Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
The human story just lit a flame in me.
I became interested in the subject when…
I became interested in military history because of the way it intersected with the female narrative. My PhD was on World War I, but at the same time I was commissioned to write The Bletchley Girls (2015), which was my first foray into interviewing World War II veterans, and the human story just lit a flame in me. Talking to these women was like time-travelling. Another thing to capture my interest was the diary of Queen Marie of Romania (1875-1938). She was born into the British royal family, but as the wife of Ferdinand I, the Romanian king, she came into her own as a leader in WWI (about which, more below).
Growing up I was fascinated by…
I grew up in the Scottish Highlands, but my mum is English, and my Home Counties accent triggered a lot of vitriol, so I have this curious ambivalent relationship with both Scotland and England. That made me think about the history behind the hugely complex relationship between the two countries; how certain stories are downplayed or weaponised, while others – like that of the Tudors, who are as English as you can get – are foisted on Scotland too. I found this construction of ‘Britishness’ really interesting.
My favourite period or conflict…
It’s not a ‘favourite’, but I think the ambiguity of World War I – and the impact it had on the highly imperfect peace that followed – is something we should interrogate more, because most conflicts are complicated and ambiguous. I also think that to understand the WWII, you have to understand WWI.
The figure I most admire…
Queen Marie, again – she’s extraordinary. When Romania entered the war in 1916 on the side of the Allies, we’d just lost Edith Cavell, and there were few inspirational women to distract from the quagmire, the mud, and the death. It turned out she was brilliant at using mass media and cinematography: she wore this iconic nursing costume, dressed in white from head to toe, and she was very much present on the front line. In 1918, The New York Times described her as ‘one of the vivid and unforgettable personalities of the war’.
My dream dinner party…
I don’t know if Queen Marie and I would get on, as we’re both big personalities – but I’d have her anyway! I’d also have the actress and linguist Pamela Rose (1917-2021), one of my first Bletchley Girls. She had so many stories: she told me how she’d landed her first West End role in 1941, but her head of department at Bletchley said, ‘The stage can wait, the war can’t!’ Finally, I’d invite General Sir Frederick Pile (1884-1976), the head of Anti-Aircraft Command during WWII, a pioneer of the integration of women into the armed forces.
A novel I’d recommend…
I recently reread A Room with a View by E M Forster, which is brilliant. And now I’m reading Tender is the Night, and it’s utterly spectacular, about this decadent, messed-up post-WWI society. Something about brilliantly written literature from this period transports you in a way that historical documents can’t.
My favourite war film…
The 1965 Romanian film Padurea Spânzuratilor (Forest of the Hanged), directed by Liviu Ciuliu, is fascinating. It’s based on a 1922 novel by Liviu Rebreanu, and set in WWI. The war on the Eastern Front was massively conflicted, because Romanians were fighting Romanians. The film speaks to a story we don’t know enough about: the way in which the First World War unpacked Europe.
A museum to get lost in…
The National Portrait Gallery is great, especially if you’ve done your reading on some of the people pictured. There’s a masterful image of Queen Anne (my personal icon), and I lost count of how many there were of Elizabeth I. There’s also one where they’ve buffed up William III – who was a hook-nosed, black-toothed man – and given him beautiful little cherub pink lips!
Something I learned recently…
I’ve been riveted to discover more about the fascist roots of the World Cup in Mussolini’s Italy. He was all about mass sport, to get men fitter to fight, and so they had these incredible sports halls, and these teams – in Florence, Rome, Napoli – that were all top-down edicts from Mussolini’s fascists. Then, in 1934, Italy hosted the second World Cup, and won.
My next project…
I am working with the last surviving female WWII veterans. In January 2027, a Radio 4 documentary, The False Dawn, will look at mixed messaging around women in the workplace during and after the war; while next May will see the publication of a new book curating voices of eight female veterans.
Tessa Dunlop is a royal and social historian, and a writer and broadcaster with a particular interest WWI and WWII. She is the co-host (with Iain Dale) of the podcast Where Politics Meets History, and the author of multiple books, including Lest We Forget: war and peace in 100 British monuments (HarperCollins), which won top prize in the 2026 MHM Book Awards.
