Rachel and Simon speak with the novelist and historian Philippa Gregory. She began her career in journalism and worked at BBC Radio before publishing her first historical novel, "Wideacre", in 1987 while she was completing a PhD in 18th-century literature. Other bestselling novels followed, including "The Other Boleyn Girl" - which was adapted into a film starring Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman in 2008 - and "The White Queen". To date, Philippa's books have sold more than 10m copies worldwide; in 2018 she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Nielsen to mark significant sales across her career. "Normal Women", her latest book, looks at 900 years of British history and tells stories of "female soldiers, guild widows, highwaywomen, pirates, miners and ship owners, international traders, theatre impresarios, runaway enslaved women, ‘female husbands’, social campaigners and rebels". We spoke to Philippa about her early career in academia, finding huge success as a historical novelist, and writing "Normal Women".

“Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Hatchards⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠.

You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices