The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots

Rival Queens

RIVAL QUEENS: a revelatory biography of Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I, and their intense, fraught relationship - which would end in betrayal - by bestselling historian and broadcaster, Kate Williams

It takes a special kind of historian to turn an old story on its head. Eye-opening, provocative, this is the great rivalry re-imagined for the #MeToo generation.

The perfect combination of scholarship and storytelling, meticulous research and emotional insight, Kate Williams brings Mary vividly to life in all her complexities and contradictions.

Kate Mosse, author of The Burning Chambers

Brings us a fresh Mary, set in a gloriously rich context, a tragic heroine - irresistibly real and relevant... There isn’t a line wasted in this taut, dramatic and utterly beguiling biography.

author of Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I

Scintillating, provocative... An elegant synthesis of royal biography and political thriller.

What makes [Rival Queens] special is William’s understanding of how gender shaped Mary’s life. This is a feminist history.

Kate Williams is an author, social historian and broadcaster. She fell in love with history whilst studying for her BA and DPhil at the University of Oxford and has MAs from Queen Mary and Royal Holloway. She is a Professor of History and appears regularly on television – she recently presented The Stuarts, is the in-house historian and royal expert for CNN, and has appeared on programmes from The Great British Bake Off to election coverage and comedy panel shows. She has written five historical biographies and a series of historical novels, and loves nothing more than a spending her time in dusty archives.

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'Scintillating, provocative... An elegant synthesis of royal biography and political thriller.' Daily Telegraph 
 
A Times History Book of the Year: a story which inspired the Hollywood film MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 
 
Mary, Queen of Scots &amp; Elizabeth I of England. Two powerful monarchs on a single island. 
Threatened by voices who believed no woman could govern. 
Surrounded by sycophants, spies and detractors. 
Accosted for their dominion, their favour and their bodies. 
Besieged by secret plots, devastating betrayals and a terrible final act. 
Only one queen could survive to rule all. 
___________________________________ 
'Brings us a fresh Mary, set in a gloriously rich context, a tragic heroine - irresistibly real and relevant... There isn't a line wasted in this taut, dramatic and utterly beguiling biography.' Charles Spencer author of Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I 
 
'The perfect combination of scholarship and storytelling, meticulous research and emotional insight, Kate Williams brings Mary vividly to life in all her complexities and contradictions.' Kate Mosse, author of The Burning Chambers 
 
'It takes a special kind of historian to turn an old story on its head. Eye-opening, provocative, this is the great rivalry re-imagined for the #MeToo generation.' Lucy Worsley

Desire, Ambition, Napoleon

Josephine

The incredible rise and unbelievable fall of Josephine, a mistress, courtesan and Revolutionary heroine whose energy and ambition has often been overshadowed by Napoleon’s military might. Historian Kate Williams, author of Becoming Queen, tells Josephine’s searing story of sexual obsession, politics and surviving as a woman in a man’s world.

Kate Williams' entrancing biography of Josephine is a sparkling account of this most fallible and endearing of women.

Williams is the Cole Porter of 18th century history.  Her serious and thorough investigation is presented in an accessible and playful way.

Scintillating . . . Williams illuminates [Josephine's character] with skill.

This is the incredible rise and unbelievable fall of a woman whose energy and ambition is often overshadowed by Napoleon’s military might. In this triumphant biography, Kate Williams tells Josephine’s searing story, of sexual obsession, politics and surviving as a woman in a man’s world. 
 
Abandoned in Paris by her aristocratic husband, Josephine's future did not look promising. But while her friends and contemporaries were sent to the guillotine during the Terror that followed the Revolution, she survived prison and emerged as the doyenne of a wildly debauched party scene, surprising everybody when she encouraged the advances of a short, marginalised Corsican soldier, six years her junior. 
 
Josephine, the fabulous hostess and skilled diplomat, was the perfect consort to the ambitious but obnoxious Napoleon. With her by his side, he became the greatest man in Europe, the Supreme Emperor; and she amassed a jewellery box with more diamonds than Marie Antoinette’s. But as his fame grew, Napoleon became increasingly obsessed with his need for an heir and irritated with Josephine’s extravagant spending. The woman who had enchanted France became desperate and jealous. Until, a divorcee aged forty-seven, she was forced to watch from the sidelines as Napoleon and his young bride produced a child.

Becoming Queen

The astonishing story of Queen Victoria's passionate youth, her bitter struggle with her mother - and how her life was shaped by the life of her forgotten cousin, Princess Charlotte, the Queen who never was.

The amazing untold story of Victoria before she was Queen ... Kate Williams reveals a passionate young woman beloved of her future subjects but at war with her family

Passionate, exuberant and entertaining, a treasure trove of royalty, intrigue and politics ... vividly and sensitively brings to life the girl who would become Queen

This fresh and vivid portrayal of the young Queen Victoria is deserving of the highest praise. I cannot recommend it highly enough

Alison Weir, author of The Lady Elizabeth

Becoming Queen showcases an outstanding talent from whom we can expect much more

History as exciting and tempestuous as you are ever likely to find

A dashing and vivid account of Charlotte and Victoria's lives

Examining the death of Princess Charlotte, and Victoria's own struggle for power, this is a bracing recreation

Our perception of Victoria the Queen is coloured by portraits of her older, widowed self - her dour expression embodying the repressive morality propagated in her time. But Becoming Queen reveals an energetic and vibrant woman, determined to battle for power. It also documents the Byzantine machinations behind Victoria's quest to occupy the throne, and shows how her struggles did not end when finally the crown was placed on her head. 
 
