Child’s Play to Charles II – a guest post by Claire Hobson A periwig is usually prominent in our minds when we think of Charles II. With those long black curls, he’s recognised as the English king restored to power by a counterrevolutionary parliament in 1660, but he actually sported his natural hair for more than half his… Read on
Happy New Year! Well, 2025 certainly seems to have sped by, with work on the successful Stuart History Festival in the gorgeous and historic city of Worcester in July. It was great to reunite with people I had worked with before or admired before: Jonathan Healey, with whom I had previously been in the BBC4 history documentary series,… Read on
Hear ye! I’m so pleased to announce that we have recently released a new audiobook: To celebrate this new release, I have the privilege of welcoming the author, Eleanor Swift-Hook, for an EXCLUSIVE interview today. Welcome to my salon, Eleanor! Before we go into the book itself, what is it about the seventeenth century that inspires you? I… Read on
Catherine of Braganza managed to exercise her agency as queen under difficult circumstances. Her first duty as Queen was to provide her husband with an heir and she made numerous attempts at treatments and pilgrimages to become pregnant. We have proof of a pregnancy and a miscarriage at least once, with two other pregnancies mentioned by Charles to… Read on
Why write about the Stuarts? Well, they were the Kennedys of the seventeenth century. Attractive, powerful, marked by tragedy. For a novelist, they are a glittering temptation of a subject. But the long, grinding years of exile cast a long shadow over their later history. Did that put me off? On the contrary, I have long been fascinated by the period… Read on
Hear ye! We’re delighted to unveil the speakers for the inaugural Stuart History Festival. It will be a celebration of (what we believe is) the most dramatic, dazzling, and divisive period in British history! 5-6 July, The Old Palace, Worcester. Gareth Russell Dr Isabella Rosner Dr Jonathan Healey Andrea Zuvich (me!) Mark Turnbull Justine Brown Dr Mark Shearwood… Read on
‘Elizabeth was king, now James is queen’, one anonymous English author wrote around 1623, and it is this quote which begins Queen James, which was released today in the United Kingdom. I recently had the delight of having its author, historian Gareth Russell, back on my show for Season 2, Episode 2 of Stuart Saturday Live. It is… Read on
Hello, and Happy New Year! It is, at present, exceedingly blustery outside as I sit quietly pondering over many things. 2024 was a busy year for my family and me: not only did we have our live show once a month, but I had book edits, in-person and online events, promotional work, and finally, the publication of my… Read on