KATE WILLIAMS

Royal expert and TV historian Kate Williams lets you in on the secrets of The Royal Palaces in this exploration of regal residences past and present

In the idyllic early summer of 1914, life is good for the de Witt family. German Rudolf and his aristocratic English wife Verena are planning the wedding of their daughter, Emmeline, while their eldest son Arthur is studying in Paris and Michael is just back from his first term at Cambridge. Celia, the youngest of the de Witt children, is on the brink of adulthood, and secretly dreams of escaping her carefully mapped out future and exploring the world.But with the onslaught of war, the de Witts find themselves in danger of losing everything they hold dear. As Celia struggles to make sense of the changing world around her, she lies about her age to join the war effort and finds herself embroiled in a complex plot that puts her and those she loves in danger.With gripping detail and brilliant empathy, Kate Williams tells the story of Celia and her family as they are shunned by a society that previously embraced them, torn apart by sorrow, and buffeted and changed by the storms of war.

Celebrate the Queens remarkable life with this colourful and charming picture book by historian Kate Williams, taking young readers on an amazing journey through Queen Elizabeth IIs seven decades on the throne.Discover everything there is to know about the life and the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II in this beautifully illustrated book. Readers will learn all about Elizabeth IIs youth growing up during WWII, how she came to the throne and what it really meant to be the Queen. Along the way, theyll see her sparkling crown jewels and magnificent palaces. They will meet her beloved corgis, horses and of course, her very famous family - including King Charles III. Plus theyll discover lots of amazing facts - such as why the monarch has two birthdays, why the Queen loved to wear bright clothing, and why she was a true world record breaker!This is a perfect gift for all the family, remembering the extraordinary life of Queen Elizabeth II.

Celebrate the Queens remarkable life with this colourful and charming picture book by historian Kate Williams, taking young readers on an amazing journey through Queen Elizabeth IIs seven decades on the throne.Discover everything there is to know about the life and the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II in this beautifully illustrated book. Readers will learn all about Elizabeth IIs youth growing up during WWII, how she came to the throne and what it really meant to be the Queen. Along the way, theyll see her sparkling crown jewels and magnificent palaces. They will meet her beloved corgis, horses and of course, her very famous family including King Charles III. Plus theyll discover lots of amazing facts such as why the monarch has two birthdays, why the Queen loved to wear bright clothing, and why she was a true world record breaker! This is a perfect gift for all the family, remembering the extraordinary life of Queen Elizabeth II.

The latest from Kate Williams - REGINA: A NEW HISTORY OF WOMEN AND POWER - publishing 4th June 2026.In the aftermath of the Great War, the de Witt family are struggling to piece together the shattered fragments of their lives.Rudolf and his wife Verena, still reeling from the loss of their second son, dont know how to function in the post-war world. Stoneythorpe Hall has become an empty shell with no servants to ensure its upkeep.Celia, the de Witts youngest daughter, is still desperate to spread her wings and see more of the world. To escape Stoneythorpe and the painful secrets that lie there, she moves to London and embraces life and love in the Roaring Twenties.

The latest from Kate Williams - REGINA: A NEW HISTORY OF WOMEN AND POWER - publishing 4th June 2026.Brilliant - a passionate and poignant story of a glittering family on the precipice of a vanished world Lisa HiltonA family destroyed by war. A secret that could change everything.Celia De Witt is half-German, half-English, and heir to her familys vast fortune. But as the glittering Twenties plunge into Depression, a shocking revelation sends her far from everything she knows. Thrust headlong into the wealth and promise of New York, Celia sets out to rescue the family business - and to set in motion her own plans. The son she thought was dead, and the man she once loved, are both close at hand - but in opening the Pandoras Box of the past, what other secrets will she let loose...?As the shadow of war darkens across Europe, Celia is determined to save those she loves, even if salvation comes at the highest price...A beautifully conjured family saga. Fans of Downton Abbey will love it - Alison Weir

The latest from Kate Williams - REGINA: A NEW HISTORY OF WOMEN AND POWER - publishing 4th June 2026.The first novel in Kate Williams groundbreaking new historical series which begins in the First World War. For fans of BIRDSONG and DOWNTON ABBEY.In the idyllic early summer of 1914, life is good for the de Witt family. German Rudolf and his aristocratic English wife Verena are planning the wedding of their daughter, Emmeline, while their eldest son Arthur is studying in Paris and Michael is just back from his first term at Cambridge. Celia, the youngest of the de Witt children, is on the brink of adulthood, and secretly dreams of escaping her carefully mapped out future and exploring the world.But with the onslaught of war, the de Witts find themselves in danger of losing everything they hold dear. As Celia struggles to make sense of the changing world around her, she lies about her age to join the war effort and finds herself embroiled in a complex plot that puts her and those she loves in danger.With gripping detail and brilliant empathy, Kate Williams tells the story of Celia and her family as they are shunned by a society that previously embraced them, torn apart by sorrow, and buffeted and changed by the storms of war.

