Tudor Book Blog

Secrets of the Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan

*Warning, this review does contain some spoilers!

Synopsis:

This novel is told from the point of view of Mary Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, the powerful Duke of Norfolk. Mary is brought to court to serve as a Maid-of-Honor to her cousin, Anne Boleyn. By serving Anne, Mary witnesses many famous events, such as Anne’s coronation, the birth of Elizabeth, the arrest and execution of Anne, the death of her brother, Henry Howard, and the arrest and downfall of her family during the reign of Katheryn Howard.

While still a young teenager, Mary is married to Henry Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII. She becomes the Duchess of Richmond upon her marriage and is eager to start her life with her husband who, unlike her father, treats her well. His untimely death and a promise made on his deathbed influenced Mary the rest of her life. She eventually finds love again only to have it ripped away. She is also faced with the downfall of her family and a testimonial she gives at her brother’s treason trial. Despite these sad and hard events, Mary comes through and eventually lives a quite life, which seems to suit her.

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Background on Mary Howard, Duchess of Richmond:

Mary was the second daughter of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and Elizabeth Stafford, daughter of the Duke of Buckingham. She came to court during the time of Anne Boleyn and was married to Henry’s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, in 1533. When Fitzroy died in 1536, Mary had to petition and fight to keep her inheritance from him. However, since their marriage had not been consummated (by order of the King), Mary was legally not entitled to some of the lands he left her. She was finally bequeathed some lands by the King years later.

After the fall of the Howards in the scandal with Queen Katheryn Howard, Mary left court and lived quietly until her death in 1557.

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Review:

This novel spans from the rise of Anne Boleyn until the reign of Edward VI. Mary is witness to all of the big events in Tudor times, which the author describes well. Her descriptions bring to life the Tudor court and put you in the view of Mary, a minor figure in the Tudor court. Her being a minor figure is in no way a disadvantage in the novel. Rather, it enhances it. Many novels set in this time period focus on the main royal players, such as Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, often told from their perspectives. The new perspective offered by Mary is a breath of fresh air.

A key element of the novel is Mary’s relationships with the men in her life. These relationships really drive the story. Mary’s relationship with her father is complicated and the most important in the book. Norfolk is extremely abusive, both physically and emotionally. Throughout her life she sees her father beating her mother (being born while her father is beating her mother…). Despite this, all Mary wants from him is his love and approval. She obeys him at every turn, even doing things she does not feel are right. Norfolk uses his daughter as a spy, marries her to Henry’s illegitimate son, and at one point tries to bring her to the bed of the King as his mistress. However, his abuse eventually turns to her. There are really no redeeming features of Norfolk in this novel. He is extremely cold and unlikeable. However, the author does give us a few moments of love between father and daughter, but they are rare.

Mary is married to Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond when she is about fifteen. Henry seems to love her and the two want to begin their lives together but are stopped at every turn. When Henry succumbs to disease later in the story, Mary is left a widow. She makes a death bed promise that she will not remarry. Henry, knowing if she does the lands he leaves her will be forfeit. He wants her to be able to live on her own, and get out from under her father. Mary struggles with this promise the rest of her life.

Another interesting point of the novel is Mary’s relationship with Cedric, a court musician. Though fictional, it raises some interesting problems for Mary. Because Cedric is lowly and unable to give Mary what she, as a Duchess, “deserves,” their relationship is strained. However, the two fall in love and Mary is forced to face her identity, either as a Duchess and the daughter of Norfolk, or as a woman.

The final important male relationship is between Mary and her brother, Henry Surrey. The two were close in their younger years, but as Surrey spends more and more time at court, he and Mary grow apart with his growing ambitions. Mary has some enjoyment in writing poetry and shares it with her brother who is well known at court for his. At one point, he takes a poem of hers and uses it as his own, hurting Mary deeply. He is brash and wild, and is eventually brought up on charges of Treason. Mary is forced to choose between family ambition, her lover for her brother, her own desires, and the truth.

