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! Tickets for the Stuart History Festival are now available at: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thestuarthistoryfestival
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
Hear ye! Dr Erica Canela, Mark Turnbull, and I are very pleased to announce the first-ever history festival dedicated to Stuart Britain, 1603-1714! Join us for a weekend of history with incredible speakers (we will be sharing our lineup of speakers and more information in the upcoming days). I’m so excited to be a co-founder of this festival… Read on
Hear ye! There are many in-person events and online events that make up my 2025 schedule. For book signings, you don’t have to buy my book there, you can always bring copies you have at home and I’ll happily sign them for free. If, however, you’d like to purchase a signed bookplate, these are available for £1. I… 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
Historian Heather R. Darsie, who was my first guest for Season 2 of Stuart Saturday Live, is best known for her work on Tudor women such as Anne of Cleves (and I’m looking forward to reading her forthcoming book on Katharine of Aragon for Amberley Publishing). She recently, however, stepped into the world of Stuart history with her… Read on