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Ioana Petrescu

About

Ioana writing at an oak desk in an attic study above red roofs

Hello, I’m Ioana

I have loved old towns since I was a child, when my grandfather walked me through ours and told me who had lived in every house. Later I learned to read old records, and I found that the people in them were far more interesting than the dates.

I write for readers who do not think they like history. I choose one street, one church or one person, and I tell what happened as plainly as I can, with the sources at the end. A new long read goes out every Sunday.

What I sell is what I use: ebooks about towns and the people in them, a template for making a walking tour, a notebook for research and two video courses on writing history for anyone who wants to read it.

Questions

How do the downloads arrive?

After checkout you receive an email with a download link, and the same link is shown on the confirmation page. Everything is a PDF made to read on a screen or print on ordinary A4 or Letter paper.

Is there merch?

Yes: tees, mugs, totes, prints and stickers with my own designs. Each is printed to order and shipped by Printful, and the cost and delivery time show at checkout.

How often does the letter come, and how do I leave?

One every Sunday. Every email has an unsubscribe link at the bottom, and it works at once.

Do I need to know history to read these?

No. Each long read starts from nothing, explains the words it uses and ends with the sources I looked at, in case you want to keep digging.

What if something is not what I expected?

Write to me within fourteen days of buying a download or course and I will refund it, with no questions.

Support my work

If you enjoy what I make, there are a few ways to help me keep making it.

Newsletter

The Old Town Notebook

One long read every Sunday about an old town, a castle or an ordinary person from the past, sent to your inbox.

One email every Sunday. Unsubscribe any time.