I do not a lot of negatives with this novel. The main thing that stuck out to me was the frustration with Mary for blindly following her father. She never really breaks from him and finds herself, though she does change and grow throughout the story. I also felt like the novel focused too much on the time when Anne Boleyn was at court. Obviously this is a long period of time and an important period of time, but I felt like the author brushed over later queens and events as a result. The biggest problem to me isn’t really about the novel…rather it is about the cover. Firstly, the ladies in the image are wearing Elizabethan and Marie-Antoinette-era clothing! For a novel that did a pretty good job at sticking with history, they really flubbed there.I know one isn’t suppose to “judge a book by its cover” but I was really apprehensive when I saw this cover. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

Also, I do not understand why the novel is titled Secrets of the Tudor Court. I think it should have a different title, one that really relates to the story. I feel like this title is really generic…like they couldn’t think of anything to name the novel. I especially think it should be changed considering there is another Tudor series already using this name. It is quite confusing!

Despite these small squawks, I give this novel 4 out of 5 Tudor Roses.

It was an easy and fun read, and took a bit of a twist on an old, and often told, story. I would recommend it to anyone who likes Tudor fiction, but especially to those who enjoy the Anne Boleyn story, but would like a fresh take on it.

I want to thank the author for sending me an advanced copy of this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to read your next one!

Secrets of the Tudor Court: The Pleasure Palace

*Warning: There are “spoilers” in this review!

Background:

Before I begin my review, I wanted to give a little background on Jane Popyncourt, the main character of the story:

Little is actually known of Jane. She was probably French and served at the English court as a lady-in-waiting and French tutor to Henry VII’s daughters Mary and Margaret. She later served Katherine of Aragon as a lady-in-waiting. It was rumored that she became the mistress of Henry VIII at some point during his early reign. After the Battle of the Spurs, she became mistress to the hostage Duke of Longueville. After his return to France, Jane followed in 1516 and it was said they began their affair again.

Synopsis:

Emerson takes all of these facts and incorporates them eloquently into her story. It focuses on Jane and her point of view in Henry VII and Henry VIII’s courts. The story begins with Jane as a young child, quickly and mysteriously leaving France with her mother after the death of the King. Once arriving in England, she is brought to Henry VII’s court and sent to live in the nursery palace at Eltham with the royal children. She teaches the young princesses Mary and Margaret French, and soon becomes like a sister to them. Margaret is eventually sent to marry the King of Scots and Jane joins Mary’s household. Henry VIII is crowned king upon his father’s death, where the story really begins to pick up. Jane and Mary come to court and begin to participate in court life. It is very different from Henry VII’s court, full of life and fun.

Emerson does an excellent job of describing court life, including the festivities, clothes, jewels, and pageants. Jane becomes friends with some of Henry’s men and plays a big part in many of the masques that take place at court.

In 1513 Henry VIII wins the Battle of the Spurs in France and sends the Duc de Longueville to England as his captive. He is treated like an honored guest and spends much time with Princess Mary and subsequently Jane. He eventually seduces Jane and she becomes his mistress. Unfortunately, it ruins her reputation and she looses many of her friends.I got frustrated at this in the story. I suppose it is meant to show the double standard of the day. Women were expected to be virtuous and modest, while men were allowed to womanize without any damage to their reputations. Jane remains sweet through it all, however, and eventually uses this ruined reputation to her advantage.

Princess Mary, however, is ever steadfast and keeps her close. That is, until she is sent to France to marry the King of France as part of a peace treaty to end the war. Jane is told the King of France will not allow her to come to France with Mary. She does not understand this and begins to remember some about her journey from France to England. She and her mother left France in a hurry upon the death of the former King. Once in England, she is separated from her mother and soon finds out her mother has died. She begins to investigate her mother’s death by talking with women from Queen Elizabeth of York’s household who served with her mother. However, she continuously runs into dead ends.

As time passes, Jane gathers bits and pieces of mother’s past and begins to suspect that her mother may have been blamed for poisoning the King of France and eventually murdered herself. As Jane grows closer to finding out the truth, weird things begin to happen. She runs into several “accidents” which almost claim her life. She brushes them off at first, but soon begins to suspect that someone is out to keep her from knowing the truth, no matter the consequences. Jane refuses to give up, however, and soon travels to Wales to meet with her uncle, twin brother of her mother. He is able to provide her with the answers she is looking for (haha I won’t give that much away!) and sends Jane back to the English court. With the recent death of King Louis XII of France, and the accession of Francois I (who seems to have nothing against Jane unlike his predecessor), Jane finally gains permission from Henry VIII to return to France (here’s the part where she uses her reputation to gain what she wants…).

