Historian. Writer. Teacher.
Bodiam Castle, Sussex, England, built in the 1300s by a soldier of fortune to impress his peers and to guard against French raids. (Adobe stock)
New Work
This book is for any writer whose subject requires research, whether that writer is an academic, a professional in some other domain, or a student. We reject the notion that research is merely writing up or reporting on findings or results.
This book argues that writing and researching are simultaneous processes. In fact, writing and research are not merely intertwined, but the process of moving through research with writing is inherently recursive and nonlinear. This is a practical book that gives advice and many examples of how to manage the inherently complex process of writing with research.
It is neither a conventional writing manual nor a research primer since many resources are available on those topics treated independently. The book maps out strategies that presume creating a writing and researching life includes the pleasure to be had in the world of words and in the world of crafting evidence-based arguments.
I am a historian of early modern Europe. Most of my published research has focused on aspects of aristocratic life in France – on clientage networks, on women and warfare, on oral culture and material culture.
In recent years I have branched out into writing essays, fiction and memoir. I have two major projects nearing completion. I want to reflect on lives in the past with more creative license than conventional scholarship allows and to share those explorations with broader audiences.
The prayer book of Bonne of Luxembourg, Duchess of Normandy, ca 1340. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, open source)
Historian
In my work, I make use of letters, household accounts, muster rolls, inventories of clothing, jewels, furniture and, most recently, weapons from 15th- and 16th-century noblemen and women.
Ornamental plaque of a knight on horseback, perhaps from a tomb. Shows the accoutrements of a fully armored knight ca 1300. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, open source)
Writer
At this point in my writing life I have taken up projects because I want to reflect on lives in the past with more creative license than conventional scholarship allows and to share those explorations with broader audiences.
Praise for “Writing With Research: A Practical Guide”
"No matter where you are in your nonfiction journey, you will think and work differently after reading this book. It captures the gestalt of our enterprise with empathy, insight, and a raft of sound advice."
—Elizabeth Fenn, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, University of Colorado Boulder