Researching in archives and libraries from the Vatican to Dublin and Turin, I have published groundbreaking work on how religion and politics have clashed and intertwined to shape our world. My first book ‘Between Popes, Inquisitors and Princes’ revealed how the early Jesuits collaborated with the popes, their inquisition and the crowned heads of Europe – often undercover – to fight dangerous ideas.

My second book ‘City of Echoes’ is the first ever account of how the presence of the popes has shaped Rome and its history, from the time of Saint Peter to our own day. According to Graydon Carter’s Air Mail Weekly, it is ‘a deeply informative book that never fails to entertain, unearthing facts that make The Da Vinci Code read like children’s lit.’

My writing has been published in prestigious academic journals, popular magazines such as History Today and national newspapers. I have given lectures and spoken at events and on podcasts in the U.K., North America, Italy, Spain and Belgium. I welcome invitations to write and speak about my writing and research, as well as my experiences living in Italy and working with historical documents at archives such as the Vatican Archive and archives of the Roman Inquisition.

As a consultant, I offer specialist advice and support to students seeking places at leading British universities for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Selected Awards:

• Rome Scholarship, British Academy
• Seventh Century Scholarship, University of St Andrews
• Study Fellowship, Society for Renaissance Studies
• Russell Trust Award, Russell Trust