeavour Media. This was followed by Wyrd of the Wolf and further novels set between 450 and 1066 AD, including two trilogies. He wrote Angenga, a time-travel novel linking the ninth century to the twenty-first, which led to a series about psychic investigator Jake Conley.
In later work, Broughton wrote detective novels, including The Quasimodo Killings and The London Tram Murders, as well as the science-fiction novel The Remnant (2022). He returned to historical themes with Expulsion, on the Viking diaspora after their defeat in Dublin. His Anglo-Saxon novels Saints and Sinners and Mixed Blessings centred on the figures of Guthlac and Æthelbald.
His most recent book, Bar Tales (2025), drew on his experience of village life in Calabria. It follows Johnny, an English expatriate, and his friend Mario in a small hilltop community, where they celebrate friendship and the warmth of local life.
John Broughton continues to live and write in southern Italy.
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