Edited by Aidan Norrie, Carolyn Harris, Joanna Laynesmith, Danna Messer, and Elena Woodacre

English Consorts: Power, Influence, Dynasty is a four-volume series—which is contracted to be published in Palgrave Macmillan’s “Queenship and Power” series—that aims to provide short, focused, well-researched, and refereed biographies of all of the English consorts since the Conquest.

The Penguin Monarchs series is the latest in a long line of publications that have focused on the monarchs of England. The Penguin series, in particular, has generally been successful in combining scholarly research with readability and accessibility, often because the authors have chosen a particular lens to view the monarch through, giving the biographies more focus.

The Penguin Monarchs series, however, shines a light on what is generally still missing from studies of the English monarchy: the role of the consort. While the last decade has seen a plethora of both scholarly and popular biographies published on England’s consorts, there is no single, scholarly compendium where all the consorts since the Norman Conquest can be consulted: it is this curious lacuna that English Consorts: Power, Influence, Dynasty seeks to fill, creating a vital reference work for scholars, students, and the interested public.

English Consorts: Power, Influence, Dynasty is a four-volume series—intended for Palgrave Macmillan’s “Queenship and Power” series—that aims to provide short, focused, well-researched, and refereed biographies of all of the English consorts since the Conquest. Edited by a team of queenship experts and historians of monarchy, each of the volumes (Volume 1: Early Medieval Consorts; Volume 2: Later Medieval Consorts; Volume 3: Tudor and Stuart Consorts; Volume 4: Hanoverian to Windsor Consorts) will include biographical essays, as well as commissioned essays from leading experts on various thematic topics. We are interested in both male and female consorts, but can only include essays related to the spouses of a reigning monarch: as such, Anne Hyde and Sophia Dorothea of Celle will not be included, but we plan to include an essay on Margaret of France, wife of Henry the Young King.

Like the Penguin Monarchs books, however, each of the essays must have a lens through which the consort is viewed. Rather than simply replicating the consort’s entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, readers should come away from each essay with a sense of what was unique to, or ‘special’ about, a particular consort. For instance, the essay on Elizabeth of York could be sub-titled ‘The Unifier’, and focus on her role in the ending of the Wars of the Roses, or instead ‘Daughter, Sister, Niece, Wife, and Mother of Kings’, and focus on her political, social, and religious influence during her life. Likewise, the essay on Philip II could be sub-titled ‘The First Male Consort’, or instead, ‘King and Consort’.

Potential authors may submit abstracts for more than one consort. We ask, however, that the abstracts all be sent as attachments to the same email, with the chapters ranked in preference. Proposed chapter titles should take the format of the consort’s name, followed by a colon, followed by the brief sub-title that signifies to the reader the chapter’s focus. We also plan to include some thematic essays that take a particular angle, and consider the consorts from an entire dynasty together. Interested authors may wish to also submit an abstract for one of these essays.

Please send chapter abstracts of no more than 250 words, accompanied by a brief biography, for essays between 6000 and 7500 words (including references) to englishconsorts at gmail dot com by 1 May 2019. Accepted authors will be notified by mid-July 2019, and completed essays will be due to the volume’s editor by 1 June 2020.

We are keen to hear from scholars regardless of their career stage or situation, and encourage submissions from specialists from a range of disciplines (including, but not limited to, history, literary studies, art history, archaeology, race studies, and the performing arts).

Queens of England Series:

Authors might also be interested in submitting proposals to the upcoming monograph series on the Queens of England, published by Routledge, and edited by Ellie Woodacre and Louise Wilkinson. For more information, see here, or contact Ellie at: Ellie dot Woodacre at winchester dot ac dot uk.

Quick Links:

• Download Notes for Contributors here.