University of Oxford
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Professor Susan Doran

Professor Susan Doran

Senior Research Fellow

Jesus College & St Benet's Hall

susan.doran@history.ox.ac.uk My interest lies in the politics, religion, and culture of sixteenth and early seventeenth-century England. I have written extensively on the Tudors, especially Elizabeth I. In books and essays I have focussed on Elizabeth's image, religion, political relationships, attitude to marriage, and foreign policy. At present, I am completing a book entitled ‘Regime Change from Elizabeth I to James I, 1603-1612’ for OUP. A study of the accession and early years of James’s reign, it examines: how the king of Scotland took the English throne in 1603; the expectations of his new subjects on his accession; and the extent of change in politics, religion, international affairs and government during the first decade of the reign. 

Greatly committed to public history, I have worked with curators to edit catalogues of several major exhibitions.  This year I am co-curating with Professors Paulina Kewes and William Whyte a digital exhibition - Oxford Re-formed - at the Museum of Oxford.

Publications

Elizabeth I and her Circle
Featured Publication

Elizabeth I and her Circle

(OUP, Hardback 2015, Paperback 2018)

This is the story of Elizabeth I's inner circle and the crucial human relationships which lay at the heart of her personal and political life. Using a wide range of original sources - including private letters, portraits, verse, drama, and state papers - Susan Doran provides a vivid and often dramatic account of political life in Elizabethan England and the queen at its centre, offering a deeper insight into Elizabeth's emotional and political conduct - and challenging many of the popular myths that have grown up around her.