My Life in the Past | Lucy Worsley | Substack

My Life in the Past

adventures with a British historian at large! a weekly update from historian and broadcaster Lucy Worsley

By Lucy Worsley

To My Dear Readers

a letter from Lucy Worsley

Feb 19


The King in the Library

Hartwell House and the man who reclaimed the French throne from Buckinghamshire

Jun 18


The Woman Who Lost Her Children

How Caroline Norton taught herself the law, and changed it for good

Jun 11


Why I’ve Had the Same Haircut All My Life

Mar 26


New Year, new life ... in the past

Jan 2, 2025


How to be the best-dressed person in history

Mar 13, 2025


Inside Notre Dame After the Fire

Apr 17, 2025


Forks, Fingers — and Why Too Many of Them Are Vulgar

Apr 3, 2025


The stomach and fertility of Mary I

Mar 20, 2025


Your Hair Has Always Been Political

From Henry VIII’s beard to the fall of the British Empire: ten moments when hair revealed all

Jun 4


Not Lucy Worsley

Or: the teaching assistant from Solihull, the vicar's new wife, and other people I have been mistaken for

May 28


How to Be Great (According to The Times)

One hundred and twenty-four women, five rules and one conclusion.

May 21


The war that nearly broke Britain

Six things the American Revolution did to the country it left behind

May 14


The Latin exam I should have failed

King Alfred and an unexpected route into presenting television

May 7


I've worked in palaces. I live in a modern flat. History is everywhere.

Welcome to MY LIFE IN THE PAST!

Apr 30


The Winners Write It Down

History isn't a record. It's a verdict — and someone decided you'd accept it.

Apr 23


The Day I Was Sick on the American Revolution

What filming in New York, Yorktown and London revealed — and why Britain still doesn’t quite understand this story

Apr 16


A princess, a palace, and a protest at the gates

Why Queen Victoria’s goddaughter sold suffragette newspapers outside her own home

Apr 9