Book News: Pub Date & Preorder!

I have written a book, and it is finally being published

Hello friends,

I have some big news. My book, Women in the Scottish Wars of Independence, which I have been working on for almost 3 years, will be published next month on June 30th. You can preorder it HERE.

That is both an exciting and terrifying sentence to say and I feel like I can somewhat exhale the huge breath that I have been holding for a while now.

This book explores the lives of women during the Scottish Wars of Independence, an infamous period of warfare from c.1296 to c.1357 between the kingdoms of Scotland and England but also featuring internal struggles for power in Scotland. There are many famous names of men who were political and military leaders of this conflict and who made unquestionably important contributions to the pages of Scottish history. However, I have always wondered about the experiences of women during such an unstable time. When warfare ravaged a kingdom, royal dynasties rose and fell, and the very nature of landholding was challenged, how were women impacted?

I have tried to answer that question by exploring the lives of key noblewomen who experienced the Scottish Wars of Independence. From queens and princesses who were political prisoners and essential for the survival of dynasties, to noblewomen who defended castles and plotted against kings, I hope this book will tell you a little more about women in the Scottish Wars of Independence.

The process of writing and editing this book has been long, beginning when I finished my Master of Research in 2022 and ending with me moved firmly away from academia in 2025. I have changed and grown with this book, but at its heart is my love for elevating the women in Scottish history and exploring the female perspective of the Scottish Wars of Independence. May their voices be heard.

I’ll be sharing more about some of the events and people you can expect to read about as publication day approaches, including Agnes Randolph and her daring defence of Dunbar Castle, Mary Bruce’s endurance of being imprisoned in Newcastle, and Elizabeth de Burgh’s position as the queen of Scotland’s most famous king (to name just a few!). I can’t wait to share their stories with you.

Thank You

I’d like to take a moment to thank you, my subscribers. Thank you for being here, for reading my writing, for sharing lovely comments with me.

Its likely that you might have found me through Instagram—that is, after all, where my writing and content career began—and I never imagined that sharing snippets from Scottish history online would result in a book about incredible historic women. I am so grateful to all of you.

Lots of love,

Beth xx