Bonjour!
Bienvenue to my Substack, where I will be mostly but not exclusively chatting about French history, specifically the French Revolution.
Madame Guillotine
Although for a while I was better known for my historical fiction about which we do not speak, I am currently contracted to write a series of historical biographies for Pen and Sword. So far, I have, under the name of Melanie Clegg, written books about Marie de Guise, Henrietta Anne of England, Margaret Tudor and the complicated and fascinating relationship between Queen Victoria, her daughter Princess Alice and granddaughter Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia.
My next book, which will be the first to be published under my new name of Melanie Burrows, is an intimate biography of Marie Antoinette, which is due to be released at the end of August 2025.
I’m currently hard at work on several books about different aspects of the French Revolution. I’ve been thoroughly fascinated, if not absolutely morbidly obsessed, with the French Revolution ever since I was a child and after spending well over a decade researching the lives of several of the women who died on the scaffold during that turbulent time, I am absolutely thrilled to finally be able to share some of their stories with you in an upcoming book, which is due to be published in late 2026. I’m also working on a biography of Madame Élisabeth, youngest sister of Louis XVI, which is also due to be published in 2026.
Future contracted projects include books about royal weddings, Louis XIV’s daughters, Madame Royale, Louis XVI and last but not least, Louis-Antoine de Saint-Just. All of which should keep me very busy for quite some time to come.
When I am not writing, I am editing other people’s books, being harassed by my cats, visiting palaces, drinking the blood of my enemies and making boys, specifically my fiancé Marc Burrows, cry.
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