My first book, Royal
Witches, looks at the stories of four women who married into the English
royal family in the 15th century: Joan of Navarre, who was queen of
England through her marriage to Henry IV; Eleanor Cobham, who married Humphrey,
Duke of Gloucester (Henry IV’s son); Jacquetta of Luxembourg who married
Humphrey’s brother, John, Duke of Bedford; and Elizabeth Woodville, Jacquetta’s
daughter who became queen when she married Edward IV. All four women were
amongst the most powerful people in the country, and yet all four of them were
accused at different times of using witchcraft against the king. I found it so
fascinating that women of their status could suffer such accusations, and had
to write a book about it! Royal Witches looks at their lives, exploring
who these women were and how they came to power, and why they were accused –
and what happened to them.
My second book,
due out later this year, is The Queen and the Mistress, which is a joint
biography of Queen Philippa of Hainault and Alice Perrers, the queen and
mistress respectively of fourteenth-century king of England, Edward III. Both
women came from entirely different backgrounds in life, but both found the love
of the same man. They are really interesting women to look at, seeing how they
both used their femininity in different ways to obtain power, and how they were
viewed by their contemporaries for how they did this. I look forwards to it
coming out!
What projects are you currently working on?
I have just handed in one book manuscript, so I admit at the moment I am having a bit of a rest! I have lots of ideas for projects in the pipeline, including a third book and big work on my blog this year, so watch this space.
Where can we
buy your book/s?
Royal
Witches can be found on Amazon and in all major booksellers in the UK, and
there is also a North American version published by Pegasus which can be found
at a variety of booksellers. The pre-order link for my second book is not out
yet, but keep an eye on the History Press website and my social media for
updates.
Find Gemma here:
Website: www.justhistoryposts.com
Twitter: @JustHistoryPost and @GemmaHAuthor
Facebook: Just
History Posts (https://www.facebook.com/JustHistoryPosts)
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