Let me introduce myself…
Hey friends! Welcome! I’m beyond grateful that you landed on my Substack site, and I can’t wait to share my work and passion for all things historical with you.
I’ve loved history, art and culture since I was teeny, which I largely put down to a) having two very busy parents who gave me lots books to read to keep me quiet, and b) to spending many blissful hours in front of the TV watching the heavyweights of public-facing academia relate mesmerizing accounts of the past.
It always felt just as exciting to me as being spirited away to fantastical realms by works of fiction. The wonderment at having moments of dramatic tension in real historical stories played out in front of me in my living room has informed my approach to talking about history ever since.
Having studied for my undergraduate degree in Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge, specialising in the language, literature and culture of Spanish-, Russian- and Portuguese-speaking countries, I discovered a serious love of all things medieval and early modern. The Medieval period especially is a time that is so often misrepresented and disregarded as utterly mad, insular, and brutal. Of course, it was all of those things at times… but it was much more complicated than that too.
After an enriching three years working in luxury travel as a Latin America specialist (dancing a lot of salsa, eating a lot of rice and beans, and learning that I was incapable of getting a natural tan even in Brazil), I returned to academia in 2021 in order to pursue my MA at the University of East Anglia in Medieval and Early Modern Textual Cultures. In 2022 I was awarded CHASE funding to continue my study at PhD level. My work-in-progress thesis: "Not-so-New-World?' Examining the Literary Genealogies of Sixteenth-Century Spanish Conquest Narratives" explores the intertextual relationships between Spanish accounts of the invasion of the Americas with an earlier medieval corpus of quest romances and chronicles of crusade, incorporating literary analysis, archival research and socio-historical inquiry. It’s fun.
No, really, I promise. I love it.
Outside of this mammoth project, I enjoy sharing my fascination with all things dusty and old using social media and this Substack, trying to make the past accessible and interesting to new and diverse audiences.
Thank you so much for being here and taking an interest in my projects.
So, why subscribe to the Substack…?
Subscribing to this Substack gives you full access to the newsletter and its archives. As a subscribing member of the gang, you’ll never miss an update - every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox. You can also earn rewards for recommending and referring the Substack to your pals. Joining our gang means that you’ll be part of a community who shares your interests as well as supporting my ongoing research and additional projects.
What do I get as a paid subscriber?
If you’re kind enough to pay a monthly or annual fee as a paid member of the Substack, you will receive exclusive access to paid content as well as first dibs on exciting updates, free gifts and other fun things. My amazing paid subscribers help to support my ongoing PhD work and also allow me to invest in other exciting projects that I hope to bring to you in 2025.
Keep in touch and please consider following me on social media to stay up to date with my projects!
Follow me!
X [Twitter]: https://twitter.com/CBHChamberlain
BlueSky: @clarabchamberlain.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@clarabchamberlain?hl=en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarabchamberlain/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/157819981-clara-chamberlain
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clara-chamberlain-51172050/
