For a historian who focuses on the lives of medieval women, Women’s History Month is always exciting. And this year, it is even more so as I have a book coming out at the end of the month.

Schools

On Friday 6 March I spent the day at the King’s Leadership Academy in Bolton, Manchester, where they were having a Drop-Down International Women’s Day and had invited me as a guest speaker. I presented two talks, one to the Year 7s on the Women of the Anarchy and the other to the Year 8s on my Ladies of Magna Carta. I love that the school is keen to incorporate the study of Women’s History into their curriculum, especially their Challenges to Kingship module which features my heroine, Matilda de Braose. The students were very impressive – both in their behaviour and in their own knowledge of the period.

Future generations will know that women had just as much input in our history as the men did. I will make sure of it!

I do love speaking in schools. The energy and enthusiasm of the students is always infectious. And even the kids who don’t love History (I know, does not compute – how can you not love History?) seem to enjoy my talks.

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate International Women’s Day or Women’s History Month.

I visited a school in February and spoke about the Women of the Anarchy and when the last slide went up (See image), the whole hall cheered. It made my day.

If you are a teacher and looking for a Historian to speak to your students, give me shout through my Contact me page. I don’t charge for schools, just ask that you cover my travel expenses.

Grantham Museum

I will be speaking on Lincolnshire’s Tudor Heroines at Grantham Museum on Friday 13th March at 2pm.

Renaissance women from writers and mistresses to martyrs, duchesses and queens. Featuring the stories of Katherine Willoughby, Bessie Blount, Anne Askew and Katherine Parr, ‘Lincolnshire’s Tudor Heroines’ highlights the changes in society, religion and the royal court in the 16^th century.

Come and hear the stories of these incredible women and their connections to Lincolnshire.

Tickets, include tea and coffee on arrival.
Friends of Grantham Museum: £5 | General Admission: £8 | On the Door: £10

Click HERE to reserve your ticket

‘Defining Moments in British History’

I am delighted to have been asked to take part in this year’s Online History Festival hosted by British History Events!

The theme and title of this year’s festival (their 6th) is ‘Defining Moments in British History’ – exploring six defining moments that have shaped Britain today. The festival is all online, taking place from the evening of Friday, 20th March until the evening of Sunday, 22nd March 2026.

In my lecture, Magna Carta: From Inception to Legacy, I will explore the reasons for Magna Carta, the civil war that followed its creation and the people who fought for it and used it to assert their own rights. And we will look at how relevant it still is today, even beyond England’s shores.

There will be 6 talks from leading historians (including myself!), a live Q&A with all 6 historians, a live quiz, and a prize draw. Here is the line up!

Julian Humphrys explores ‘The Battle of Hastings: What Happened and What Followed’.
Sharon Bennett Connolly (me!) traces ‘Magna Carta: From Inception to Legacy’.
Matthew Lewis examines ‘How the Black Death Changed England Forever’.
Gareth Russell tackles ‘Crisis of Faith: The Reformation in British History’.
Jonathan Healey delves into ‘The British Civil Wars: How They Happened and Why They Matter’.
Gareth Streeter looks at ‘The Birth of Britain: How the Glorious Revolution and the Act of Union Forged a Modern Nation’.

And I am really looking forward to the online Q&A and discussion.

Of course, Magna Carta is THE defining moment, but I will let the fellas have their say …

As it’s online, the event is open to everyone, worldwide. And at just £22 to listen to 6 lectures by leading historians – followed by the opportunity to join in the discussion and ask questions, it really is a steal!

Don’t worry if you can’t watch all the talks as they go out – your ticket will give you access to everything in the festival until 31st May 2026.

And you can watch them as often as you like.

Tickets are £22 + fees and are available now at: British History Events’ Online History Festival

If you have any questions, please ask. You can also email the event organisers at office@britishhistorytours.com.

We would all love to have you join us!

Coming 30 March: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages

I have just given my final approval for the jacket design, images section and edits for Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest. So, it is off to the printers. And my 9th book will be a reality by the end of the month!

It never gets old, holding your own book in your hands!

It is always a nerve-wracking time, wondering if anyone will like your book – or even read it. But my partner-in-podcasting, Derek Birks, has had a read and said he really enjoyed it – such a relief! And this week we recorded a Book Launch episode which will go live on 25 March – so please look out for it!

I have a few other podcast interviews lined up, with the first already live. A few months ago, I had a fabulous time chatting with Matthew Harffy and Justin Hill, on Medieval Princesses, Power and the Norman Conquest over at Rock, Paper, Swords

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 of the Conquest explores 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. 

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 of the Conquest is now available for pre-order from Pen & Sword and Amazon.

I am also in the process of planning an online Book Launch for the week Princesses of the Early Middle Ages is published, with a talk followed by a Q&A, so watch this space…

And one last bit of news….

Coming 15 April: Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest

It has been a long time coming, but publication of the paperback edition of Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest is finally just around the corner. In fact, it comes out next month!

The momentous events of 1066, the story of invasion, battle and conquest, are well known. But what of the women?

Harold II of England had been with Edith Swanneck for twenty years but in 1066, in order to strengthen his hold on the throne, he married Ealdgyth, sister of two earls. William of Normandy’s Duchess, Matilda of Flanders, had supposedly only agreed to marry the Duke after he’d pulled her pigtails and thrown her in the mud. Harald Hardrada had two wives – apparently at the same time. So, who were these women? What was their real story? And what happened to them after 1066?

These are not peripheral figures. Emma of Normandy was a Norman married to both a Saxon and a Dane ‒ and the mother of a king from each. Wife of both King Cnut and Aethelred II, the fact that, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, she had control of the treasury at the end of the reigns of both Cnut and Harthacnut suggests the extent of Emma’s influence over these two kings –and the country itself.

Then there is Saint Margaret, a descendant of Alfred the Great, and the less well known but still influential Gundrada de Warenne, the wife of one of William the Conqueror’s most loyal knights, and one of the few men who it is known beyond doubt was with the Duke at the Battle of Hastings.

These are lives full of drama, pathos and sometimes mystery: Edith and Gytha searching the battlefield of Hastings for the body of Harold, his lover and mother united in their grief for the fallen king. Who was Ælfgyva, the lady of the Bayeux Tapestry, portrayed with a naked man at her feet?

Silk and the Sword traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play during the Norman Conquest – wives, lovers, sisters, mothers, leaders.

The paperback edition of Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest can be pre-ordered from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.

My Books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop. or by contacting me.

Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody and Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes. Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books. Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. 

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon,  Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

Podcast:

Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Ian Mortimer, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Scott Mariani, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. 

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

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Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.

For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

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©2026 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS