Judith is an experienced destination/port speaker and enrichment lecturer specialising in ancient history, literary lives and the writer’s craft. She has also run writing workshops for several cruise lines.

Her History Enrichment lecturers have been inspired by her passion for travel and her love of history and ancient civilizations. She has travelled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, China, Indochina, Japan, India, South America, Mexico and Central America.

Judith is an award-winning crime novelist. She is the author of the Fiona Mason Mysteries following the exploits of Tour Manager, Fiona Mason each is set in a different European country, and The Aunt Jessica Mysteries. Jessica is an historian acting as the lecturer on tour groups to more exotic destinations. Her novels include several stand-alone psychological thrillers.

An ex-headteacher, she taught geography for many years and finished her career as an Education Business Manager.

Judith is an experienced speaker and, in addition to writing her novels, she now spends her time when she’s not at sea, teaching Tai Chi and yoga and lecturing to local groups and at national writing conferences.

For more details about Judith and her work see her website by clicking here >> www.judithcranswick.co.uk

ANCIENT WORLD

Mediterranean Europe
• Trade and Conquest in the Mediterranean
• The Greek Legacy
• The Greeks at War
• Everyday Life in Ancient Athens
• The Glory that was Rome
• Everyday Life in Ancient Rome
• The Emperors of Rome
• Medieval Rivalries in the Mediterranean
• Rome & the Adriatic
• Hannibal and the march on Rome
• Dubrovnik—A History of Turmoil
• Monte Carlo – the Survival of one of Europe’s Oldest Cities
• Venice rules the waves
• The rise of The Byzantine empire
• The expansions of Islam
• Sicily at the Crossroads of trade
• The Barbary Pirates
• The Moors in Spain

Western Europe
• Lisbon and the Age of Discovery
• Santiago de Compostela and the Mediaeval Pilgrimage
• Charlemagne and his Empire
• The Golden Age of the Sun King
• Napoleon’s Visions of Empire

The British Isles and Northern Europe
• The Romans in Britain
• The Normans in Britain
• Celtic Myths and the Legend of King Arthur
• Scottish Myths and Legends
• Viking Myths and Legends
• Norse Gods
• Mythical Viking Monsters
• Stories from the Nordic Sagas
• Catherine the Great – the Scandalous Empress

Japan, China and the Far East
• Japan – Ancient Capitals and the Early Emperors
• Japan – the Age of the Shoguns
• Ancient Versus Modern – the Contradiction that is Japan
• The Secret World of the Geisha
• Qin Shi Huang - China’s First Emperor
• China’s Great Dynasties
• Vietnam and the Cham Dynasty
• The Ancient Khmer and Cambodia

WRITING TALKS
1. Inspired by Travel
2. Murder on My Mind – Confessions of a Crime Novelist
3. Establishing a Life of Crime – Research and the Crime Writer
4. The Crime Scene – Importance of location
5. Living with Murders and Psychopaths – Creating Characters
6. Let’s Commit Murder – Plotting a Crime Novel
7. The Mystery novel and A History of Crime Writing
8. I Remember… A Trip Down Memory Lane

WRITING WORKSHOPS
1. What Happens Next? – Using pictures to find story ideas
2. People Make Stories - Bringing characters to life
3. Look Who’s Talking – Have fun with dialogue
4. Where Are We? – A sense of place
5. Let’s Write a Story – The main ingredients

Marco Polo and Saga Pearl II - lectures on Writing Crime
Minerva II, Black Watch and Viking Orion - writing workshops
Boudica and Voyager - port lectures

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.