Hello there Medieval Musers!
I recently went Live on Substack to celebrate the end of our Book Club group read of Lost Realms: Histories of Britain from the Romans to the Vikings by Thomas Williams. I discussed my candid thoughts about the book (what I loved, as well as what I didn’t love quite so much) and answered questions from subscribers about the early medieval period more generally.
Below, I’ve included timestamps for the discussion, in case you want to skip ahead to a particular topic. Don’t forget that if you’re too busy to sit down and watch the whole video, you can listen like a podcast; this is my favourite way to enjoy Substack Live recordings.
I’ve also included details of posts and books mentioned in the discussion.
All the best as always,
Holly
Timestamps
2:28 - introduction to the book
4:23 - brief synopsis
8:26 - what I loved
15:22 - what I didn’t love
20:17 - tease for the next group read (link to the launch post below)
24:46 - subscriber questions
Things Mentioned in the Q&A
Books
Bede. The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Edited by Judith McClure and Roger Collins. Oxford University Press, 1969.
Morris, Marc. The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England. Hutchinson, 2021.
Harvey, Alex. Little Kingdoms: An A-Z of Early Medieval Britain. Pen & Sword History, 2025. Full review linked HERE.
Articles
New to the Book Club?
Here’s a roundup of all the Book Club reads we’ve shared so far, plus the launch post for our upcoming read of Hild by Nicola Griffith (historical fiction).
Hild, Nicola Griffith (fiction)
Lost Realms, Thomas Williams (non-fiction)
Post 1: ‘From Empire to Fragments: Britain’s Transition After Rome’
Post 2: ‘Forgotten Kingdoms: Myth, Memory, and Material Evidence’
Dark Earth, Rebecca Stott (fiction)
Post 1: ‘Women in the Ruins: Reclaiming Space in ‘Dark Earth’’
Post 3: ‘Post-Empire Blues: Collapse, Survival, and a Radical Hope’
