Russell is the author of a series of plays.[3] In July 2011, his first novelPopular was published byPenguin, as the first in a new series of novels following the lives of a group of Belfast teenagers. It was published in German in 2014.[4] A sequel toPopular, titledThe Immaculate Deception, was published in November 2012. Both novels were subsequently adapted for the stage in Northern Ireland, followed by a final theatrical sequel,Say You'll Remember Me, which received its first performance in 2016.[5]
In August 2014, Russell's first non-fiction book,The Emperors: How Europe's Rulers were Destroyed by World War One, was published by Amberley Publishing.[6] In 2017, his biography of English queen consortCatherine Howard was published, based on research undertaken between 2010 and 2016.[7] It was published by Simon & Schuster in the US and Canada, and HarperCollins in the UK, Ireland, and most of the Commonwealth. It was a finalist for the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography award in 2017, which was won that year byEdmund Gordon's biography ofAngela Carter.[8] In 2019, his account of theTitanic disaster was published.[9] It was named a Book of the Year byThe Times[10] and a Best History Book of 2019 byThe Daily Telegraph.[11]
In 2023, Russell'sThe Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court was published.[14][15] It was named aBBC History Book of the Year.[16]
The Emperors: How Europe's Rulers were destroyed by World War I (2014)
An Illustrated Introduction to the Tudors (2014)
A History of the English Monarchy from Boadicea to Elizabeth I (2015)
Young and Damned and Fair: The Life ofCatherine Howard, Fifth Wife of King Henry VIII (US title) (2017)
In the UK, this book's subtitle isThe Life and Tragedy of Catherine Howard at the Court of Henry VIII
The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of theTitanic and the End of theEdwardian Era (2019), originally published asThe Darksome Bounds of a Failing World in the UK and Ireland
Do Let's Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (2022). In the US and Canada, the book isDo Let's Have Another Drink: The Dry Wit and Fizzy Life of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court (2023)
Queen James: The Lives and Loves of Britain's First King (London: William Collins, 2025). Also to be published asThe Six Loves of James I. Atria Books.
Russell, Gareth (1 October 2011)."My interview in The Irish Times".Confessions of a Ci-devant. Garethrussellcidevant.blogspot.com.au. Retrieved10 June 2014.
