Allen Lane and Harper sign my debut book, 'Monarchia: A New History of the English Royal Dynasties, Through the Queens Who Built Them'

Breaking news!

Florence H R Scott, copyright Eleanor May Photography

I am so pleased to announce that my debut history book, Monarchia: A New History of the English Royal Dynasties, Through the Queens Who Built Them, is to be published by Allen Lane (Penguin) in the UK and Harper (HarperCollins) in the US!

I owe this incredible development partly to subscribers of Ælfgif-who?, especially those with paid subscriptions and those who have shared my work, followed me on social media, etc. I would not be in this position without your ongoing support - you have allowed me to forge a career in an arena that would have been otherwise completely inaccessible to me. To land deals with two fantastic editors at such prestigious publishers, to be provided with an even bigger platform to share what I am most fascinated by… I am truly so grateful.

I hope I can return the favour by writing a decent book! Writing is under way and I will of course let you know when it’s available to pre-order etc.

Check out the Official Press Release published by The Bookseller today:

Allen Lane signs Florence Scott's fresh take on Medieval queenship

Allen Lane has signed Dr Florence Scott’s “bold and original” history of Medieval queenship, Monarchia: A New History of the English Royal Dynasties, Through the Queens Who Built Them.

Tom Penn, publishing director at Penguin Press, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Tom Killingbeck at AM Heath. Allen Lane dubbed the book “bold and original” and will publish it in spring 2027. North American rights were sold to Sarah Haugen at Harper.

Allen Lane said: "The propaganda of the earliest English monarchies has been woven into our national mythology, lingering even in our political system and public discourse. Alfred the Great, Cnut, Offa, Æthelred the Unready, Harold Godwinson, William the Conqueror – these famous kings cast long shadows over our very nationhood. But what of the queens who bore these early kings, who ruled beside them? What of Cynethryth, Judith, Ælfthryth or Emma? Why are these women, who were so central to royal power and so integral in the development of monarchy, not part of the myth?

"In Monarchia, Scott explores the role of queenship in the foundations of English monarchy. In telling the fascinating but forgotten stories of the queens who were instrumental in ruling the kingdoms of medieval England in the so-called ‘Dark Ages’, Scott allows readers to look at familiar events like the Viking invasions and the Norman conquest through fresh eyes, showing us how queenship, monarchy, and English nationhood first coincided in the early Middle Ages."

Allen Lane continued: "At the very outset of the creation of England, queens became purveyors of divine legitimacy through their children, and sharers in rule inextricable from the larger project of manufacturing royal power. This idea of intergenerational magic conjured dynasties from nothing, and has sustained the British monarchy until the present day. Scott demonstrates through a treasure trove of stories and meticulous research that there has been a missing chapter in British history, and that by understanding this history, we can better understand how the power of the monarchy has endured."

Scott is a historian who was born in Goole, a port town in East Yorkshire, and now resides in York. They have recently completed a PhD thesis at the University of Leeds, entitled "Christian Queenship and Inauguration Rites in Early Medieval England". Scott is interested in the religious ideology that underpinned queenship in the earliest stages of English monarchy.

Scott publishes Ælfgif-who?, a popular Substack newsletter and podcast that illuminates the lives of women who lived in England between 500 and 1100 AD. They have appeared on BBC Woman’s Hour and History Hit’s Gone Medieval podcast, and written for numerous publications.

Scott said: “I am delighted to have found such a befitting home for Monarchia. From the first, Thomas Penn and his colleagues have understood and enabled my vision of Monarchia as a new and radical history of early Medieval English monarchy, through the crucial but hitherto underutilised lens of queenship. I am privileged to be able to share with readers such a history, that shakes the foundations of our conception of women in history, the development of the English nation and monarchy itself.”

Penn added: “Monarchia is a stunningly bold and original history: one that, in recovering an extraordinary cast of early medieval queens, casts fresh light on the political role of queenship itself. Leading us through the world of early medieval England, Florence Scott deploys a wealth of research with wit, wisdom and insight – and, in the process, upends what we think we know about the English monarchy. Florence is a major new voice, a wonderful writer, thinker and historian, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome them to Allen Lane.”