Once in France, she begins on a new journey to reclaim some property that once belonged to her family. With the help of Guy Dunois, a childhood friend and brother of her once lover the Duc de Longueville, she sets on a set of new adventures.

My Thoughts:

I must admit, firstly, that I adored this book! It never mentioned Anne Boleyn (don’t take offense, Anne lovers, I am one too, but let’s admit it, she gets a lot of page time in Tudor fiction). I loved that part of the story was set in the late years of Henry VII’s reign, and the early years of Henry VIII’s reign. I also love that the author stuck close to history, even though there was quite a bit of fiction involved (such as what Jane discovers about her mother’s past and its association with the King of France and the King of England). However, using the little bit of information known about Jane, and sticking close to it, Emerson was able to make it believable.

I did not care for how quickly the story moved in some parts. During important parts of the story time would move very slowly, and then would jump a year in the future! I prefer it to be a nice balance. There was also a lot of buildup to the huge discovery Jane makes, finally, when visiting her uncle. I wasn’t that impressed with her huge revelation, and honestly thought the author could have come up with something more original. Though Jane spends a lot of time focused on this in the novel, I think the author could have done without it. The author had a great basis for a novel with her research and Jane’s relationships, so I think the whole mystery aspect was a little much.However, this is not a deterrent for reading the story. I really enjoyed this novel and give it Four Tudor Roses. It is a great read and I recommend it for Tudor fans looking for something different, particularly something not focused on Henry VIII’s wives.

This novel is the first in the Secrets of the Tudor Court series by Kate Emerson. The Second book is titled Secrets of the Tudor Court: Between Two Queens. The Third is set to come out in Dec. and is titled Secrets of the Tudor Court: By Royal Decree.

For more on Emerson and her novels, here’s the link to her author site.

Before I begin my review I would like to thank Allie at Hist-Fic Chick for sending me this novel. I won a giveaway there and the chance to review it. Thanks Allie! She also sent me a copy of David Starkey’s Six Wives which I will be giving away on this blog shortly! More on that later.

The Boleyn Wife by Brandy Purdy

Synopsis:

The Boleyn Wife (known as The Tudor Wife in the UK) follows the story of Jane Parker, Lady Rochford. She marries George Boleyn early in the story, thus becoming sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife. She eventually gives Thomas Cromwell the information he needs to condemn Anne and George, stating that the two knew each other on an intimate level not natural for a brother and sister. She eventually serves Katheryn Howard when she becomes queen and aides her in her affairs. Both are condemned and executed for it.

Review:

This is the basic story of the real Jane Boleyn. The plot of this story follows the real story well, hitting all the key events. However, as with all historical novels, the author takes some liberties. Since it is written in first person, Jane must be witness to all the events in the story to tell the reader about them. This leaves the character constantly hiding behind bushes and tapestries, eaves dropping on conversations. The story works well being written in first person, as it is told strictly from the point of view of Jane, allowing the reader to understand why she made some of the choices she did. However, I must admit that I got tired of her hiding behind tapestries and eaves dropping on everyone. This is why I personally prefer third person.

Some historians believe this to be a portrait of Jane Boleyn nee Parker.

However, I did like how Purdy incorporated some of the myths about Jane, such as her mothering a son. In the story, Jane sleeps with Cromwell. He wants information on Anne to condemn her while Jane just wants some loving human contact. Both get what they want in the beginning, but Jane is soon left alone once Cromwell has what he needs. She finds herself pregnant and eventually gives birth to a son. She couldn’t stand to look at the child, knowing who the father was. In history, there is some evidence that Jane might have given birth to a son, however he does not appear in any later records, leaving one to think that she either didn’t, or the child died young. There is no evidence that she slept with Cromwell, however she did give him some of the information he needed to condemn Anne and her supporters. This episode, though mostly fictional, allowed the reader to see just how much Jane wanted love, and just how dirty Cromwell was to get what he needed.

Throughout the story, I almost wanted to feel sorry for Jane. However, I feel that most of her problems she brought upon herself. She completely gave herself to loving George Boleyn when it was obvious he didn’t nor ever would love her in return. Because of her desperate need to be loved by him, she makes herself despicable in his eyes as she constantly tries to harm his friends and Anne so she could have him all to herself. Of course, this did not work and backfired on her, leaving him hating her. This leads her to giving Cromwell the information on Anne, hoping to get rid of her and her friends so she would have George all to herself. I found myself often siding with George, looking with disgust at how desperate and manipulative Jane was.

The grave of Anne Boleyn. The graves of her brother George Boleyn and the other men condemned with them are nearby, as are those of Jane Boleyn and Katheryn Howard.

Though this story follows Jane serving both Anne Boleyn and Katheryn Howard, it focuses more on the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn. Of course, this was a longer stretch of time than that occupying Katheryn’s reign, however I found myself feeling rushed when discussing Katheryn. Jane loves Katheryn, feeling almost motherly to her. However her life is again shattered when she discovers that Katheryn is not as innocent as Jane thought. The one main feature of the Katheryn Howard section is that she sleeps with Anne of Cleves and makes Jane sit in the room as it happens. Yes, Katheryn Howard was a bit of a wild child, but really? Sleeping with Anne of Cleves? Come on! I understand that Purdy wanted to show how wild and sexual Katheryn was, but make her have sex with someone she really did have sex with!

The real Anne of Cleves

Despite this, the story rushes to the quick fall of Katheryn, leaving Jane alone in a prison cell with the ghosts of her past. Here Purdy incorporates some of the contemporary evidence about Jane. Records show that Jane went insane while in the Tower, talking to “ghosts” that no one else could see. Henry had to have a special law passed to execute the insane so he could have her executed. In the story, Jane sees the ghosts of Anne and George in the Tower. They taunt her and follow her. She is terrified of them, knowing that the evidence she gave condemned them to this place. Now they are only waiting for her to join them. You feel Jane’s fear and are drawn into her insanity. It makes the reader wonder if she is really seeing these things or just gone completely mad. The story ends in third person with the execution of Jane, whom contemporary sources say talked to these specters all the way to the scaffold.

Overall I enjoyed this story, and give it three and a half Tudor roses out of five.

It was entertaining, however as I stated before it had a few problems. I did not like Jane. She was extremely desperate and, in my opinion, pretty dumb. Her character is not sympathetic, failing to convince the reader that her actions were justified. The story itself suffers from being written in first person, constantly having Jane hiding to eaves drop to keep the story going. And, in my opinion, the last part of the novel focusing on Katheryn Howard could have been given more time (minus the Anne of Cleves thing…).

Katheryn Howard

However, I think that it is entertaining and worth a read if you are interested in Jane and her life. Though it is a fictional account, Purdy stays pretty close to the main events, spinning a few tails to fill in the gaps and keep the story going. As I stated earlier, I really liked some of the explanations she had for some of the stories surrounding Jane (like her having a son), though they were mostly fictional. The best part of the novel to me was the beginning and the end where Jane is in prison surrounded by the ghosts of her past. Purdy does a good job of showing Jane’s insanity and drawing the reader into it.

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If you want to know more about Brandy Purdy and her novel, check out her website here. She currently has a new novel out with excerpts on her site.

First off, I would like to thank Leanda for the wonderful opportunity to review this book! She sent me a beautiful hardcover copy and I have really enjoyed reading it! I also wanted to thank her for her patience. I have been so busy the last few months finishing up my masters program as well as traveling to England. My reading, reviewing, and blogging time has suffered. I am sorry! But I am done now, so I am free to pursue my true passion, Tudor books! Now for my review:

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The Sisters Who Would be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey by Leanda de Lisle–Book Review

As someone who has a bachelors in history, I have spent a lot of time reviewing non-fiction history books for classes. Despite having to read these non-fiction books for class, I do a lot of non-fiction reading for pleasure. I have made it through Weir’s, Fraser’s and even Starkey’s Six Wives of Henry VIII, as well as numerous other Tudor, French Revolution, and Romanov non-fiction. I usually prefer this non-fiction to fiction. Yes, I’m a nerd. However, The Sisters Who Would be Queen is a book for the nerds like me, but also a book for the majority of those who like fiction. It is written in an easy-to-read style, like most fiction, as well as full of facts for those non-fiction lovers. The subject matter is presented in a way to draw the reader into the world of the characters, much like a novel does.

Lady Jane Grey

There are many things I enjoyed about The Sisters Who Would be Queen. Many Tudor related books tend to start off great, focusing on the topic, then somehow ending up discussing Henry VIII and his wives or Elizabeth and her Golden Age. These are fascinating subjects, but should not be the central topic of every Tudor book. This book briefly discusses Henry VIII’s wives and Elizabeth, however I really liked that de Lisle didn’t dwell on them, rather used them as a familiar timeline to lay the foundations for her real subject matter, the Grey sisters.

The book is divided into four main parts: 1) Educating Jane, 2) Queen and Martyr, 3) Heirs to Elizabeth, and 4) Lost Love. Obviously the first two parts really focus on Jane Grey, her early life and eventual rise to the throne and subsequent swift fall. Throughout the first few chapters, de Lisle discusses Jane, Katherine, and Mary’s births and educations. Already I am intrigued. Yes, Jane Grey is a central figure, however de Lisle makes an effort to bring her sisters, Katherine and Mary, to the front. According to de Lisle, educating women had become quite fashionable while the three sisters were growing up. She goes into a lot of detail about their education, which I found extremely interesting! I won’t dwell on the section about Jane’s reign in this review, as most people are familiar with the story, however I did want to mention de Lisle’s view on Jane’s innocence in the plot to make her queen. According to de Lisle, “The Victorians produced innumerable prints depicting Jane modestly shrinking from the crown…But as Jane was signing herself ‘Jane the Quene’ on a daily basis, she wasn’t shrinking from the crown in any meaningful sense.” She also concludes that Jane really shines as a prisoner and as a victim of the axeman, rather than a queen. This is where she comes “into her own,” as a leader of the Protestant Reformation.

Lady Katherine Grey

Section Three, to me, is where the book really becomes interesting. True, de Lisle did a great job debunking many of the myths surrounding Jane, however I always enjoy learning about those figures who stood in the shadows, like Jane’s sisters. Part Three focuses on Katherine Grey, the middle sister. As the timeline continues, Mary is married to Phillip of Spain, has her “phantom pregnancies,” and eventually dies with Elizabeth succeeding her. Katherine, under Henry VIII’s will, is presumed heir, though Elizabeth snubs her and dissuades her council from considering it. She falls in love Edward “Ned” Seymour, Earl of Hertford and they marry without permission, despite the wrath that ensues from Elizabeth. Katherine and Hertford are imprisoned in the Tower for their marriage and eventually have two sons there. Katherine dies in 1568 of consumption at the age of 27, still “under arrest,” with her marriage annulled and her sons declared illegitimate. Leanda de Lisle gives an amazing recounting of this fascinating woman’s life. She defied her queen to marry the man she loved and spent the rest of her life in prison for it. de Lisle seems to think that Elizabeth feared Katherine as a potential rival. Her legitimacy was never in doubt (like Elizabeth’s) and she was able to produce two sons. Katherine had many, including Hale, promoting her as the rightful heir.

With Katherine’s death, the succession passed to Mary Grey, as does the last part of the book. However, de Lisle explains that because of Mary’s physical appearance she was never seriously considered as a contender for the throne. She was possibly a midget or had some sort of spinal deformity. However, like her sister Katherine, did marry and without the Queen’s permission. She, too, was placed under house arrest until the death of her husband. She never produced any children, which seemed to keep the Queen’s wrath at a low roar. Mary eventually returned to court and served Elizabeth as a maid of honor (a sign of Elizabeth not accepting Mary’s marriage). According to de Lisle, Mary kept her sister Jane’s memory close, owning a copy of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Strong and determined, like her sisters, Mary signed herself as “Mary Grey…Widow.” Though Elizabeth refused to accept her marriage, Mary kept it alive. To confirm de Lisle’s explanation of Elizabeth’s poor treatment of the Grey sisters, she proposes the example that upon Mary Grey’s death in 1578, the next “heir” to the throne, Margaret Clifford, Countess of Derby was arrested for hiring a magician to place spells on the queen. She was never freed from arrest.

Lady Mary Grey

Throughout the book, I really like how de Lisle interjects bits of history not centered on the sisters to keep the timeline on track. She discusses the sisters’ relevancy to these events, like the coronation of Edward VI and the reigns of Mary I and Elizabeth I, but also gives details not related to them, such as how Edward’s coronation was the first to have significant changes made to reveal the break with old Church rule as well as the fates of the children of Katherine Grey in the aftermath of Elizabeth’s death.

