Hello, I’m Holly and I write about the untold tales of medieval lives. Subscribe for free to enjoy regular posts from me, including book reviews, historical discussions, and monthly roundups of what’s been great in the history/archaeology world. Or, even better, become a paid member to unlock ALL of my content, including all my historical fiction writing (flash fiction, short stories, miniseries and a serialised novel), to open up a world of history as you were never taught it.
Right back when I started my newsletter, I always sent out a monthly roundup. They were my most popular posts by far, and I’m not sure why I ever stopped doing them really. I guess I wanted to write history (both fiction and non-fiction), rather than share history. But I’ve come to realise that I also enjoy reading these types of posts, so I’ve decided to reboot them. They will be pretty flexible, so the content categories may change month to month.
Before we dive in, I have a special request to make… Do any of you know any other archaeology, medieval history, or historical fiction newsletters here on Substack? I’ve been struggling to find many and would love to read more of those kinds of newsletters. Drop your favourites in the comments!
Table of Contents:
You might have missed
Something to read
Something to watch
Something to listen to
You might have missed
My top post this month was a short story inspired by a recent visit to the Lake District: Where the Ghosts Dared Not Tread. I spent many hours running and walking in the dramatic fells, imagining what it might have been like to have lived in that landscape in the Iron Age.
Free posts
Paid posts
You can unlock one paid post for free if you would like a taste of the paid content without the price.
Something to read
This Note on the recent Just Stop Oil demonstration at Stone Henge sums up brilliantly my thoughts on using ancient monuments to make a statement.
This Note on connecting to our ancestors through working the land and foraging its fruits…
A major report has been published on ‘Britain’s Pompeii’ (linked HERE), a prehistoric site at Flag Fen preserved in exquisite detail thanks to fire damaged and waterlogged deposits. The finds can be seen at Peterborough Museum (information HERE) if you’re nearby.
Something to watch
Not strictly in the early medieval brief of this newsletter, but too interesting not to share. I read a book on Mary Queen of Scots last year and found her story intriguing and devastating in equal parts. She must have been such a strong character to go through all that she did, and yet seems to have shown astonishing naïvety and impulsivity at times too.
People who know me IRL will know that I have been a long-time Time Team fan (yes, the slightly cringe 90s archaeology show with Tony Robinson). I first watched an episode when I was maybe 8 or 9 years old, featuring an in-situ, perfectly preserved Roman water wheel, and was hooked. I think that was the moment my love of history and archaeology ignited. Fast-forward a decade, and I found myself being supervised for my undergraduate dissertation by one of their historical advisors. I couldn’t have been more thrilled! Fast-forward another decade, and I find myself being supervised for my PhD thesis by another of their historical advisors. It’s safe to say Time Team has and continues to be a huge part of my life. They now stream their shows on YouTube (linked HERE), and have begun working on the site at Sutton Hoo, an early Anglo-Saxon ‘princely’ burial site in Suffolk, England. I did my masters thesis on Sutton Hoo, so I couldn’t be more excited that these two major parts of my life have combined in this way. The new shows are great, including a recent one (linked below) detailing the process of building a full-scale model of the beautifully-preserved ship interred in one of the burial mounds at Sutton Hoo.
Something to listen to
History Hit recently shared a podcast episode interviewing Professor Tim Licence, author of Edward the Confessor: Last of the Royal Blood. It slightly irks me that many of their podcast episodes focus on 'the ‘big people’ (kings & queens, etc.) but I do find their conversations interesting and I was on a plane so thought I’d give this one a listen. Much of the episode was the usual ‘big people’ kind of stuff, but the conversation from 15:20 onwards was so focused on telling the untold tales of history (totally my vibe here!) that I had to share it with you. It was brilliant and well worth a listen. Prof Licence does also, to his credit, start to untangle some of the myths about Edward the Confessor that the Victorians very kindly created for us - a different kind of untold history, even for a king.
That’s it for this month! I’ll be back at the end of July with the next roundup.
In the meantime, I’d love to know: what have you been loving lately? Come join us in the comments.
Did you know that you can buy my photos at my Etsy Shop?
I take landscape photographs of wild and wonderful places across the UK, such as the Lake District, the Peak District, and Eryri (Snowdonia). These include the images below - click the button to check out more at my Etsy Shop! All are available for instant digital download.
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@annkennedysmith writes one of my favourite historical newsletters: Cambridge Ladies’ Dining Society.