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.
