Gareth Russell is a Northern Irish historian, author, and broadcaster. He is the host of the podcast Single malt history with Gareth Russell. He lives in Belfast is a historian. Is a author of several books.

Early life and education

Gareth Russell was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He attended Down High Grammar School, and later graduated from Saint Peter's College, Oxford, where he studied modern history. Russell completed a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

. He currently divides his time between Belfast and New York.

Career

Russell is the author of a series of plays. In July 2011, his first novel ''Popular'' was published by

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

, as the first in a new series of novels following the lives of a group of Belfast teenagers. It was published in German in 2014. A sequel to ''Popular'', titled ''The Immaculate Deception,'' was published in November 2012. Both novels were subsequently adapted for the stage in Northern Ireland, followed by a final theatrical sequel, ''Say You'll Remember Me'', which received its first performance in 2016. In August 2014, Russell's first non-fiction book, ''The Emperors: How Europe's Rulers were Destroyed by World War One'', was published by Amberley Publishing. In 2017, his biography of English queen consort

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the s ...

was published, based on research undertaken between 2010 and 2016. It was published by Simon & Schuster in the US and Canada, and HarperCollins in the UK, Ireland, and most of the Commonwealth. It was a finalist for the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography award in 2017, which was won that year by Edmund Gordon's biography of

Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...

. In 2019, his account of the ''Titanic'' disaster was published. It was named a Book of the Year by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' and a Best History Book of 2019 by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''. In 2022, his biography of

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

was published. It was his second book to become a Times Book of the Year. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/best-books-royal-family-2022-ldfxhztj5 Russell is currently working on a history of

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

and its occupants.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''Popular'' (2011) * ''The Immaculate Deception'' (2012)

Non-Fiction

* ''The Emperors: How Europe's Rulers were destroyed by World War I'' (2014) * ''An Illustrated Introduction to the Tudors'' (2014) * ''A History of the English Monarchy from Boadicea to Elizabeth I'' (2015) * ''Young and Damned and Fair: The Life of

, Fifth Wife of King Henry VIII'' (US title) (2017) **In the UK, this book's subtitle is ''The Life and Tragedy of Catherine Howard at the Court of Henry VIII'' * ''The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

and the End of the

Edwardian Era The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

'' (2019), originally published as ''The Darksome Bounds of a Failing World'' in the UK and Ireland * ''Do Let's Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother'' (2022). In the US and Canada, the book is ''Do Let's Have Another Drink: The Dry Wit and Fizzy Life of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother''.

Notes

References

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External links

Gareth Russell
Author's page {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Gareth Male novelists from Northern Ireland Writers from Belfast Living people People educated at Down High School Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford Year of birth missing (living people)