How can I possibly pick just one part of history to write about?!
Finding our history writing 'niche' (or not)
To niche or not to niche… That is the question.
I distinctly remember the moment when, quite early into my Substack journey, I asked the question of how to collaborate with another writer with whom I had significant audience overlap but who was outside of my writer ‘niche’.
The zoom call host, a dearly beloved Substack colleague, visibly cringed at the word ‘niche’.
Little did I know that ‘to niche or not to niche’ is in fact the question for many on Substack. I’ve always loved history so it was a no-brainer to me that this is what I’d write about on Substack.1
Needless to say, regardless of this debate, many of us will find ourselves drawn to a particular time or geographical region in history. It is no secret to longtime readers of
, the newsletter I primarily write for, that my historical focus is medieval England (you can read more about this in the interview below).Today’s article is brought to you by
, ‘writer, historian, and maker driven by curiosity and creativity’.2 She dives into the tension felt by many historians: how, or whether, to choose just one area to focus on when there are so many interesting times and places. Amy writes an excellent newsletter here on Substack called , which has previously been featured in our monthly members’ roundup (linked below). Do check it out and subscribe!
How can I possibly pick just one part of history to write about?!
Amy Freeborn
I came to history quite late. I started my career in daily newspaper journalism, before moving into digital communications roles (essentially, managing and producing content for organisations’ websites – from ‘about us’ pages to more creative storytelling).
It was only when I took up one of these posts at London’s Natural History Museum that I realised the possibilities of history. How even when taking (the science of) the natural world as a starting point, there were so many curious leads to follow.
For the past handful of years I’ve been using my Substack,
, to tell stories from history (with a bit of science and culture thrown in sometimes). I’m driven by my own curiosity and the premise that things which are new or interesting to me are likely new and interesting to some other people, too.Last year I decided to formalise my interest by starting a Master’s degree in Public History. As the name suggests, it’s about doing history in public, of, for, and with the public. It has a lot of overlap with the ‘history from below’ approach.
As a storyteller passionate about sharing what I learn with others, and someone from a working-class background, public history is a good match with my interests and experiences.
In history, as in writing, it helps to have a niche. But my problem is: how can I possibly pick just one part of history to write about when there are so many fascinating stories to discover and tell?!
I’m drawn to exploring histories of women, particularly those who defied expectations and conventions (like Hortense Mancini or the Parminter cousins) or whose status means their lives have gone unexamined within a field (at least in terms of public outputs) that often seems to prioritise royalty, ‘great men’, and battles. I’ve also long been interested in and intrigued by witchcraft and folk practices and beliefs. Any – or a combination – of these could make a good choice.
But what happens if I come across a great story that doesn’t fit within those parameters (like the gin-loving goose of Leadenhall Market)? Or one that ticks some but not all the boxes (like the man who’s created an unrivalled archive of folk customs)?
What’s more important – my curiosity or my self-defined niche?
Holly, how did you decide that medieval history was the period you would focus on? And what do you do if something outside that period piques your interest?
My earliest memories of enjoying history - or, at least, a history-adjacent topic - was watching an episode of Time Team in the late 1990s or early 2000s. For those outside of the UK, Time Team was a TV show featuring three-day excavations at sites across the UK and is now hosted in a rebooted format on YouTube and Patreon.
I remember that one moment from that first episode distinctly: they excavated a beautifully-preserved Roman wooden water wheel, as fresh as if it had been buried only a few years before.
I was captivated. How could something so old just be lying there beneath the ground?
A few years later I moved to the UK.3 For complicated reasons, I had to repeat a year at school and to avoid literally repeating the same content I had already done, my teacher asked me to do a research project on the Tudors. I visited Hampton Court Palace with my parents and couldn’t believe that I was walking the same corridors where the mighty Henry VIII’s dramas had played out!
Fast forward a few more years to my A Levels, age sixteen. One of our modules was on the first few Crusades to the Holy Land, between the 11th and 13th centuries. Again, I was captivated: something about this topic made my heart flutter a little, and it was at this point that I realised that I was much more interested in medieval history than modern history.
That interest in archaeology still niggled away at me, however. I was fortunate enough to study for my BA in History at the University of Oxford and the only interdisciplinary paper between the history and archaeology departments was one on Anglo-Saxon England. I’d never really heard much about the Anglo-Saxons but was willing to give it a go for the sake of exploring archaeology more formally.
Well, that was it. I’d found my niche.
I was overwhelmed (in a good way!) by the rich material culture, the heroic tales preserved in the scant written sources, and the creative opportunities presented by the incomplete evidence base.
And I still feel the same now. Not one research day goes by when I am not amazed by something I learn about Anglo-Saxon England.
To answer your question about interests being piqued outside this period though… I am, at heart, a real history nerd, though it’s only in my thirties that I am happy to make such a bold statement in public! So, if I find something interesting outside of the remit of Anglo-Saxon England, I let myself run with it. My DPhil is actually exploring sixth/seventh-century Paris, which is a bit of a shift away from familiar territory. And I have a deep love for the Wars of the Roses (15th century) as well as the early modern phenomenon of witch-hunting. It tends to be through reading books and Substack articles that I explore other interests, with
, , and being a few favourites.Society of History Writers members, how did you find your niche? What parameters have you put in place for yourself and how have you handled (potentially) straying outside those boundaries?
Please share your advice and experience in the comments – I would love to hear how you’ve navigated this challenge and found your focus in history writing.
Though several other ideas have, of course, filled my overactive mind over the course of the past year: a newsletter sharing my amateur landscape photography; another sharing the weird and seemingly random things that mums do. You can probably tell which ‘niches’ I got drawn into outside of the world of history.
Taken from Amy’s Substack bio.
I’d been living in South East Asia, visiting during the school holidays.
 | A guest post by
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You know I love reading about Tudor / early modern history as much as I love understanding what draws us to it! 👏
This article resonates with me deeply. I've always loved history, but, like you, I’m still relatively new to it. My career path initially took me down a different road—I worked as a mechanical engineer, which wasn’t what I envisioned back in school, but life has its way of shaping our journeys. I earned my degree in mechanical engineering, followed that path for years, and only recently transitioned to education, a move that has allowed me to truly embrace my passions.
To put it simply, history captivates me. Social history is particularly fascinating, but when it comes to my hometown of Margate, I believe it hits every note. Margate may be seen as up-and-coming and trendy today, but there is so much more beneath the surface. My goal is to share this layered history with new audiences while reintroducing it to long-time residents who might feel it has been overshadowed by gentrification and savvy marketing.
Sometimes I wonder if focusing on Margate’s history is too niche, but your article has reassured me that I’m on the right track. Thank you for that.