About Dr Estelle Paranque
Dr Paranque is an Associate Professor specialized in early modern and public history. She joined the University in 2017, after previously teaching at King’s College London, Winchester University, University College London and Queen Mary University London.
She is a co-convenor of the Tudor and Stuart Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research. In January 2019, she was awarded her Fellowship of Higher Education Academy and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society for a valued contribution to historical research.
She has contributed in award-winning historical documentaries, such as The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family on BBC Two and USA PBS (2021/2022), Channel 4: The Queens Who Ruled the World (2023) and Secrets d’Histoire in France (2015 and 2018). Committed to share her research with a broader audience, she has participated in BBC Radio 4 Great Lives and Women’s Hour and numerous podcasts (HistoryHit, NotJustTheTudors, Talking Tudors and many more).
She has written blogs for ArtUk.org and the Wellcome Trust as well as participating in Teaching resources such as RETEACH and Massolit Lectures. She is a reviewing for The Times and has reviewed books for Oxford University Press, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan. She is the author and editor of 6 books. Her latest published books is Blood, Fire and Gold: The Story of Elizabeth I of England and Catherine de Medici published by Ebury Publishing UK and by Hachette Publishing USA in 2022 and Elizabeth I of England Through Valois Eyes (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019).
Her forthcoming book, to be published with Ebury Publishing UK and Hachette Publishing USA, is Thorns, Lust, and Glory: The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn (Out on 2nd May 2024 in the UK, US date to be confirmed).
For more details, see her website: www.estelleparanque.com
Dr Estelle Paranque's Research
Estelle has undertaken archival research in the UK and in France and is an expert on Elizabeth I of England and her relations with France. She is also an expert on queenship, royal, and diplomatic studies during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. She has carried out research on other European monarchs including Isabel Clara Eugenia, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Henri III of France, Catherine de Médicis, and Elisabeth of Austria, Queen Consort of France. Estelle also has research interest in Anglo-French relations during the sixteenth century, monarchical representations in Europe and the Valois kings.
Her research is now expanding to a broader theme: women and power in the early modern period.
Estelle is also a public historian who has extensively shared her research with the public through different venues. She has filmed for TV (BBC TWO, Channel 4, Secrets d’Histoire, etc.), appeared on Radio (BBC FOUR GREAT LIVES AND WOMEN’S HOUR) and BBC NEWS, recorded a great number of podcasts (History Hit, Not Just the Tudors, Talking Tudors, Tudor Dynasty, History Hack) and has written blogs (ARTUK.org) and written and filmed teaching content for A-Level students (RETEACH, Massolit Lectures).
Selected Publications
Current projects under contract:
Dr Paranque is working on a secret interdisciplinary project that is for now embargoed and will be revealed in due course.
Selected Books
Blood, Fire, and Gold: The Story of Elizabeth I of England and Catherine de Medici, sole author, (UK, Ebury Publishing, 2022 // USA, Hachette Publishing 2022 // Tyto Alba (Lithuania) August 2023 // Dunod editions (France) March 2024 // Shanghai People’s Publishing House (China) early 2024).
**SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, “10 BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF 2022″**
**HISTORY TODAY, “BOOKS OF THE YEAR (2022)”**
**AMAZON, EDITORS’ PICK FOR “BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF THE MONTH” (December 2022)**
**TIMES UK, “BOOK OF THE WEEK”**
**TIMES UK, “BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER 2022”**
Elizabeth I of England Through Valois Eyes: Power, Representation and Diplomacy in the Reign of the Queen, 1558-1588, sole author, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019)
Remembering Queens and Kings of Early Modern England and France: Reputation, Reinterpretation, and Reincarnation, sole editor, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019)
Forgotten Queens in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Political Agency, Myth-Making, and Patronage,co-editor with Dr Valerie Schutte (Routledge, 2018)
Colonization, Piracy & Trade in Early Modern Europe: The Roles of Powerful Women and Queens, co-editor with Dr Nate Probasco and Professor Claire Jowitt (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017)
Journal Articles and Chapters in Scholarly Edited Collections
‘Devotion, Influence, and Loyalty: Re-evaluating Queen Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont’s political and diplomatic role in early modern France’, Early Modern Women Journal, Vol 16. 2. (Spring 2022); 237-264.
‘Catherine of Medici and her Grandmotherhood: Building Emotional and Political Intergenerational Relationships’, Renaissance Studies Journal, Vol. 34:4 (2020); 412-429.
‘Royal Representations Through the Warrior and Father Figures in Early Modern Europe’ in Elena Woodacre et al (eds.), History of Monarchy (London: Routledge, 2019)
‘Queen Elizabeth I and the Elizabethan Court in the French Ambassador’s Eyes’ in Anya Riehl-Bertolet (ed), Queens Matter in Early Modern Studies: Essays in Honor of Professor Carole Levin (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, November 2017)
‘Another Spare to the French Crown: Henry III of France’s Self-Representation and Royal Authority’ in Valerie Schutte (ed), Unexpected Heirs in Early Modern Europe: Potential Kings and Queens (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, September 2017)
‘The Significance of the King’s Children in The Tudors’ with Carole Levin in William B Robison (ed), The Tudors, Sex, Politics, and Power: History, Fiction and Artistic License in the Showtime Television Series (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016)
‘The Representations and Ambiguities of the Warlike Female Kingship of Elizabeth I of England’ in Katherine Buchanan and Lucinda Dean (eds), Medieval and Early Modern Representations of Authority in Scotland and Great Britain (London: Routledge, 2016)
‘Catherine of Medici: Henry III’s inspiration to be a Father to his People’ in Elena Woodacre and Carey Fleiner (eds), Royal Mothers and their Ruling Children: Wielding Political Authority from Antiquity to the Early Modern Era (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)
Public Engagement
Estelle Paranque is represented by Rachel Conway from Georgina Capel Associates. She has recorded many podcasts, contributed to blogs and history magazines, and filmed for BBC TWO (The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family), BBC History, HistoryHit, Secrets d’HistoireFrance 2/3. Her research has featured in The Sunday Telegraph and The Daily Telegraph, The Times. She has given talks at prestigious literary festivals and appeared on CNN and BBC News.
Check her website for more information:
Research Activity
Research interests: Women and Power, queenship, diplomatic studies, royal studies, memory studies.
Dr Estelle Paranque's Teaching
Teaching Courses
1st Year Courses:
Sixteenth-Century England: Course Leader and sole tutor
3rd Year Courses:
Cross-Cultural Encounter in the Early Modern World: Course Leader and sole tutor
Previous Teaching Experience
AT Northeastern University London:
NUin:
Britain and the World: Interaction and Empire
2nd Year Courses:
History Heritage and Memory
MA Courses:
Public History: Course Leader
BEFORE Northeastern University London:
Course Lecturer & Seminar Leader, King’s College London (2016 – 2017)
Associate Lecturer and Module Leader, University of Winchester (2016 – 2017)
Graduate Teaching Assistant on Power, King’s College London (2014 – 2016)
Graduate Teaching Assistant and oral examiner, University College London (2015)
French Language Instructor and Module Leader, Queen Mary University of London (2010 – 2013)
Tutor in Early Modern Britain and in American History, Aix-Marseille University (2009 – 2010)
Professional Activity
Attended Kings and Queens 8 Conference, Catania, June 2019
Member of the Royal Studies Network, Queen Elizabeth I Society
Invited to French Wars of Religion Conference, York, July 2018
Attended the Queen’s House Conference, London, April 2018
Attended the Kings & Queens 7 Conference, Winchester, July 2018
Languages Spoken
Fluent in English and French. Proficient in Spanish and Italian.