Military History Club Podcast · Saul David

Helen Carr on her life and work

·52 min·3 clips

Carr calls Edward III “a war criminal in many ways” and rejects the usual hero narrative.

1. Military History Club Podcast speaks with Helen Carr about her life, her work, and her book Septet Isle. 2. Saul David hosts Helen Carr, a medieval historian, author of The Red Prince, and co-editor of What Is History Now. 3. The episode asks how Carr moved from history of art to medieval history and why the 14th century matters to her. 4. Carr says she loved history of art, used visual analysis in her writing, and then chose a research master’s in medieval history. 5. She describes working part-time at Christie's, then moving into the old masters department while keeping medieval history central. 6. Carr says writing notes for In Our Time taught her to interview academics and turn complex material into clear prose. 7. She recalls interviewing scholars about the Brontës, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Tennyson for Melvin Bragg’s programme. 8. Carr argues that medieval historians must read against the grain because many sources preserve silence rather than direct voices. 9. She mentions Kudzadia Hartman’s critical fabulation and says she is cautious about applying it directly to the medieval world. 10. Carr singles out petitions as one of her favourite source types because they show grievances addressed to the crown. 11. She says John of Gaunt entered her work through medieval London, the Savoy Palace, and the destruction of that palace in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. 12. Carr describes being shocked when The Red Prince became a bestseller and when it was shortlisted for the Elizabeth Longford Prize for historical biography. 13. She says she had not read The Distant Mirror as an inspiration and only later listened to it on Audible. 14. Carr explains that Septet Isle covers the whole 14th century and not only the period usually associated with the 100 Years’ War. 15. She rejects the usual praise for Edward III and says his reign should also be judged by debt, conquest, and violence in France. 16. Carr points to the Black Death, the use of English, Chaucer, Piers Plowman, and Pearl as major features of the century’s culture. 17. She says the poem Pearl may reflect plague grief because of its image of a child marked by a black spot. 18. The interview is warm, reflective, and filled with shared broadcasting stories about live radio and difficult interviews. 19. Listeners interested in medieval England, archives, and biography will get the most from this. 20. Listeners wanting light chat without archival detail may skip this.

As heard by us

A thoughtful interview about scholarship, success, and the awkwardness of becoming known.

Saul David and Helen Carr spend the conversation on the odd visibility that can follow a first book: the praise around Septet Isle, the awkwardness of an awards party, and the sense that Carr was still not widely known.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want Helen Carr on first-book nerves, prizes, and the oddity of recognition.

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