In her Epilogue, de Lisle discusses many of the myths surrounding Jane Grey, as well as literature and media related to the three sisters. Obviously Jane has the most, being romanticized in book and portrait. However, Mary has one book written about her, The Tablette Book of Lady Mary Keyes by Flora McDonald. It is a fictional memoir. The Stuarts, like Elizabeth, resented the Grey sisters’ line in the succession, so attempted to keep them out of the light. Despite this, the sisters’ stories are remembered. I think de Lisle sums it up best with her last words on the sisters: “The historical stories of the Grey sisters, stripped of literary debris, remain, meanwhile, as tragic and poignant as any fiction could make them….”

I give this book five out of five roses.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, much as I do novels. I found de Lisle’s writing style easy and fun to read. She included many facts, but with her writing style one did not feel bogged down by them. I also found her debunking of many of the myths surrounding Jane Grey fascinating, as well as hearing the stories of her sisters Katherine and Mary. They are in Jane’s shadow, but I feel that de Lisle did a fantastic job of bringing them to the forefront. That, to me, is the best part of the book.

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Thank you again Leanda! I really loved your book and cannot wait to read your next one!

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According to an e-mail I received from Leanda, she is currently working on “a dynastic history of the Tudors, told as one fluent story” due to be released in 2013. I can’t wait! I will post as more becomes available about it!

This is my first official review for the site, so I am pretty excited!

The Virgin and the Crab by Robert Parry is an intriguing look into the lives of John Dee and the young Elizabeth I during the tumultuous reigns of Edward VI and Mary I.

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Synopsis:

The story follows John Dee and Elizabeth I, but also has side stories involving many important Tudor figures such as Mary I, Lady Jane Grey, Robert Dudley, etc.

The main plot of the story focuses on the relationship between Dee and Elizabeth. Their relationship and, subsequently the story, begins with their first meeting. Dee discovers the young Elizabeth hiding and crying over the death of Henry VIII’s fifth wife, Katheryn Howard. This meeting sparks a friendship that lasts through out both their lives. Throughout the story, which spans from the end of Henry VIII’s reign to the beginning of Elizabeth’s, John Dee and the Brotherhood of the Rose Lodge work tirelessly to protect Elizabeth and ensure her succession to the throne. Over time the members come and go, either dying of natural causes or, more often, meeting the executioner’s axe. The end of the story, however, doesn’t focus on Elizabeth and Dee per say. It is set during the banquet after Elizabeth’s coronation, and though both Dee and Elizabeth are present and meet, this section of the novel is seen from the point of view of a few unimportant courtiers commenting on various people at the banquet, as well as the omnipotent narrator who focuses on the subtle exchanges between Dee and Elizabeth.

The strange title is derived, ingeniously, from the signs of the two main characters: The Virgin (Virgo) for Elizabeth and the Crab (Cancer) for John Dee. Since this story revolves a lot around Dee’s profession of building and reading astrological charts (such as nativities), it makes sense that the title would reflect this. I have never dealt much with astrology, but found it easy (and fun) to follow Dee and Elizabeth as they constructed and read astrological charts. I especially found the nativities (charts made from the setting of the stars and planets on the date/time of the birth of a certain person) fascinating.

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My Opinion:

I don’t want to give away too much about the book, but I must point out these things I absolutely loved about the novel:

I really loved this story for its originality. Yes, it takes a popular time period and well known characters, but Parry is able to put his own spin on it. He uses third person narrative, uncommonly used in most modern fiction. I personally love this narrative as it allows the reader to see multiple points of view rather than just one. Though Parry focuses on John Dee and Elizabeth, he is able to play with other characters, like John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and father-in-law to Jane Grey, Mary I, Edward VI, and other important personalities in the story.

Throughout the story, the safety of Elizabeth is paramount, however we see her little. The story mostly focuses on John Dee and his adventures in her service. There is a strong bond between these two characters, a bond Parry illustrates well through their symbols and communication. For example, in their first meeting they exchange gifts, a promise of a lock of hair from Elizabeth (which Dee eventually receives to his surprise) and a lovely pearl necklace from him which she wears throughout the story. These items bring both characters strength through their tribulations, as they are rarely able to spend time together. The two also communicate in an interesting way. Rather than a letter which could easily be confiscated, Dee sends Elizabeth bunches of flowers which are arranged to spell out a coded secrete message.