The latest from Kate Williams - REGINA: A NEW HISTORY OF WOMEN AND POWER - publishing 4th June 2026.Rich with princess anecdotes... Williamss book weaves the Second World War, vast social change and the royal upheaval of abdication and celebration of coronation into energised, nostalgic storytelling SUNDAY TELEGRAPHFascinating insights into Elizabeths relationship with her sister also make this a worthwhile, enjoyable read DAILY TELEGRAPHWe can hardly imagine a Britain without Elizabeth II on the throne. It seems to be the job she was born for. And yet for much of her early life the young princess did not know the role that her future would hold. She was our accidental Queen.As a young girl, Elizabeth was among the guests in Westminster Abbey watching her father being crowned, making her the only monarch to have attended a parents coronation. Kate Williams explores the sheltered upbringing of the young princess with a gentle father and domineering mother, her complicated relationship with her sister, Princess Margaret, and her dependence on her nanny, Marion Crawfie Crawford. She details the profound and devastating impact of the abdication crisis when, at the impressionable age of 11, Elizabeth found her position changed overnight: no longer a minor princess she was now heiress to the throne.Elizabeths determination to share in the struggles of her people marked her out from a young age. Her father initially refused to let her volunteer as a nurse during the Blitz, but relented when she was 18 and allowed her to work as a mechanic and truck driver for the Womens Auxiliary Territorial Service. It was her forward-thinking approach that ensured that her coronation was televised, against the advice of politicians at the time.Kate Williams reveals how the 25-year-old young queen carved out a lasting role for herself amid the changes of the 20th century. Her monarchy would be a very different one to that of her parents and grandparents, and its continuing popularity in the 21st century owes much to the intelligence and elusive personality of this remarkable woman.

A dramatic, sparkling tale of sex, glamour, intrigue, romance and heartbreak, Englands Mistress traces the rise and rise of the gorgeous Emma Hamilton.Born into poverty, she clawed her way up through Londons underworlds of sex for sale to become Englands 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 novelists flair, Englands Mistress captures the relentless drive, innovative style and burning passion of a true heroine. In a world of tabloid fame and three-minute wonders, Emmas life is truly a tale for our time.

From kitchen table to protest marches, The Suffragette Cookbook is a history of female love and power. The history of feminism is a history of women coming together. Modern feminists and Suffragettes share much in common, the same core fight spread through centuries. But the fight for womens rights goes beyond marches and protests - it is present wherever women gather. And for much of history, that has been in the kitchen. When the Suffrage movement gained momentum, many Suffragette groups released cookbooks, declaring to the world that womens work, like cooking, was not lesser but something to be celebrated. In distributing their cookbooks, they slipped the message of Suffrage between recipes and allowed it entry into homes. Professor Kate William explores the way feminism exists in the domestic sphere, and shows that the fight for womens rights was a struggle fought within homes long before it was protested in the streets. The Suffragette Cookbook offers unique insight into the very real world of the women of history, and through them we see a celebration of female strength, power and love. Within these pages youll find many recipes passed from mother to child, a history of female unity that stretches through generations: from mouth-watering recipes you may still make today, to delightfully incoherent recipes you cant believe were ever truly served. But youll also find messages of female strength, male solidarity and a history thats only beginning to be told.The perfect gift for the feminists in your life, with beautiful pages full of untold womens history.

