Debate: The Boleyn Family Intrigue

Three prominent historians, Breeze Barrington, Sophie Baccus-Waterman and Estelle Paranque, will discuss why there is so much modern interest in the Boleyn family and why it is still of lasting interest.About the speakers
Breeze Barrington is a cultural historian specialising in the artistic cultures of the 17th century, with particular focus on womens history and female artists. Her first book, The Graces: The Extraordinary Untold Lives of Women at the Restoration Court (Bloomsbury, 2025), tells the story of Maria of Modena and the community of female learning she cultivated within the Jacobite court.Sophie Baccus-Waterman is a Tudor historian and an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She has written for publications such as The Court Historian and the Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, and appeared on several popular history podcasts. She is the first person to write a full biography, Elizabeth Boleyn: The Life of the Queen's Mother , dedicated to Elizabeth Boleyn.Estelle Paranque is an Associate Professor in History at Northeastern University London. She has participated in international historical TV documentaries including BBC Two's The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family (2021) and Channel 4's The Queens Who Changed the World (2023). Her book Thorns, Lust and Glory: The betrayal of Anne Boleyn looks at the life of Anne Boleyn, who has mesmerised the English public for centuries.