My debut book is entitled Elizabethan Rebellions: Conspiracy, Intrigue and Treason and it examines the English rebellions of Elizabeth I’s reign – the Northern Rising of 1569, the Ridolfi Plot of 1571, the Throckmorton and Parry Plots of 1583, the Babington Plot of 1586, and the Essex Rebellion of 1601.
It looks at how and why these rebellions happened, what was the progress of the rebellion, what the monarch’s and council’s response was, and the consequences. Each rebellions gets its own chapter, after the first chapter which briefly examines the earlier Tudor rebellions under Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I, and what Elizabeth I could have learnt from them. It discusses the development of the first real government spy network, how rebellions led to the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, and how these plots helped to create the myth of Gloriana.
What is your preferred writing routine?
I work full-time alongside my writing so I tend to do my research on a weekday evening once I’ve finished work, along with any hand-drafting, then I spend my Saturdays writing largely, sometimes drifting over into the Sunday, and then I spend my Sundays relaxing with a stitching project or a book. It’s important for me to get that relaxation time alongside my job and writing, much as I love to write and research!
What advice do you have for new writers?
The best advice I can give is just to write. A friend gave me some great advice and told me that what’s important is just to write; get any ideas down on paper (or computer) and you can always go back and re-write and move things around later. The important thing is just to get writing and even if it doesn’t necessarily make sense at first, some spark of a great idea can come from just writing things down and getting them out of your head.
What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?
I’ve found social media to be a really good way of raising awareness about my book, and not just by posting about my book, but by posting lots of other things as well. People seem to like one post and then will go to my profile and like a book-related post, which is really lovely to see. Instagram is my preferred though I also use Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research.
I think that the most unexpected thing I found was just how much Mary Queen of Scots was at the heart of Elizabethan rebellions. The only one that didn’t involve her took place fourteen years after her death, and the first Elizabethan rebellion was within a year of Mary arriving in England from Scotland. I knew Mary Queen of Scots was a constant undercurrent in England but I don’t think I realised just how disruptive her presence was, or how close England came to invasion so many times because of her. It’s so intriguing to read and write about.
What are you planning to write next?
I am currently working on my second book for Pen and Sword about executing the Tudor nobility, so it won’t look at the likes of Thomas Cromwell, or Mary Queen of Scots, but the men and women of noble Tudor blood who ended up under the executioner’s blade. People like Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, and Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, as well as the more well-known ones like Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey. It will cover the whole of the Tudor period from Henry VII to Elizabeth I.
Helene Harrison
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About the Author
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