Hello! And thank you for signing up for my monthly newsletter. I’ll post on the first of each month with a recap of what’s been happening on the blog and some sneak previews of what’s coming up in the next month, too.
Writing
March was Women’s History Month and I learned so much about groundbreaking historic women from other bloggers and historians who nominated their chosen notable women from history on the blog. I discovered an aeronautical engineer, some warrior queens and a medical innovator!
In my own posts I talked about subjects including Shakespeare’s women, why Henry VIII’s wives were far more than their ‘divorced, beheaded, died’ stereotypes and also some fairly shocking cases involving women murderers from the Stuart and Medieval eras. I also looked into the story of Kitty Marion, one of the less well-known suffragettes. She set fire to her prison bed and burnt down the grandstand of Hurst Park racecourse to help secure the vote.
In the next few weeks, look out for my new article in the second issue of The Historians Magazine which I’m super excited about - as well as a new takeover spot beginning this month on my Instagram - stay tuned for the first guest next week!
Reading
March was a month for mostly drawing and writing so my TBR pile was left forlornly in the corner. But I have just started reading a new book that explores a previously forgotten lead in the case of the Princes in the Tower mystery and I’ll be reviewing that on the blog soon. After that I’m aiming to get going on In The Reign of King John by Dan Jones and then read Kate Innes’ sequel to the beautiful Medieval novel The Errant Hours, called All The Winding World. If you love atmospheric writing, characters described in high definition, rolling fields and the sound of sandals slapping on stone church floors then you’ll love it. Time travel, in a book.
Sketching
I’m excited to say that my original watercolour sketches are available at Creative Locale gallery - I’ve painted a few churches, a seventeenth-century cottage and a view of Reading’s Broad Street this month. As an Urban Sketcher, I’ve really missed going out and sketching on location but once we’re able to, I’ll be out and about with my sketchpad and watercolour paints shooing away wasps and squinting up at chimneys. Want to book me for a commission? All the details are here. You can find more of my work @sketcherjoey on Instagram.
Don’t miss
Over 60 English Heritage sites are now open! Click here to find out if there’s one near you.
A new exhibition at the V&A explores the evolution of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from its origins to its place in modern art, theatre and fashion today. Check the website for more info and booking details.
The National Museum of Scotland has an exhibition all about the Viking Galloway Hoard, found in 2017 and thought to have been buried in 900AD.
Have you seen the Anne Boleyn account on Twitter? She takes a swipe at Jane Seymour, has Henry VIII whispering sweet nothings into a mirror and invents her own signature cocktail: The Boleynini.
Until next month!
Got some feedback, something you’d like me to include next time or just want to say hello?
And if you’ve enjoyed this and think someone else would like these updates, then feel free to share it with them, too.
Have a great April!