Kate Williams (historian)

Kate Williams
Williams at the Royal Albert Hall for the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
Born (1978-11-30) 30 November 1978[1][2]
Nationality British
Academic background
Alma mater
Academic work
Discipline History
Institutions University of East Anglia
Website Kate Williams

Kate Williams (born 30 November 1978) is a British author, historian and television presenter. She is a professor of history at the University of Reading.

Early life and education

Born in 1978, Williams grew up in Stourbridge.[3] She was educated at Edgbaston High School for Girls, Birmingham. She has a BA and DPhil from Somerville College, Oxford, where she started as a College Scholar and received the Violet Vaughan Morgan University Scholarship. She has MAs from Queen Mary, University of London and Royal Holloway, University of London.[4] She began researching Emma Hamilton while studying for her doctorate.

Career

Williams has lectured MA degree studies in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. In the summer of 2015, Williams took up a role as Professor of Public Engagement with History at the University of Reading.

Publishing

Williams has had academic essays published in various journals and books:

  • "The Force of Language and the Sweets of Love: Eliza Haywood and the Erotics of Reading in Samuel Richardson's Clarissa" in Lumen.
  • "Nelson and Women" in Admiral Lord Nelson: Context & Legacy, ed. David Cannadine.
  • "Reading Tristram Shandy in the Brothel" in The Shandean, 16.
  • "Passion in Translation: 1720s Amatory Writers and the Novel" in Remapping the Rise of the Novel, ed. Jenny Mander.
  • "The Rise of the Novel" in The History of British Women's Writing 1690–1750, ed. Ros Ballaster.

Williams writes articles on history for British newspapers including The Daily Telegraph,[5] and reviews for BBC History, History Today[6] and the Financial Times.[7]

In 2010 she was a judge for the Biographer's Club Tony Lothian First Biography Prize,[8] the Book Drum Tournament 2010,[9] and the Litro/IGGY International Young Person's Short Story Award.[10]

A short story, "The Weakness of Hearts", was published in issue 104 of Litro literary magazine.[11]

Books

Her first book, England's Mistress, a biography of Emma Hamilton, was published by Random House in the UK and US (under the imprint Ballantine Books). It was short-listed for the Marsh/English Speaking Union Prize for the best biography of 2005–06, was selected as a Book of the Year in The Times and The Independent, and broadcast as Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4. A film adaptation is in production with Picture Palace,[12] and a stage musical is also in development.

Becoming Queen, about the youth of Queen Victoria and her cousin, Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, was published in 2008. It was serialised in The Sunday Telegraph[13] and it was a Book of the Year in The Spectator and Tatler. The Times selected it as one of the Top 50 Paperbacks of 2009.[14]

Her third biography for Random House, entitled Josephine: Desire, Ambition, Napoleon looks at the life of Joséphine de Beauharnais and was published in 2013.[15]

Williams has written a biography of the formative years of Queen Elizabeth II, entitled Young Elizabeth: The Making of Our Queen.[16] It was published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, part of Orion Books, in May 2012. The audio book version is read by Williams herself.[17]

Along with Alison Weir, Tracy Borman and Sarah Gristwood, Williams wrote The Ring and the Crown: A History of Royal Weddings 1066–2011. The book was published by Random House, and was serialised in the Daily Telegraph.[18]

Williams's first novel, The Pleasures of Men, about a young girl obsessed with a serial killer in Spitalfields in 1840, was published by Penguin Books in the UK and Disney Hyperion in the US and in Canada, Italy, the Netherlands and Brazil.[19]

William's second novel, The Storms of War, was published in 2014 by Orion. Set during the First World War, the novel follows the lives of an Anglo-German family struggling to survive the home front. Once popular with their neighbours, they are now shunned by society which affects each member individually. Despite these differences, their effort towards the war on the British side does not waver and through these war experiences they learn some of the most valuable lessons in life and family relationships. A review in The Independent outlines the essence of William's novel, and ends with high acclaim for her second piece of fiction.[20]

The second in the series, The Edge of the Fall, was published in November 2015 also by Orion.[21]

The final book in the DeWitt trilogy, The House of Shadows, was published by Orion on 26 July 2018.[22]

Date Title Publisher
Fiction 2012 The Pleasures of Men Penguin
2014 The Storms of War Orion
2015 The Edge of the Fall Orion
2018 The House Of Shadows Orion
Non-Fiction 2012 Young Elizabeth: The Making of our Queen Weidenfeld

& Nicolson

2006 England's Mistress: The Infamous life of Emma Hamilton Ballantine (Random House)
2008 Becoming Queen Hutchinson
2013 Josephine: Desire, Ambition, Napoleon Hutchinson

Television and radio

Williams appears frequently on radio and TV as a presenter and expert, specialising in social, constitutional and royal history. She commented extensively on the 2011 Royal Wedding and appears often on BBC Breakfast, Newsnight, The Review Show, Sky News, BBC News 24, the Today programme, Broadcasting House, Night Waves, Woman's Hour, Channel Five and various American channels, discussing history and culture and reviewing the news. She covered the Queen's Address to Parliament on BBC One in 2012 and the Queen's Speech for BBC Parliament.

