As she moves into the twentieth century, Worsley largely pulls away from true crime to concentrate on the fictional. She discusses the Golden Age authors in some depth, giving almost mini-biographies of some of them, particularly Dorothy L Sayers. She argues (as others have done) that the Golden Age puzzle with its fairly defined rules developed as a response to the horrors of WW1 and fed into a society that wanted something a bit cosier than the blood-curdling melodramas of the past. She discusses how class and gender were represented in these novels, but keeps the tone light – though it’s clearly well-researched, this book never reads like an academic study. Wadsworth, Jo (13 July 2015). "TV historian given honorary Sussex Uni degree". Brighton and Hove News . Retrieved 20 July 2015. A very early contribution was 'The Adventures of Susan Hopley, or Circumstantial Evidence' of 1841 in which the heroine solves a murder and then there was 'The Female Detective' and 'Revelations of a Female Detective' by Andrew Forrester and WS Hayward, both books starring a professional heroine who was employed purely to solve crimes. The public interest in murder was at its height and they devoured such offerings.

Lucy Worsley has set out to trace the roots of the British obsession with murder – as consumers, rather than participants. She makes the case that the fascination with murder corresponded to the increasing urbanisation of Britain during the nineteenth century which, because neighbours no longer knew each other as they had done in a more rural age, meant that murders could be much harder to detect. And what could be more thrilling than knowing that a murderer might be on the loose? Combine that with the rise of affordable printed material, such as the Penny Dreadfuls that became available during the Victorian era, and suddenly the commercial potential of murder, real or fictional, was huge. During February and March 2020 the first series of Royal History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley was shown on BBC Four; the three-part series discovers how the history of The Reformation, The Spanish Armada and Queen Anne and the Union have been manipulated and mythologised. [20] Wade, Francesca (26 March 2016). "Tales of lecherous Tudors". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 22 October 2016– via lucyworsley.com. Worsley lives in Southwark [28] by the River Thames in south London with her husband, architect Mark Hines, [1] whom she married in November 2011. [29] With reference to having children, Worsley once said she has been "educated out of normal reproductive function", [30] but she later said her statement had been "misinterpreted and sounded darker than I'd intended." [31]Dolman, Brett; Lipscomb, Suzannah; Prosser, Lee (2009). Henry VIII: 500 Facts. Historic Royal Palaces. ISBN 978-1873993125. I've been dipping in and out of this one as I like to do with Non Fiction and as a reader interested in true crime and indeed crime fiction this was a great little read. In February 2015, the Royal Television Society nominated Worsley (best presenter) and The First Georgians (best history programme) in its annual awards. [34] Lucy Worsley to uncover real-life stories of the Blitz in new film for BBC One". bbc.co.uk . Retrieved 1 January 2021.

Owen, Pamela (22 September 2013). "A Very British Murder: How we became hooked on morbid mysteries". The Mirror . Retrieved 24 September 2013.

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Worsley also wrote the young-adult book Lady Mary, [27] a history-based book that details the life of Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon; it follows her as a young Princess Mary during the time of the divorce of Mary's parents. Four-part series (April 2012). Hosted by Giles Coren, co-presented with James Wong, Alex Langlands& Alys Fowler. [37]

Also looking at crime fiction from Holmes to Christie to Sayers amongst others, this was a fascinating insight into crime and our different obsessions with it. I admittedly have not watched the television show that this is accompanies but I may have to rectify that. I don’t read a lot of non-fiction but I was attracted to this because it came up as a book club choice just after I had enjoyed several Lucy Worsley documentaries. And there is the fact that the subject matter includes Agatha Christie. Milton Manor – Lucy Worsley". LucyWorsley.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014 . Retrieved 13 May 2014.Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley to return for second season". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre . Retrieved 14 March 2023.

In 2019, Worsley presented American History's Biggest Fibs, looking at the nation's founding story and American Revolution, the American Civil War, and the Cold War. Siobhan Palmer (25 February 2015). "Claudia Winkleman nominated for RTS award for her new role as Strictly presenter". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 17 March 2015. Lucy Worsley, OBE (born 18 December 1973) is an English historian, author, curator, and television presenter. Worsley describes the fact that hangings and murders provided entertainment to the public, even so much so that the people bought trinkets as souvenirs. Continuing on with the entertainment theme, Worsley introduces sensational journalism, the theatre, Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, a puppet show, and detective fiction. In addition, she talks about the founding of the organized police force, detective work, ‘Penny Bloods’ (the precursor to crime fiction), poisonings, and forensic science. As a television presenter, she is known for having a rhotacism, a minor speech impairment [1] which affects her pronunciation of "r". When she made the move from BBC Four to BBC Two for the series Fit to Rule: How Royal Illness Changed History, she worked with a speech and language therapist to help with her pronunciation, but to no avail. [32]Worsley has published a number of books, many guides to houses and the like. Courtiers: The Secret History of the Georgian Court (2011) is her most recent work on history. In 2014, BBC Books published her book, A Very British Murder, which was based on the series. [23]