Three Epic Book Launches
Celebrating Alison Weir, Joanne Paul and Helen Carr's latest triumphs
Croeso (or Welcome), to another edition of ‘A Chronicle of Dragons & Cats’, and thank you for reading! If you have already subscribed, diolch yn fawr for coming along on this journey and I hope you’re enjoying. Any likes, comments and shares are always appreciated. It’s not easy getting history out to the masses at the moment!
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One of the more exciting aspects of becoming more well known on the history circuit is being invited to book launches. There is definitely a tingle of excitement when the email drops from a publicist inviting you along to help celebrate the author’s latest success, to raise a collective toast, to recognise those that played a part in the book’s publication process, and to just revel in the camaraderie.
These events tend to be intimate gatherings between people who are mostly known to the author, and often to each other, the history community not being the biggest really, once you begin to narrow it down into the different periods. Many historians are friends, or through events like these, end up becoming friends with one another. As people from my neck of the woods in West Wales would remark, ‘there’s lovely’.
Since moving to London, I’ve had more opportunity to accept these invites, and in the last fortnight I’ve been to THREE in fact. Each a barnstormer that was good for the soul.
On 22 May, I was able to celebrate the launch of Alison Weir’s evocative new novel, ‘The Cardinal’ (published by Headline) in Covent Garden Waterstones. Beforehand, I met up with Nicola Tallis, Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey for a historians’ wander around the Tudor portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, before going on to the event. Naturally, considering what we all have written about, the principle portraits we each darted towards included Henry VII (which I’ve written about previously), Margaret Beaufort, Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I.
Popping over to the event, for such an industry titan like Alison, many notable historians were present. I took great joy in chatting with the likes of Elizabeth Fremantle, Sarah Gristwood, Kate Williams, Marcus Gipps, Melita Thomas, Deborah Roil, Michael Jones and Alex von Tunzelmann, as well as the lovely Alison of course. Wine and prosecco were consumed in copious amounts, but the main topic of conversation in my corner seemed to be cats! What writer doesn’t have a loyal cat by their side!
On 29 May, meanwhile, it was the turn to toast the brilliant Joanne Paul for the release of her stupendous and long overdue study of one of Tudor history's most complex and often inscrutable characters, Thomas More (published by Michael O’Mara Books). I had the great fortune of reading an advance proof of this, and would argue it is already the definitive biography of a most remarkable life.
Once more, I met up with the squad, Nicola, Owen, Kate and this time also Tower legend Alfred Hawkins for some pre-event coffees before heading to Daunt Books in the City, fittingly around the corner from where More had his house. Another excellent event in which I was able to chat to and exchange views with historians like Sarah Gristwood (again!) Matthew Lyon, Gareth Russell, Estelle Paranque, Nicola Clark, Luke Pepera, and of course my mate Jackson van Uden.
Finally, on 4 June I went along to the prestigious Hatchards on Picadilly, London’s oldest bookshop, to recognise the extraordinary effort Helen Carr went to in her grand-slam book, Sceptred Isle (published by Hutchinson Heinemann of which you can read my full review of here). Her speech was funny and poignant, the wine was excellent, and the company - well!
What a remarkable array of historians that crowded the top floor, drawn from across every aspect of history from the ancients to the modern, all assembled in honour of one person. In the interests of not making this just a list of nearly one hundred historians, let’s just assume any historian you love was there, though I did in particular enjoy my chats with Sean Cunningham (the greatest expert on Henry VII), Euan Roger, Charlie Higson, a couple of Helen Carr’s mentees from her mentor scheme, catch up with my old chum Matthew Lewis, and of course many of those already mentioned from previous events - it feels like we can’t escape each other!
It is always a privilege, one not to be taken for granted, to share the room with so many people you read, admire, and have looked up to so much, and get to know them as people. If you never accept criticism from people you don’t respect, then you should definitely take advice from those you admire. And that’s what I intend to continue doing.
As for you, please consider buying each (or even all!) of these wonderful books, which I fully endorse.
The Cardinal: The Secret Life of Thomas Wolsey by Alison Weir
Thomas More: A Life and Death in Tudor England by Joanne Paul
Sceptred Isle: A New History of the Fourteenth Century by Helen Carr
Until next time, Hwyl Fawr!
Sounds amazing!!
Wish I could have been there!