History… the interesting bits!

Don’t scroll down!

Be patient!

As many of you may know I have spent the last year on a project that was originally titled ‘The Medieval Princess: Royal Daughters from the Conquest to the Wars of the Roses’. It was one of those projects that seemed to go on and on, with no end in sight. But then, at the end of April, it was done. With one tiny snag. The reason it had seemed never-ending was the word count: a whopping 143,000 words!

Cover reveal coming – be patient!

What does that mean in terms of a physical book? Well, it was 50% more words than in my contract and would come out at a book-and-a-half – about 500 pages.

Just wait a little longer…

It is not a surprise, really, Mary Anne Everett Green’s The Lives of the Princesses of England from the Norman Conquest was published in six volumes in the19th century; the first 3 volumes covered the medieval period. So, I knew all along it was going to be a challenge to bring the book in at under 100,000 words.

And I failed miserably!

Stop scrolling – cover reveal coming soon….

Luckily, I have a very understanding editor and her first words, when I confessed my massive word count, was, ‘well, we’re not going to make you cut 20,000 words. Let’s split it in two!

What a relief!

Not long now…

So, I have spent May splitting the books, polishing off book no. 1 and changing the introduction and conclusions so they are relevant to that particular book. And we have settled on titles. The first book is entitled Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest and will look at the English princesses from the daughters of Harold II to King John.

Nearly there….

I still have work to do on book no. 2, Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets, which will include all the royal daughters from Henry III to Edward IV. There will be more on that at the end of the summer…

It’s time!

Did you peek?

So, here it is. The cover for Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters from the Conquest

Drum roll please….

Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters from the Conquest will explore the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. It will look at the world they lived in, and how their lives and marriages were affected by political necessity and the events of the time.

Almost as interesting as the marriages these girls made are the ones that were never realised. Many English princesses were betrothed, or proposed as brides, three or more times before they were married. Their failed marriage proposals demonstrated their influence and worth on the international royal marriage market, as well as the changing allegiances between countries and the making and breaking of international friendships.

Princesses of the Early Middle Ages will also examine how these girls, who were often political pawns, were able to control their own lives and fates. Whilst they were expected to obey their parents in their marriage choices, several princesses were able to exert their own influence on these choices, with some outright refusing the husbands offered to them. Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.

Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters from the Conquest is due for release in the spring of 2026, with Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets coming in the summer.

I can’t wait for you to read them!

About the Author:

Sharon Bennett Connolly is the bestselling author of several non-fiction history books. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Sharon has studied history academically and just for fun – and has even worked as a tour guide at a castle. She also writes the popular history blog, http://www.historytheinterestingbits.com and co-hosts the podcast A Slice of Medieval, alongside historical novelist Derek Birks. Sharon regularly gives talks on women’s history, for historical groups, festivals and in schools; her book Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest is a recommended text for teaching the Norman Conquest in the National Curriculum. She is a feature writer for All About History, Tudor Places and Living Medieval magazines and her TV work includes Australian Television’s Who Do You Think You Are?

Her previous books include: Heroines of the Medieval World, Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest, Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth-Century England, Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey, King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye, Women of the Anarchy, Heroines of the Tudor World and Scotland’s Medieval Queens: From St Margaret to Margaret of Denmark.