Women's history | Alison Morton Author

Women in combat roles?

I don’t want to sound specious, but I could say, ’They’ll be making them bishops next.’ Oh, they just did that.

UK defence secretary, Michael Fallon, announced on 19 December that he wanted to end the army’s ban on women serving in frontline infantry roles in the British Army by 2016. He pointed out that […]

Meet David Ebsworth's Napoleonic women warriors

A welcome return visit from my writing friend David Ebsworth telling us about his next project …

1815. The 200th anniversary is looming. A passion for the Napoleonic period is tugging at my writing hand. Yes, I thought, my next one will be about Waterloo. But from what angle?

I began looking for the […]

Harrogate History Festival (2) - Romans, shopgirls and Vikings

After my awayday in London, I arrived back on Saturday evening at The Old Swan in Harrogate in perfect time for a glass of red with Conn Iggulden, Simon Turney, Angus Donald, Harry Sidebottom, Derek Birks and Giles Christian. And what a sparky group that was; Viking axes, Roman ball-bearings and medieval sex!

What’s in a (Roman) name?

Me and G.J.Caesar

An awful lot!

This is only a brief introduction, but hold on tight because this may seem a little confusing…

Even in the earliest times, Romans used a different system of names from most other European and Mediterranean countries. They used two names, one of which became a hereditary surname. […]

Tough heroines

“Boadicea Haranguing the Britons” by John Opie (1761-1807)

‘Tough’, ‘feisty’, ‘kick-ass’ – clichés, ironic or signposts? And, provocative question, would you apply them to men? Perhaps the first one and possibly the third, but I can’t remember reading about a ‘feisty hero’.

That aside, how do you recognise a tough heroine? Boudica, queen […]