Suzannah Lipscomb

Suzannah Rebecca Gabriella Lipscomb (born 7 December 1978) is a British historian and professor emerita at the University of Roehampton, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Higher Education Academy and the Society of Antiquaries, and has for many years contributed a regular column to History Today.

She has written and edited a number of books, presented numerous historical documentaries on TV and is host of the Not Just the Tudors podcast from History Hit.

She is also a royal historian for NBC.

Her research focuses on the sixteenth century, in both English and French history, and covers religious, gender, political, social, and psychological history.

She has also written and talked about British and European witch trials.

Lipscomb was previously a member of the board of governors of Epsom College.

In 2009, she was awarded her Doctorate of Philosophy from Oxford, with a thesis entitled Maids, Wives, and Mistresses: Disciplined Women in Reformation Languedoc.

While completing her thesis, she 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.

In 2010, Lipscomb became a lecturer in history at the University of East Anglia.

The programme won the 2011 Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-sponsored KTP Award for Humanities for the Creative Economy.

She is a consultant to Historic Royal Palaces, and is an external member of their research strategy board.

In 2011, Lipscomb was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

From September 2011, she was head of the Faculty of History at the New College of the Humanities, and stepped down in September 2016 to concentrate on research and teaching for a further year.

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).

In May 2013, Lipscomb appeared in The Last Days of Anne Boleyn on BBC Two, which featured other historians and historical novelists, including David Starkey, Philippa Gregory, and Hilary Mantel.

Lipscomb co-presented I Never Knew That About Britain, for ITV (2014).

The series was described by The Independent's critic, Ellen E. Jones, as "too busy adorning the obvious with bunting to uncover anything truly fascinating".

She wrote and presented a two-part documentary titled Henry and Anne: The Lovers Who Changed History for Channel 5.

The Daily Telegraph critic, Jake Wallis Simons, called it "dumbed-down tommyrot".

However, the Radio Times stated that "Dr Suzannah Lipscomb can manage the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn perfectly well all by herself [without 'ropey reconstructions']."

In October 2015, Lipscomb wrote and presented Witch Hunt: A Century of Murder, a two-part documentary for Channel 5.

On 27 October 2015, Lipscomb joined Matthew Sweet, Marina Warner, Larushka Ivan-zadeh, Claire Nally, and Catherine Spooner, to talk about witchcraft and witch-hunting, in history, film, and politics on the BBC Radio programme Free Thinking.

In May 2016, she wrote and presented Hidden Killers of the Post-War Home, again for BBC Four.

In January 2016 and January 2017, she appeared in two episodes of the BBC Two comedy panel game show Insert Name Here.

In September 2017, she joined the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Roehampton as a reader in Early Modern History, and was appointed as a professor of history at the University of Roehampton in January 2019.

She is currently professor emerita in their School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

In October 2018, Lipscomb was elected a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

She worked as a curator for Historic Royal Palaces at Hampton Court; as a lecturer at the University of East Anglia; as a senior lecturer and convenor for history at the New College of the Humanities; and, as a reader at the University of Roehampton, where she became a professor when she was appointed to a personal chair as a professor of history in January 2019.

In January 2019, the program was re-presented on Channel 5 as Queen for a Thousand Days.

Lipscomb wrote and presented Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home for BBC Four, as well as the follow-up shows New Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home, Hidden Killers of the Edwardian Home, and Hidden Killers of the Tudor Home.

Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Australian critic Clive James gave Hidden Killers of the Edwardian Home a positive review, "principally because Ms Lipscomb was almost as fascinating as her subject".

In December 2020, Lipscomb was appointed a trustee of the Mary Rose Trust.

Lipscomb grew up in Surrey near Hampton Court Palace, which she credits for sowing “the seeds of a lifelong fascination with the Tudors.” She was educated at Nonsuch High School for Girls, Epsom College, and Lincoln and Balliol colleges of the University of Oxford.

Lipscomb previously served as a governor at Epsom College, and was appointed as a Trustee to the Mary Rose Trust in December 2020.

In 2021, Lipscomb was awarded a Special Commendation by the Social History Society for her book, The Voices of Nîmes: Women, Sex, and Marriage in Reformation Languedoc.

At their ballot on 17th February 2022, Lipscomb was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

She contributed to five episodes of The Secret Life Of: for the Yesterday TV channel.

The series was designed to give "tabloid treatment of historical icons", and includes an episode where Lipscomb and co-host Lucy Worsley "revel in these raunchy titbits" about Henry VIII's love life.

Lipscomb also contributed to Time Team, Series 20, for Channel 4.

With Joe Crowley, she presented Bloody Tales of Europe and Bloody Tales of the Tower for the National Geographic Channel.