Game of Thrones Has Hacked our History
Thought you might like to read my article on Game of Thrones in The Guardian earlier this week: Game of Thrones Has Hacked Our History
Game of Thrones has hacked our history
The fantasy drama is back – yet no matter how dark, brutal and beguiling it appears, it’s matched by Britain’s own bloody past, argues Suzannah Lipscomb in The Guardian on 23 April 2016. There is no disguising George RR Martin’s sources when he wrote Game of Thrones. He’s quite open about it. History,…
Divorced, beheaded died: on the trail of Henry’s wives
The history of Henry VIII and his wives can still be found around the country in the houses and palaces that they visited, and in which they lived and were finally buried. Here are some of the best places to get a feel for their lives and times – all…
Henry VIII: A King Caught on Camera
My March column for History Today is about whether Henry VIII a good-natured buffoon or an egotistical tyrant? Your answer is likely to depend on which cinematic portrayal you saw most recently. Tyrant or Buffoon?
Henry VIII: A King Caught on Camera?
Was Henry VIII a good-natured buffoon or an egotistical tyrant? Your answer is likely to depend on which cinematic portrayal you have seen most recently, argues Suzannah Lipscomb in her March 2016 column for History Today. Gore Vidal suggested that books have had their day: that we should ‘concede the…
Credo – interview in The Independent
Dr Suzannah Lipscomb interview: The historian on why Liszt was the first Beatle, and how Henry VIII became a tyrant At some point in this interview for The Independent, the journalist asked me my 'life philosophy'. You'll notice that section is strangely missing.
A Question of Interpretation
My latest column for History Today was prompted by an amateur review of a history book that called it 'just an interpretation'. The sheer wrongness of this as criticism (and rightness of this as fact) seemed to me to deserve some serious attention. Here it is: A question of interpretation
Interview with The Independent
Dr Suzannah Lipscomb interview in The Independent, on 24 January 2016: The historian on why Liszt was the first Beatle, and how Henry VIII became a tyrant... It seems possible that Henry VIII suffered brain damage In 1536, Henry VIII went from being athletic, accomplished, charismatic and good-looking – everyone liked…
‘What Turns Me On’ – Sunday Mail
This provocatively named profile piece from the Sunday Mail of 3 January 2016 introduces Suzannah's favourite films, books, theatre, and the rest...
A Question of Interpretation
The public expects historians to deliver authoritative accounts of the past, yet different conclusions can be drawn from the same sources, argues Suzannah Lipscomb in her January 2016 column for History Today. I recently read an amateur review of a history book with which I am familiar, which stated: ‘It is…
What Turns Me On… according to the Mail on Sunday
I didn't choose the title. But, yes, here are the films and books and plays that I really love.
Plenti and Grase: Food and Drink in a Sixteenth Century Household
Review article reproduced from History Today, volume 60, issue 4, April 2010 Suzannah Lipscomb on a book about how the English ate in the high middle ages and the early modern era. Trying to shed some pounds before Christmas? Has your doctor recently told you to cut back on alcohol…
Henry’s big year
Article reproduced from Reform Magazine, December 2009 Five hundred years after his accession to the throne, Suzannah Lipscomb looks at a critical year in the life of Henry VIII. The English Reformation, she argues, wasn’t all about Anne Boleyn. Everyone knows that England broke away from the Roman Catholic Church…
Henry’s pleasure palace
Article reproduced from Essence Magazine, July/August 2009 Suzannah Lipscomb, author and research curator at Hampton Court Palace, on the endless opportunities to experience the life and turbulent times of Henry VIII Hampton Court was one of Henry VIII’s favourite houses, out of the 50 or so palaces, houses and castles…