Parry also portrays the secondary characters extremely well. Mary I is terrifying, while also completely insecure and stressful. I found myself becoming stressed when reading about her. He also portrays minor characters like Thomas Wyatt the Younger well. During his rebellion, Wyatt is confused and unsure as he rides through London. The reader is experiencing the same thing he is, as the descriptions are confusing, adding to the full affect of the scene.

Parry completely captures Tudor England during this time with his eloquent and visual descriptions. My favorite parts of the novel revolved around the banquet scenes which were alive with description. It was easy to imagine the smells of the food, the noise of the music and courtiers, and the visually appealing tapestries and costumes with his descriptions.

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Negative:

It does take some brain power to read this because of the constantly changing characters that happens with third person narrative. However, I don’t consider this a negative, really. I think it is the sign of a really good novel, as it takes something out of you to read. This keeps my interest and keeps my mind from wandering and losing focus on the book.

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Rating:

I give this book 5 out of 5 roses. It was above and beyond what I thought it was going to be. It is a MUST READ for those who enjoy Tudor history, or just a good book! Robert Parry is an excellent author. I cannot wait for his next work to come out.

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Please refer to my previous post about this book where the author, Robert Parry, discusses the book and his inspiration for writing it.

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Also, here’s the amazon link for more info. and ordering information.

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If you have read this book, please feel free to comment about it! I would love to discuss it further!

I mentioned this over at the News Board, but wanted to make sure to mention it here as well: The National Gallery in London is holding an amazing exhibit focused on Jane Grey in artwork. To read more about the Jane Grey Exhibit, go here. Also, here’s the link to the exhibit page on the National Portrait Gallery’s site.

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I have found a nice summery of the historical mystery Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, in which an investigators looks into the murder of The Princes in the Tower. Here’s the link.

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Lady Gwyn has written a review for Kate Emerson’s latest novel in her series Secrets of the Tudor Court: Between Two Queens. She seems to have enjoyed the first book in the series, but not so much this one. Lady Gwyn explains that “The main character, Anne Bassett, annoyed me throughout with her constant assessment of the men around her as marriage material: are they wealthy? do they have land? do they have a title? I understand that women of a certain social rank during this period did look for that in a man but she was so arrogant about it that it really made me dislike her.” Here’s the link to the full review. Warning! It contains spoilers!

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Here’s the link to a nice post about Antonia Fraser and her book The Six Wives of Henry VIII. I personally adore this book (and any other books written by her!). The post features a brief view of the book, as well as some information on other non-fictions books by Fraser.

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Brandy Purdy’s novel Vengeance is Mine has been reviewed over at the At Home With and Good Book and the Cat Blog. The reviewer didn’t give it a very good review, only earning 2/5 stars. The reviewer says that “If you’re looking for a very fictional take on Anne and Henry and don’t care about historical accuracy this might suit as a quick and easy read, but on the other hand this book isn’t going to provide you with anything new on the matter either.” Here’s the link to the full review.

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I have decided to create and continually update my Tudor Library. This section of the site will have the books I currently own and have recently bought as well as links to my (at the moment future) reviews about them!

I am going to be working on this section over the next couple of days, but I will go ahead and tell you about the ones I just bought! Also, if you have a book library of your own online somewhere, especially if it has a lot of Tudor books, let me know here and I will set up a link for it so others can view your collection!

1) The Secrets of the Tudor Court: The Pleasure Palace by Kate Emerson

I have been reading about this one for a while on other blogs and on amazon and have really wanted to read it! So I have finally bought it and can’t wait for it to arrive! Here’s the amazon link if you want to check it out.

*Side note, did anyone notice that the dress on the book cover is Anne Boleyn’s from the Tudors and it is also on the second “Secrets of the…” book’s cover as well, only re-colored? Perhaps I watch too much tv…

2) I bought Alison Weir’s The Lady Elizabeth

I was posting about this novel earlier today and have really really wanted to read it! I really like Weir’s non-fiction works so am really interested to check out her fiction. Here’s the amazon link to this one as well!

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3) And finally, I bought The Virgin’s Daughters by Jeane Westin

This novel follows Katherine Dudley and Mary Rogers, both ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I, one in her younger and one in older days. I have also read a lot of good things about it, so am excited about it as well. Here’s its amazon link.

Now I just have to figure out which one to read first!!!