Dr Estelle Paranque is a Lecturer in Early Modern History at New College of the Humanities and earned a PhD in Early Modern European History from University College London in 2016. She was previously a Lecturer in the History Department of King's College London. She has participated in award-winning international historical documentaries, including Secrets d'Histoire (France 2/ France 3), and has appeared on BBC radio and TV, including Radio 4 Great Lives, and frequently appears on history podcasts including Viral History and Dan Snow's History Hit podcast.
Exciting and compelling, packed full of tantalising details of diplomacy and court life, Paranque succeeds both in bringing history to life, but also in putting flesh on the bones of these two extraordinary women and rival queens. * Kate Mosse * Blood, Fire and Gold is a treasure house of historical detail that transports readers back to a time when court intrigue was quite literally a matter of life and death-especially for the women thrust into its dark heart. Spellbinding in its scope; cinematic in its rendering. Estelle Paranque is the perfect guide to this world, and an exciting, new voice in narrative history. * Lindsey Fitzharris * Excellently told, this thrilling, lyrical story of two extraordinarily powerful women offers the missing piece in our understanding of Tudor England and Renaissance France. * Suzannah Lipscomb * Blood, Fire and Gold is an utterly absorbing blend of reimagining and scholarly analysis of the profoundly gendered world of power and politics in the 16th century. Dr Estelle Paranque masterfully draws together the strands of narrative of two of the most powerful Queens of Europe, engaged in a relentless and delicate balancing act of rivalry and common cause. Blood, Fire and Gold underscores the brilliance of these two women, who shaped and were in turn shaped by each other, their strength and political acumen forging a legacy for future queens. * Lauren Mackay * A smart and stylish portrait of two of Europe's most remarkable rulers, a compelling profile of female power and - that rarest of things - a truly original book about the Tudor period. * Jessie Childs *