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Here's your chance to buy a little piece of history. The three Solent forts, built nearly 150 years ago to defend Portsmouth and...
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ROBIN CRUMBY
THE HURST CHRONICLES
"A dark, dystopian survivor story, for all those who love post-apocalyptic fiction."
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THE BOOKS
HURST
WILDFIRE
HARBINGER
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SENTINEL
Books
REVIEWS
One of the most original
and intelligently profound
dystopian novels I've
ever read.
INDIE BOOK REVIEWERS
Great thriller with lots of action and drama to keep you swiftly turning the pages!
GOODREADS
An action-packed, disturbing
and thought-provoking story
of an all-too-possible
dystopian future.
THE BOOK REVIEWERS
Reviews
Author
AUTHOR
Robin Crumby is the British
author of The Hurst Chronicles,
a post-apocalyptic series set on
the south coast of England in the
the aftermath of a deadly flu pandemic.
Since reading John Wyndham’s The
Day of the Triffids as a child, Robin
became fascinated by end of the
world dystopian literature and was
inspired to start writing by Cormac
McCarthy’s The Road and Emily St.
John Mandel’s Station Eleven. Why?
Because post-apocalyptic fiction
fires the imagination like nothing
else. Pondering what comes next,
who would survive, what would life
look like?
Much of the best fiction in this
popular genre focuses on brain-eating zombies or events unfolding
in the USA, so Robin determined
to write a story set in the UK. His
Eureka moment came wandering
the shingle beach at Milford-on-sea, inspired by the beauty and rich history of the Solent. Where better to survive the end of the world than a medieval castle surrounded by water?
Robin spent much of his childhood
messing about in boats, exploring
the many waterways, harbours and military forts of the Solent and Isle of Wight, where The Hurst Chronicles series is set.
Hurst Castle is near Milford-on-sea in Hampshire on the south coast of England.
Completed in 1544, the castle is one of a chain of device forts built to protect the Solent, including others at No Man’s Land, Spitbank, and Horse Sand. They were designed to defend the naval base at Portsmouth and the port of Southampton, from invasion and attack by the French and Spanish navies.
Situated at the end of a 1.5 mile shingle spit that joins
the castle to the mainland, the castle is a natural
strongpoint, guarding the western entrance to the
Solent. Extended and modernised in subsequent
generations, the castle today retains much of its imposing grandeur. At its height, more than one hundred and fifty soldiers and support staff lived there.
The castle has a rich and varied history. King Charles I
was imprisoned here in 1648 before being taken to
London to face trial and execution. In the latter half
of the 18th century, the castle fell into disrepair and
was used by smugglers. Heavily refortified in the 19th
century to counter the threat posed by Napoleon with
new wing batteries housing modern cannon.
The battery was closed in 1928 but recommissioned for World War II when soldiers were again stationed there throughout the war.
The original lighthouse at Hurst was named The Hurst
Tower and lit for the first time in 1786. The lighthouse
that remains today was completed in 1867.
To find out more information, visit the Hurst Castle
website. Ferries leave daily from Keyhaven from
Easter to October.
For an aerial tour of the castle as it is today, check out
this video.
HURST CASTLE
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