In my most recent lecture for MA Poetics of Imagination at Dartington Arts School, I considered the production of medieval books. I hope some of the students are now busy making their own writing surfaces, inks and pigments. To survive into the 21st century these medieval books had to run the gauntlet of flood, fire, war,…
Author: Tracey Warr
Author of historical novels and books on contemporary art.
Of things I’d rather keep in silence I must sing
I’m currently preparing a teaching session for MA Poetics of Imagination at Dartington Arts School on the troubadours and trobairitz, which put me in mind of a wonderful writing residency I had a few years ago in the beautiful medieval village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie in France. In 2016, I collaborated with artist Tania Candiani on an…
Nest ferch Rhys
Video interview with me by Ellie Daniels on researching my latest historical novel, The Anarchy, is here. We discuss the story of Nest ferch Rhys, the heroine of my story, and how I set about researching early medieval Welsh history. I drew on the scant primary sources on Nest – Brut y Tywysogion (Chronicle of…
The Anarchy – video interview
Just posted – a video interview with me on writing The Anarchy with editor Ellie Daniel. We discussed castles in Wales, the little-known women of early medieval history, research for historical fiction, and the character of King Henry I. My latest newsletter is now available. If you are not already on my mailing list you…
The Sound of the Middle Ages
I look at the now deserted and stagnant lavoirs, the communal washing places, in the Lot Valley in France and can almost hear women singing, gossiping about mistresses and neighbours, and slapping wet laundry against the stone papillon slabs. My article, ‘The Sound of the Middle Ages‘, has just been published in Historical Novels Review.
Add Women to History and Stir
An interview with me by my publisher, Jeffrey Collyer, to coincide with the publication of my new historical novel The Anarchy – the final book in the Conquest trilogy set in 12th century Wales, England, and Normandy. The book is available now as an e-book and will be out as a paperback in the next…
Sumptuous and Presumptuous
My blogpost on Henry of Blois, the 12th century bishop of Winchester, is published today on the English Historical Fiction Authors site. Henry of Blois, was the grandson of William the Conqueror. Bernard of Clairvaux described him as ‘that old whore of Winchester’. For Henry of Huntingdon he was ‘a new kind of monster, composed…
The salt sea flood
My new novel, The Anarchy, is published next week by Impress Books. It is the final book in the Conquest trilogy, focused on the life of Nest ferch Rhys and the 12th century struggle between the Welsh and the Normans. In the novel I (anachronistically) use a poem by the Welsh bard Dafydd ap Gwilym: Yr wylan deg ar lanw,…
Down the research rabbit hole
I’m working on a biography of three 11th century sisters and, at this stage of the research, every thread to pursue involves disappearing down a rabbit hole for a very long time, trying to get answers. The critical thing is to record everything in the research process, including more threads and queries to pursue, so that,…
Text is material
‘For all writing, you need to be nosy.’ ‘To me, text is material in the same way as stone or paint are.’ ‘A pen is like a prosthetic for me. It’s like a visual artist needing a sketchpad always to hand, or a sound artist needing to record on their phone.’ ‘The first thing with…
Tracey Warr Writing 