Memoirs of a History Blogger V
Welcome to Memoirs of a History Blogger V! In these posts I share what I’ve been up to behind the blog. Today I share what I got up to at the end of last year, some of my favourite podcast episodes and books that I’ve been reading. I also include a round up of my latest posts just in case you missed them.
History Related Matters
Well, the biggest history related matter to discuss today, is that I finished my Masters thesis! To be honest, I almost can’t believe it and the whole year of researching and writing seems a bit of a blur. I am very happy with what I came up with in the end and am still waiting on tenterhooks to find out what feedback I will receive. Early medieval burials are incredibly fascinating and I’d love to study them in more depth.
Post-thesis, I happily visited Canberra for a long overdue holiday. I read three novels, visited Lanyon Homestead, and generally had a pleasant time away. I will be posting about historic Lanyon Homestead soon. It is a beautiful house located near the Murrumbidgee River that dates back to the 1840’s. I also loved driving through the town of Goulburn for the first time. My highlight was finding this lovely ghost sign for Bushell’s Tea.
In Case you Missed It: Recent Blog Posts
The Top 5 Posts of 2020. The first blog post for 2021 is a round up of the most viewed blog posts on Memoirs of a Teapot from last year. Which post was your favourite?
Why Study History? A Reflection. This post is about a subject matter that I am quite passionate about especially since history is something I work with for a living!
Sagaland is a review of an excellent work of creative non-fiction by Richard Fidler. It ranges from retellings of Viking sagas to anecdotes about current Icelandic culture and the journey of a Icelandic-Australian who investigates his family history.
Rouse Hill Estate. This historic site, building and farm is a hidden gem close to the Blue Mountains in Sydney. It was built in 1819 and was home to members of the same family all the way to 1993. It still contains the furniture and many of the possessions of this family and is rightly described as a time capsule.
My Favourite Recent Podcast Episodes
- ‘Crusaders’ on History Extra 29 August 2020. Dan Jones discusses his recent book of the same name, stories of people included in the book and why he thinks that understanding the crusades is important for today.
- ‘The Best Books about the Middle Ages from 2020’ on The Medieval Podcast 23 December 2020. Podcasters Daniele and Peter chat about their top 3 medieval history books of 2020 as well as several honourable mentions.
- ‘Episode 95 Tudor Christmas Celebrations and Traditions’ with Siobhan Clarke on Talking Tudors 22 Dec 2020. Siobhan Clarke as curator with Historic Royal Palaces reveals the fascinating Christmas celebrations of the Tudor royals.
- ‘The Princes in the Tower: A Medieval Murder Mystery’ series on History Extra starting on 6 October 2020 and ending 15 December 2020. This is an eight episode podcast series which discusses the fate of Edward V and his brother in depth. It features the opinions of a variety of historians who are well studied in the topic.
Off the Shelf
Towards the end of last year I was craving light hearted novels with a historical setting to read. Happily I found the first book in the Her Royal Spyness series by Rhys Bowen on my library app. It is set in the 1930’s and is about a down and out noble woman who decides to become a maid on the quiet in an effort to support herself. Along the way she also manages to solve a murder or two.
While I was on holiday, I also found another three historically based novels by L.J.M. Owens called Dr Pimms Intermillenial Sleuth. Quite coincidentally they are written by an Australian and set in Canberra. These novels are about a librarian-archaeologist who solves ancient mysteries through examining human remains. More on these novels later; you can expect a blog post with a review.
In the non-fiction category, I read The Search for Richard III by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones. I thought this book was excellent and have already been drafting a review so stay tuned. My current non-fiction read is Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir. I’m about one third of the way into the book so far and am looking forward to learning more about this fascinating medieval woman.
Okay, so that’s all I have for you today. I hope you enjoy browsing these blog posts and podcast episodes. Let me know if you decide to give any of the books I mentioned a read as well! Until next time…