Laying bare the passions that swirled around the throne in the eighteenth century, Becoming Queen is an absorbingly dramatic tale of secrets, sexual repression and endless conflict. After her lauded biography of Emma Hamilton, England's Mistress, Kate Williams has produced a most original and intimate portrait of Great Britain's longest reigning monarch.

The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton

England's Mistress

As a self-made celebrity, Emma Hamilton's rise from prostitute to consort of the most famous man in England has a very contemporary zing

This rich and bouncy biography of a driven woman - mad for fashion, mad on passion - makes Posh look like a novice

Sparkling like Emma's pawned diamonds ... Finally makes us understand why Nelson needed to be prised out of Emma's embrace to fight Napoleon...

It is the thoroughness of the research and attention to detail that make Kate Williams' new biography of Emma Hamilton so interesting. The iconic Emma has been continuously reimagined since her lover Nelson's death, but Williams offers a new portrait

Kate Williams has done a wonderful job recreating the life of the woman she wants us to relate to...This is an immensely colourful, readable portrait that revels in Emma's resilience and her ability to surmount what look to us now to be unimaginable odds

Gallops along like a gripping novel, with an utterly believable and sympathetic character at its heart

Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire

In this pacey retelling of a classic love story, Kate Williams has created a sparkling life worthy of Emma herself. A new biography for a new generation

Stella Tillyard, author of A Royal Affair

David Liss, author of A Spectacle of Corruption

Every intricate detail is laid out, and Kate Williams' writing is so immediate, you feel all but transported...

From Soho tart to glamour model, diplomatic wife in Naples to the most famous extra-marital passion in UK history: Emma Hamilton's amazing tale is hardly unfamiliar. Williams tells it shrewdly and well, with access to recently discovered letters and a sharp contemporary spin. In her skilled hands, Lord Nelson's lover, for all her "charisma, intelligence and charm" falls foul both of ingrained misogyny and a fledgling culture that both gave her stardom and exacted a fearsome price.

Lively, sympathetic and meticulously researched

Williams account is both balanced and evocative...[Emma Hamilton's] ruthless but romantic pursuit of celebrity is so close to our own time that the story barely needs contemporary parallels

Divertingly and instructively illuminates a time and culture both far away and intriguingly like our own, and resurrects a woman whose mingled vulnerability and resilience - to say nothing of her glamour - still have the power to fascinate

The first self-made superstar, the first manipulative media celebrity, dazzling Europe with her style and beauty as muse to artists and mistress to Nelson ... Emma famously gets her comeuppance, and her headlong flight to romantic destruction is told with novelistic dash

A dramatic, sparkling tale of sex, glamour, intrigue, romance and heartbreak, England's Mistress traces the rise and rise of the gorgeous Emma Hamilton. 
 
Born into poverty, she clawed her way up through London's underworlds of sex for sale to become England's first media superstar. Nothing could stand in the way of her dreams- except her self-destructive desires. 
 
Drawing on hundreds of previously undiscovered letters, and told with a novelist's flair, England's Mistress captures the relentless drive, innovative style and burning passion of a true heroine. In a world of tabloid fame and three-minute wonders, Emma's life is truly a tale for our time.

Robin Ince

Kate Williams

Byron Vincent

Emma Barnett

Will Self

Felicity Ward

Bryon Vincent

Sian Williams

A BBC radio collection exploring the history, philosophy and science of self-help

This collection brings together history, science, philosophy and comedy to explore our age-old search for meaning. We live in an age of self-improvement and self-examination - lifehacking, wellbeing, self-care, mindfulness retreats - but this seemingly very modern phenomenon is a pursuit that dates back for millennia. 
 
Join comedian Robin Ince to explore how the ancient Greeks aimed to get happier, healthier and richer. 
Will Self asks some of Britain's key scientists, philosophers and faith leaders to share their conclusions on the meaning of our existence. 
Historian Kate Williams investigates the Grandfather of Self-Help, Samuel Smiles' 1859 book Self Help, and its lasting influence. 
In 'Hell is Other People', performer Byron Vincent attempts to overcome his paralysing fear of social situations. 
Emma Barnett traces the multi-billion dollar mindfulness industry to its Buddhist roots to discover whether it's just another health fad. 
Comedian Felicity Ward tries to solve her mental health issues, one app at a time. 
Sian Williams presents a practical guide to boosting brain power through exercise, relaxation, stimulation, sleep and diet. 
 
From the ancient Greeks to the present day and even into the future, The Examined Mind provides an unique insight into our constant quest to be better people.

Kate Williams

Books by Kate Williams

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