Emily Brand

Emily Brand is an historian, genealogist and award winning author. She specialises in the historical period of the eighteenth century with a particular interest in the history of love and sex c.1660–1837 and the trials and tribulations of romantic (and not-so-romantic) relationships in England.

Her award winning book The Fall of the House of Byron was the BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week, a Sunday Times ‘Best Summer Reads’, and BBC History ‘History Book of the Year’. It was also shortlisted for the 2020 Elma Dangerfield Prize.

Prior to her award-winning book, Emily Brand published work on the history of love and sex, and explored courtship techniques, 18th-century brothels, as well as the intrigue of royal weddings.

More recently she has written for national and international media including BBC History magazine, The Times, The Telegraph, the Radio Times and the Washington Post, and lectured for the World Monuments Fund, British Library, V&A Museum and National Maritime Museum.

Emily Brand consults with TV production companies regularly as an expert in her field, and she has appeared on many podcasts sharing her historical knowledge.

Contact Great British Speakers today to book historian and bestselling author of The Fall of the House of Byron Emily Brand for your next event.

Type Of Speaker

After Dinner International Women's Day Speaker

More About Emily Brand

Her book The Fall of the House of Byron is a sweeping history of the 18th century through the eyes of one notorious family. It is a magnificent family portrait and an eye opening work of social history, The Fall of the House of Byron follows the fates of Lord Byron’s ancestors over three generations in a drama that starts in rural Nottinghamshire and plays out in the gentlemen’s clubs of Georgian London, amid tempests on far-flung seas, and in the glamour of pre-revolutionary France.

The scandalous story of his family’s fall from grace and grandeur over the course of the 1700s takes in elopement, adultery, murder, kidnapping, the ravages of revolution and war, and the century’s most thrilling story of survival against all the odds.

In 2021 she contributed alongside historians including Simon Schama and Bettany Hughes to What is History, Now?, an exciting collection of essays rethinking the importance of history to the modern world . Her essay explores ‘Why Family History Matters’.

Emily Brand | Books

Emily has published three other successful books: Mr Darcy’s Guide to Courtship, The Georgian Bawdy House and Royal Weddings. Mr Darcy’s Guide to Courtship featured in the New York Times & Stylist magazine’s ’30 Books Every Woman Should Read’ and A Publishers Weekly ‘Pick of the Week’.

In Mr Darcy’s Guide to Courtship, Emily explores Jane Austen’s most famous (and most fancied) hero who reveals the secrets of his success with the opposite sex, offering hints to both ladies and gentlemen on the rules of courtship.

The Georgian Bawdy House gives a lively introduction to the sexual underworld of 18th-century England, exploring the lives of those involved in the business of sex, including the ‘nymph’, the brothel-keeper and their clients.

Royal Weddings provides almost 1000 years of history on British royal weddings. It includes the wedding of Henry I, who was married to what was believed to be a runaway nun and continues in time to include VIII’s and his six weddings and the more recent weddings of Princes William and Harry.

Emily Brand | Speaking Topics

Emily can adapt her talks to the needs of the audience and can provide talks and/or workshops. The following are her established and popular talks, with the final two making excellent workshop topics.