Williams was the social historian on the BBC Two series Restoration Home, which aired from 2011 to 2013.[23]

She presented Timewatch: Young Victoria for BBC Two,[24] acclaimed by The Guardian as "telly history at its best"[25] and The Secret History of Edward VII for Channel Five.[26]

She appears often on documentaries, discussing history, literature and culture, including Faulks on Fiction and all three series of The Great British Bake Off, as well as documentaries on subjects including Queen Victoria, Balmoral, Sherlock Holmes,[27] Jack the Ripper, Nelson's Trafalgar, Elizabeth II and Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home.

She wrote and presented the documentary The Grandfather of Self-Help, about Samuel Smiles, for BBC Radio 4.[28] She is also the presenter of a Radio 4 documentary on the history of the smile, broadcast in June 2012.

Williams was the "Historian in Residence" in Frank Skinner's 2014 radio show The Rest Is History.

Williams was a regular panellist on The Quizeum, which began airing on BBC4 in spring 2015.

Williams was the winner of Celebrity Mastermind screened on 2 January 2016.

She also featured on episodes of Insert Name Here broadcast on 4 and 25 of January 2016 on BBC Two, and again in four episodes of the second series of Insert Name Here commencing with the Christmas Special on 21 December 2016.[29]

Williams appeared in the online mini-series Inside Versailles based on the BBC Television series Versailles.

She was in Dictionary Corner on Countdown for five shows starting 6 October 2016.

On 13 December 2016 she appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, partnered with Catherine Southon, against Suzannah Lipscomb and David Harper.

Williams and team member Robin Ince were winners of Pointless Celebrities screened on 13 January 2018.[30]

Personal life

Williams is married to Marcus Gipps and they have a daughter, Persephone.[31]

Bibliography

  • (Chapter) Admiral Lord Nelson: Context and Legacy (2005): ISBN 978-1-4039-3906-7
  • England's Mistress: The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton (2006) (UK Hardback): ISBN 978-0-09-179474-3
  • England's Mistress: The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton (2006) (US Hardback): ISBN 978-0-345-46194-0
  • England's Mistress: The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton (2007) (UK Paperback): ISBN 978-0-09-945183-9
  • Becoming Queen (2008) (UK Hardback): ISBN 978-0-09-179479-8
  • Becoming Queen (2009) (UK Paperback): ISBN 978-0-09-945182-2
  • Becoming Queen Victoria (2010) (US Hardback): ISBN 978-0-345-46195-7
  • (Chapter) The History of British Women's Writing 1690–1750 (2010): ISBN 978-0-230-54938-8
  • (Co-author) The Ring and The Crown: A History of Royal Weddings 1066–2011 (2011): ISBN 978-0-09-194377-6
  • The Pleasures of Men (2012) (UK Trade Paperback): ISBN 978-0-241-95139-2
  • Young Elizabeth: The Making of Our Queen (2012) (UK Hardback): ISBN 978-0-297-86781-4

References

  1. ↑ Mulley, Laura (13 December 2015). "In the closet with TV historian Kate Williams".
  2. ↑ "Meet the women building a bright future from the past".
  3. ↑ Insert Name Here (BBC), Series 3, Episodes 6
  4. ↑ "About Kate". Kate Williams. 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Williams, Kate (31 March 2009). "History's not just for the boys, Dr. Starkey". The Daily Telegraph. London: TMG. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  6. ↑ Williams, Kate. "Russia Against Napoleon: The Battle for Europe 1807–1814". History Today. 60 (3 March 2010). Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Williams, Kate (12 July 2010). "Theodora review". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Winners Of This Year's Tony Lothian Prize and Best First Biography Prize". Book Trade. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "The 2011 Book Drum Tournament". Book Drum. 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Introducing the Litro & IGGY International Short Story Award for Young Writers". Litro. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "The Weakness of Hearts by Kate Williams". Litro. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Picture Palace – England's Mistress". Picture Palace. 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  13. ↑ Williams, Kate (14 September 2008). "Queen Victoria: the original people's princess – Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. London: TMG. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  14. ↑ Bookseller article Archived 15 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ↑ "Ambition and Desire". Goodreads. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
  16. ↑ "Kate Williams – Young Elizabeth". Orion Publishing Group. 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "Young Elizabeth narrated by Kate Williams". Audible. 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Royal wedding: The Ring and the Crown – a command performance". The Daily Telegraph. London: TMG. 28 March 2011. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  19. ↑ Agent's website Archived 22 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  20. ↑ "The Storms of War by Kate Williams – book review: Tantalising tale of one family's battle on the home front". Retrieved 2015-09-17.
  21. ↑ "The Edge of the Fall". Amazon. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  22. ↑ "The House Of Shadows". Orion Books. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  23. ↑ BBC Programme page Archived 22 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  24. ↑ "Timewatch – Young Victoria". BBC. 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  25. ↑ Wollaston, Sam (20 October 2008). "Sam Wollaston on the weekend's TV". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  26. ↑ "Productions – Revealed: Camilla's Family Affair". Lion TV. 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  27. ↑ STV article Archived 24 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  28. ↑ "The Grandfather of Self Help". BBC Radio 4 Extra. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  29. ↑ "Insert Here Series 2". BBC Two. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  30. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09p260f/pointless-celebrities-series-10-39-academia
  31. ↑ Woods, Judith (2015-03-25). "I'd love TOWIE to do the Only Way is Tudor and what about Masterchef does Rationing, wouldn't that be fun?". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
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