How Family History inspired The Lydiard Chronicles

I'm thrilled to welcome Elizabeth St John to the blog today. Her library of work is not only fantastic fiction, but it is based on her own family history! My personal favorite is The Godmother's Secret (my Goodreads review), but they are all beautifully written and part of the same family tree, which is the topic of discussion today. Liz shares with us how her family history inspired The Lydiard Chronicles.

Welcome, Liz!

~ Samantha

How Family History Inspired the Lydiard Chronicles

Guest Post by Elizabeth St John

Growing up in England, where rainy days practically begged for a good book and weekend walks often led past ancient castles and weather-worn churches, I was steeped in history from the very start. My parents were passionate about the past, and that love quickly became a family affair. One of our favourite activities? We called it “St.John-hunting.” Armed with bits of our family tree and a healthy sense of adventure, we’d head off to forgotten churchyards or old country houses, hoping to spot an ancestor peeking out from a crumbling headstone or a faded portrait.

It was more than just a hobby—it felt like a treasure hunt. My great-great aunt had carefully charted our family tree in beautiful copperplate on enormous sheets of Antiquarian paper, and I was hooked. Libraries and archives quickly became my happy places, and the moment I discovered Lucy Hutchinson’s 17th-century memoirs in a battered file cabinet at Nottingham Castle? Absolutely unforgettable. Holding those worn pages that she had treasured, realising they contained the seeds of stories yet untold, gave me chills—and a sense of responsibility.

Lucy Hutchinson's Notebook

That spark grew into a lifelong passion for genealogy and, eventually, historical fiction. When I began writing The Lady of the Tower, it felt as though I already knew Lucy St.John. Family letters, diaries, and portraits preserved at Lydiard House made her world real to me. These weren’t just artifacts—they were voices from the past, urging me to tell their stories.

And I thought it would be just one book. But Lucy’s story didn’t end there—and neither did mine. As I wrote, I began to uncover even more lives, more drama, more resilience woven into the St.John family’s story. By Love Divided emerged almost before I knew it, bringing Lucy’s grown children to the forefront during the English Civil War. I couldn’t leave them—Frances and Allen Apsley, Luce Hutchinson, Nan Wilmot. They lived such extraordinary, passionate, divided lives that they kept calling to me. I would wake up thinking about them. They truly wouldn’t leave me alone.

Lydiard House and St Mary's Church

That’s how Written in Their Stars was born, completing the trilogy. It is a novel of loyalty, rebellion, heartbreak—and survival. By then, I realized I wasn’t just telling their stories. I was honouring them. The more I wrote, the more I felt I was uncovering not just history, but a deep, emotional truth about identity, family, and the strength of women in impossible times. These books became more than fiction—they became a conversation with my ancestors.

As a historian, there's nothing quite like that thrill of uncovering a hidden document or piecing together a mystery from fragile clues. Reading old handwriting, spotting connections across centuries, or finding out who was left out of a will can reveal so much about who these people were. I’ve found that strategically arranged marriages in particular are little goldmines—tracing the money and alliances often changes what we think we know about history.

I’ll never forget writing that first draft of The Lady of the Tower and having a gut feeling that Barbara St.John and Theo Howard, the Earl of Suffolk, weren’t just political acquaintances—they were entangled. But I couldn’t prove it. Not until, after months of digging, I discovered two of Barbara’s children married two of Theo’s. Suddenly the whole picture shifted. It’s in moments like these that research and storytelling dance together, and history comes alive.

The Lydiard Chronicles grew from that magical intersection—where family history meets historical fact, and imagination fills the gaps between. Every time I open a dusty ledger or spot a familiar surname in an unexpected place, I feel that same rush I did as a child on one of our “St.John-hunts.”

If you’ve ever wondered what stories might lie in your own family’s past, I encourage you to start exploring. Visit your local archives, peek into that old box in the attic, or revisit the family stories you half-remember. You never know what you’ll uncover—and it just might change how you see the world.

Duty, passion, and power collide in The Lydiard Chronicles, a gripping trilogy inspired by

true events. Follow three courageous women—survivors, strategists, and storytellers—who defy the constraints of society to shape their family’s fate and England’s future. Their voices echo through time. Their legacy changed a nation.

The Lydiard Chronicles is an award-winning, best-selling historical family saga which brings to life the remarkable true stories of the St.John family. Spanning three compelling novels—The Lady of the Tower, By Love Divided, and Written in Their Stars—the series follows the legacy of resilient and intelligent women who lived as spies, courtiers, and diarists during England’s most turbulent century, navigating the quicksand of love and war, political upheaval, and personal sacrifice.

Bound by fierce family loyalty and unforgettable love, the women of The Lydiard Chronicles defy the limits of their time with passion, courage, and unshakable independence. They endure captivity in the Tower of London, exile in the Louvre Palace, and the heart-wrenching divisions of the English Civil War—fighting not just for survival, but for their beliefs, their families, and the right to choose their own fate. Meticulously researched and vividly told, this epic saga reveals how these women created history from the shadows, leaving a legacy of resilience, defiance, and enduring influence.

Rooted in original diaries, letters, and family papers, The Lydiard Chronicles offers an intimate, biographical portrait of women who moved behind the scenes of power. Serving as trusted secret agents, military wives, and confidantes of kings, they were deeply engaged in the political and religious conflicts of their time. Through tragedy and triumph, the women of The Lydiard Chronicles shape their destinies—and the fate of a nation—in this richly researched and vividly told historical epic.

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Connect with Elizabeth St John

Elizabeth St.John’s critically acclaimed historical fiction novels tell the stories of her ancestors: extraordinary women whose intriguing kinship with England's kings and queens brings an intimately unique perspective to Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times.

Inspired by family archives and residences from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London, Elizabeth spends much of her time exploring ancestral portraits, diaries, and lost gardens. And encountering the occasional ghost. But that’s another story.

Living between California, England, and the past, Elizabeth is the International Ambassador for The Friends of Lydiard Park, an English charity dedicated to conserving and enhancing this beautiful centuries-old country house and park. As a curator for The Lydiard Archives, she is constantly looking for an undiscovered treasure to inspire her next novel.

Elizabeth's works include The Lydiard Chronicles, a family saga set in 17th-century England during the Civil War, and The Godmother's Secret, which unravels the medieval mystery of the missing princes in the Tower of London. Her latest release, The King’s Intelligencer, follows Franny Apsley in the treacherous court of Charles II as she risks everything to uncover the dangerous truth behind the discovery of the princes’ bones.

Connect with Liz on her website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Book Bub, Amazon Author Page, and Goodreads.