A lifelong love of language, history and the stories people carry.
ABOUT SUSAN ACKROYD
From the classroom to the page, Susan’s work has always been shaped by curiosity, communication and the belief that history is most powerful when it is told through human stories.
From teacher to storyteller
Susan Ackroyd began her working life as a high school English and History teacher—two subjects that brought together her love of language, research and the past.
After leaving the school system to travel, she returned to Australia and found rewarding work with adult migrants and refugees in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. She first taught within the service and later managed its delivery.
The students brought extraordinary stories with them. Susan and her colleagues helped people settle into a new country, navigate unfamiliar systems and, in some cases, find employment. Those years strengthened her belief that history is not only found in dates and official records. It lives in memory, language and the experiences people pass from one generation to another.
That idea sits at the heart of Rhyme & Reason.
A familiar verse can be a doorway into history.
Nursery rhymes are often among the first pieces of language we remember. Their rhythms stay with us long after childhood, even when we have stopped thinking about what the words might mean.
Susan began looking beyond the surface of those familiar verses. What historical events might they reflect? Were they entertainment, social commentary, political satire—or simply stories that changed as they travelled?
The questions led Susan through centuries of English history and into a world of monarchs, courtiers, religious conflict, public scandal, ordinary lives and competing interpretations.
The result was Rhyme & Reason.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rhyme & Reason
Rhyme & Reason explores the mystery and history connected with traditional nursery rhymes.
Susan places the familiar words within their wider historical settings, examining the events, personalities and social conditions that may have shaped the stories we continue to repeat.
The book does not ask readers to accept every popular theory as settled fact. Nursery rhymes were often passed down orally, altered over time and recorded long after they first appeared. Instead, Susan invites readers to consider the evidence, follow the historical clues and enjoy the possibilities.
It is an engaging journey for readers who enjoy history, language, politics, storytelling and the unexpected paths between them.
What readers will discover
Historical context
The events and social conditions surrounding familiar rhymes.
Political intrigue
The rulers, rivalries, scandals and struggles that may sit behind apparently simple words.
Changing interpretations
How stories evolve when they are spoken, remembered and rewritten across generations.
A new way to listen
Why the rhymes we learnt in childhood may sound very different once we know the history around them.
Begin with a rhyme you already know
You may never hear it in quite the same way again.
