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Elinor Evans

Elinor Evans

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I’m Elinor, an editorial lead at HistoryExtra, where I help to shape the direction of our digital content strategy, collaborating closely with our editorial team as we create historical coverage that feels fresh and accessible – across our website, app, and social media channels. Alongside writing and commissioning for the site, I’m a regular interviewer on the award-winning HistoryExtra podcast, with more than 200 episodes under my belt. I’ve had the privilege of leading conversations with many prominent historians, including Mary Beard, Kate Williams and Greg Jenner – and a particular career highlight was interviewing Ron Chernow about his definitive Hamilton biography that inspired the groundbreaking musical. I also write and present videos for HistoryExtra, and though I’m most often in a studio, I especially love visiting historical sites, speaking with curators and experts, and telling stories in the places where history happened – a passion cemented by a special morning filming in the stillness before opening hours at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. I’m especially drawn to 18th and 19th-century history, and I have a deep fascination with the history of the USA. This interest has shaped some of my favourite HistoryExtra projects, including producing in-depth podcast series on the Boston Tea Party and the Cuban Missile Crisis – exploring these dramatic, world-changing events with leading specialists. I joined HistoryExtra in 2016 as Acting Digital Editor, building on experience that ranged from digital development of specialist aviation publishing brands to editorial roles within the book publishing world. I hold a BA in English from the University of Exeter, and I spent a formative year at the College of William & Mary in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, immersing myself in US history and literature. This experience sparked a lasting interest in American history and mid-20th-century pop culture, which deepened further when I completed the Columbia Publishing Course in New York City. As a freelance journalist, I’ve contributed to The Telegraph online, and I’ve shared historical insight and editorial expertise through interviews on BBC Radio Wales and the BBC’s Global Story podcast.

Elinor Evans

Who was Roscoe Conkling? The real story of how US politics’ ‘spoils system’ met its match

Your history guide to Frogmore Cottage: who has lived there before?

What was the Fenian Brotherhood? And was Ellen Cochrane real?

Is House of Guinness a true story? Here’s the real history behind the Netflix drama

Is Oppenheimer a true story? Meet the real Robert Oppenheimer, ‘father of the atomic bomb’

Are Bertha and George Russell real? Inside the real Vanderbilt divorces that rocked the Gilded Age

“She returned smelling of smoke and sex:” why powerful Roman women were branded nymphomaniacs