Suzannah Lipscomb

Suzannah Lipscomb
Lipscomb speaking in 2013
Born	1978[1]
Residence	Barnes, London, England[2]
Nationality	British
Fields	History
Institutions	University of East Anglia New College of the Humanities
Alma mater	Lincoln College, Oxford, MA (Oxon) Balliol College, Oxford, D.Phil
Thesis	Maids, Wives, and Mistresses: Disciplined Women in Reformation Languedoc (2009)
Website suzannahlipscomb.com

Suzannah Lipscomb (born 1978) is a British historian and television presenter who has written and appeared in a number of television series about British history.

Early life and education

Lipscomb grew up in Surrey near Hampton Court Palace which she credits for sowing "the seeds of a lifelong fascination with the Tudors."^[3] She was educated at Epsom College, and Lincoln and Balliol colleges of the University of Oxford.^[4][5][6] She was awarded her Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford in 2009 with a dissertation entitled Maids, Wives, and Mistresses: Disciplined Women in Reformation Languedoc.^[7] While completing her dissertation she also worked as a curator at Hampton Court Palace where she was responsible for organising a series of exhibitions held throughout the spring and summer of 2009 to mark the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII of England's accession to the throne.^[6] She is a consultant to Historic Royal Palaces and is an external member of their research strategy board.^[8]

Career

Lipscomb was a lecturer in history at the University of East Anglia.^[9] In 2011 Lipscomb was awarded an Arts and Humanities Research Council-sponsored KTP Award, "Humanities for the Creative Economy".^[10]

She is Head of Faculty and a Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at the New College of the Humanities,^[11] having joined its faculty in 2011^[12] and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.^[13] Lipscomb also serves as a governor at Epsom College.^[14]

In 2012 Lipscomb was awarded the Nancy Lyman Roelker Prize by the Sixteenth Century Society for her journal article, Crossing Boundaries: Women’s Gossip, Insults and Violence in Sixteenth-Century France in French History (Vol 25, No. 4).^[15][16]

She contributed to five episodes of The Secret Life Of: for the Yesterday Channel.^[17] The series was designed to give "tabloid treatment of historical icons"^[18] and includes an episode where Lipscomb and co-host Lucy Worsley "revel in these raunchy titbits" about Henry VIII's love life.^[19] Lipscomb also contributed to Time Team, Series 20, for Channel 4.^[20]

Lipscomb co-presented I Never Knew That About Britain, for ITV (2014). The series was described by The Independent's critic Ellen Jones as "too busy adorning the obvious with bunting to uncover anything truly fascinating".^[21]

She wrote and presented Henry and Anne: the lovers who changed history for Channel 5. The Daily Telegraph's critic Jake Wallis Simons called it "dumbed-down tommyrot".^[22][23] However, the Radio Times said "Dr Suzannah Lipscomb can manage the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn perfectly well all by herself [without "ropey reconstructions"]".^[24]

She wrote and presented Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home for BBC Four,^[25] as well as the follow up shows New Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home,^[26] Hidden Killers of the Edwardian Home,^[27][28] and Hidden Killers of the Tudor Home.^[29] Clive James writing in the Daily Telegraph gave Hidden Killers of the Edwardian Home a positive review, "principally because Ms Lipscomb was almost as fascinating as her subject".^[27]

With Joe Crowley she presented Bloody Tales of Europe and Bloody Tales of the Tower for National Geographic Channel.^[30][31]

In May 2013 Lipscomb appeared in The Last Days of Anne Boleyn (BBC2)^[32]

Books

• Henry VIII: 500 Facts, by Brett Dolman, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lee Prosser, David Souden and Lucy Worsley. Historic Royal Palaces, 2009. ISBN 978-1-873993-12-5.
• 1536: The Year that Changed Henry VIII, Lion Hudson, 2009. ISBN 978-0-7459-5365-6.^[33]
• A Visitor's Companion to Tudor England, Ebury, Random House, 2012. ISBN 978-0-091-94484-1.^[34] Published in the United States as A Journey Through Tudor England, by Pegasus Books, July 2013. ISBN 978-1-60598-460-5.^[35][36][37]
• Henry VIII and the Court: Art, Politics and Performance, co-edited with Thomas Betteridge, Ashgate, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4094-1185-7.

References

External links

• Official website
• Suzannah Lipscomb at the Internet Movie Database