ANNE SOMERSET Biography
Anne Somerset was born in 1955 and read history at King’s College London. In 1980, her first book, The Life and Times of William IV, was published in Weidenfeld & Nicolson’s Kings and Queens of England series. This was followed in 1984 by Ladies-in-Waiting: From the Tudors to the Present Day, which examined the role of women at the English royal court over four centuries. In 1991 Anne Somerset’s biography of Elizabeth I was received with acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Her next book, Unnatural Murder: Poison at the Court of James I - an account of the sensational scandal arising from the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury in 1613 - was shortlisted in 1997 for the Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger award for non-fiction. The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV was another well received study of seventeenth century criminality and court scandal. Anne Somerset’s most recent work is a biography of England’s last Stuart monarch, entitled Queen Anne: The Politics of Passion. This has been awarded the 2013 Elizabeth Longford Prize for
Historical Biography.
Until his death in 2011, Anne Somerset was married to the artist Matthew Carr. She lives in London with her daughter.
Until his death in 2011, Anne Somerset was married to the artist Matthew Carr. She lives in London with her daughter.
Anne Somerset has spoken or been interviewed at numerous literary events, including the Hay-on-Wye Literary Festival, the Cheltenham Literary Festival, Dartington Hall Literary Festival, the Althorp Literary Festival, Chalke Valley History Festival, Blenheim Palace Literary Festival, the Theatre Royal Bath, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, and Oxford University Historical Association.
QUEEN ANNE
The Politics of Passion
Harper Press, 2012; Knopf 2013
In 1702, fourteen years after she helped oust her father from his throne and deprived her newborn half-brother of his birthright, Queen Anne inherited the crowns of England and Scotland.
The Politics of Passion
Harper Press, 2012; Knopf 2013
In 1702, fourteen years after she helped oust her father from his throne and deprived her newborn half-brother of his birthright, Queen Anne inherited the crowns of England and Scotland.
‘One of the most enjoyable biographies I’ve read in the past year, elegantly written and with an encyclopaedic grasp of the period. I loved every page of it. Somerset guides us expertly and effortlessly through the labyrinthine party politics of the reign ....Brings [the characters] to life with flair and scholarship’.
Adrian Tinniswood
Literary Review
QUEEN ANNE by ANNE SOMERSET winner of the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography
Speech by Professor Roy Foster
Speech by Professor Roy Foster