This post was originally going to be published on 1 January; however, when you have got history in the making in the form of an abdication announcement, things get shifted. In any case, we are only a week into 2024!
I really enjoy doing different series on the blog. While one-off posts allow me to explore new and interesting topics, I love being able to really get to thoroughly explore. In 2023, I was able to share my History From Afar series to make “doing” history more accessible no matter where you are or what your budget is. I have two new series planned for the first half of 2024 that I am quite excited to share with you!
New 2024 History Series
We will be traversing through history together in two new history series on An Historian About Town!
The History of… Royal Palaces
As royal history is one of my main research areas and it is also an incredibly popular topic with my lovely readers, I know that I wanted to introduce another royal history series. And because people are able to travel more, and quite frankly more palaces are more readily available to visitors, I thought that this is the perfect year to launch my series on the history of royal palaces!
I will be focusing for now on working palaces, meaning those that are currently in use by royals as official homes. These palaces are oftentimes mentioned but aside from Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, many of us know little about these palaces. Each month we will “visit” a different working palace and find out the history behind them.
Note: If you have visited any working palaces and would like to write a guest post, please send me an email at AnHistorianAboutTown@gmail.com!
Literary Travel
Moving away from royal history, my second series will be exploring literary travel. Although many buildings, cities, and countries look wildly different than they would have in the past, we can still walk in the footsteps of many of our favourite authors. Literary history tends to exist somewhat separately as its own field but I know that many of us- myself included- are just interested in literary history as we are other types of history.
I will be focusing on authors who lived and worked in relatively accessible places, to hopefully help as many people as possible make their travel plans.
Continuing History Series on An Historian About Town
If you are a regular visitor to the blog, you will know that I still have history series that are carrying on from last year!
Consort of the Month
Each month I explore the life of a different royal consort from history! While some consorts garner as much attention as their spouses, like Anne Boleyn or Marie Antoinette, many are left behind in history. But we will change that- one consort at a time! These women have often played a crucial role at various points during their husband’s reign (and sometimes childrens’ reigns) and they should be given their fair attention.
Court Painters
Surviving portraits are one of the only ways that we “know” what many historical royals look like. While portraits are as manipulated as our photoshopped images in the twenty-first century, it is certainly better to have portraits than nothing.
We explore different court painters throughout this series, both officially appointed court painters and those that unofficially filled the role. While some names may seem unfamiliar at first, once you spot these paintings you will realise that you are more familiar with them than you realise.
I hope you are as excited for these 2024 history series as I am!
Cheers,
The Historian
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