From CNNs official royal historian, a highly praised young author with a doctorate from Oxford University, comes the extraordinary rags-to-riches story of the woman who conquered Napoleons heartand with it, an empire. Their love was legendary, their ambition flagrant and unashamed. Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife, Josephine, came to power during one of the most turbulent periods in the history of France. The story of the Corsican soldiers incredible rise has been well documented. Now, in this spellbinding, luminous account, Kate Williams draws back the curtain on the woman who beguiled him: her humble origins, her exorbitant appetites, and the tragic turn of events that led to her undoing. Born Marie-Josephe-Rose de Tascher de La Pagerie on the Caribbean island of Martinique, the woman Napoleon would later call Josephine was the ultimate survivor. She endured a loveless marriage to a French aristocratexecuted during the Reign of Terrorthen barely escaped the guillotine blade herself. Her near-death experience only fueled Josephines ambition and heightened her determination to find a man who could finance and sustain her. Though no classic beauty, she quickly developed a reputation as one of the most desirable women on the continent. In 1795, she met Napoleon. The attraction was mutual, immediate, and intense. Theirs was an often-tumultuous union, roiled by their pursuit of other lovers but intensely focused on power and success. Josephine was Napoleons perfect consort and the object of national fascination. Together they conquered Europe. Their extravagance was unprecedented, even by the standards of Versailles. But she could not produce an heir. Sexual obsession brought them together, but cold biological truth tore them apart. Gripping in its immediacy, captivating in its detail, Ambition and Desire is a true tale of desire, heartbreak, and revolutionary turmoil, engagingly written by one of Englands most praised young historians. Kate Williamss searing portrait of this alluring and complex woman will finally elevate Josephine Bonaparte to the historical prominence she deserves.Praise for Ambition and Desire Not just a scholarly work, but a page-turner . . . Williams is no stranger to creating works on strong and influential women, and, as in those works, here she does an admirable job of demystifying Josephine. . . . This engrossing and accessible account is for all readers who enjoy historical biography.Library Journal [A] riveting account . . . Williams perfectly illustrates all that was bizarre and maddening about French life during the reign of Josephine and Napoleon Bonaparte.Publishers Weekly Intelligent and entertaining.Kirkus Reviews An in-depth portrait of the substantive woman behind the throne.BooklistReading [Ambition and Desire] is like watching Silk Stockings, the 1957 Hollywood masterpiece with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The book flows and jumps, taking the reader by the hand through tormented times in French history without ever letting you go or losing itself in the intricacies of French politics.The Times A sparkling account of this most fallible and endearing of women.Daily Mail A whirlwind tour of French history.The Telegraph

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 Victorias 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, Englands Mistress, Kate Williams has produced a most original and intimate portrait of Great Britains longest reigning monarch.

This is the incredible rise and unbelievable fall of a woman whose energy and ambition is often overshadowed by Napoleons military might. In this triumphant biography, Kate Williams tells Josephines searing story, of sexual obsession, politics and surviving as a woman in a mans world.Abandoned in Paris by her aristocratic husband, Josephines 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 Antoinettes. But as his fame grew, Napoleon became increasingly obsessed with his need for an heir and irritated with Josephines 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.

Dark and compelling, The Pleasures of Men is a gothic thriller which marks Kate Williams as a stunning new voice in historical fiction. Spitalfields, 1840.A murderer nicknamed The Man of Crows.A heroine with a mysterious past and a vivid imagination.Catherine Sorgeiul lives with her Uncle in a rambling house in Londons East End. When a murderer strikes, ripping open the chests of young girls and stuffing hair into their mouths to resemble a crows beak, Catherine is fascinated, and devours news of his exploits.As the murders cause panic throughout the city, she comes to believe she can channel the voices of his victims and that they will lead her to The Man himself. But shes already far closer than she realises - and lurking behind the lies shes been told about her past are secrets more deadly and devastating than anything her imagination can conjure.Wonderfully imaginative and grippingTimesIntense, intelligent and hugely entertainingGuardianIntoxicating and disturbing . . . a soaring talent let looseIndependent on SundayFans of Sarah Watesr will love thisGood HousekeepingA spine-tingling and seductive thrillerWoman & Home

___________________________________Scintillating, provocative... An elegant synthesis of royal biography and political thriller.Daily TelegraphA Times History Book of the Year: a story which inspired the Hollywood film MARY QUEEN OF SCOTSMary, Queen of Scots & 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 isnt 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 IThe 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 ChambersIt 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

From the New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Queen Victoriaan epic new history of royal women, from Cleopatra to Grace Kelly, that shatters the myths we have built around them.In this enthralling historical journey, celebrated historian Kate Williams leads us into the world of queens, empresses, princesses, mistresses and ladies-in-waiting. Stories about royal women form some of our most foundational myths about femininity, and yet their legacies have been almost entirely constructed by the words and images of men. From the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia to the opulent courts of medieval Europe, this book delves deep into the lives of these remarkable women, lifting the veil on both their trials and triumphs as they navigate political intrigue, family rivalries and personal sacrifices. From Hatshepsut and Cleopatra, through Tudor queens Catherine of Aragon and Lady Jane Grey, via Queen Victorias contemporaries Yaa Asentewaa of Ghana and Queen Liliuokulani of Hawaii, and right up to Princess Diana, this is an unmissable history that unlocks why we think about women, politics and power in the ways that we do.