Tudor Book Blog

As part of York’s Big City Read, Michael Hirst, writer and creator of “The Tudors,” will be holding a, hour long talk at Explore Acomb Library Learning Centre at 7pm on August 21 entitled, “Henry VIII: When The Fat Man Sings.” According to Alison Morgan, reading development librarian at York Central Library, “We thought that his take on the Tudors would be different than some of the other authors and historians who are featuring in our Tudors history programme.” Hirst will also be holding several screen writing workshops while there.

Here is the link to the full article with ticket details.

Here is a good and honest review on the new biography of Anne Boleyn’s sister Mary Boleyn. The author of the review explains that the book was good, but unfortunately the author didn’t have much information to go on as Mary was a pretty illusive character in history. The reviewer tells some of the good things about the book though, such as pictures of the two surviving letters written by Mary and a picture of William Carey, Mary’s first husband. I want the book just to see these two things!

Here’s the link to the review.

Today is just a day for reviews! I have found another review, this time on Alison Weir’s The Six Wives of Henry VIII. The reviewer is very complementary of the book saying, “I was so impressed by the attention to detail, it gives you such a great understanding of Henry VIII and the Tudor court and of course his six wives.”

Here is the link for the full review, which is pretty long and goes into some detail.

Here’s the amazon link for more info. on the book.

I own this book and have enjoyed reading it. Weir does go into a lot of detail and is easy to read. However, this is not my favorite “Six Wives” book (It’s a tie between Antonia Fraser and David Starkey), but Weir’s is still very good!

Here’s another review, this time on an older historical fiction novel by Carolyn Meyer titled Doomed Queen Anne. The reviewer gives a plot summary and a critique. The reviewer concludes that “Even if you think you know all there is to know about the Boleyn family, this book is still worth the read. It doesn’t offer any incredibly new insight, but it does allow you to see inside Anne’s scheming thoughts.” 

Here is a special note for teachers or book clubs! The reviewer also offers questions for discussion.

Here’s the link to the full review.

Publishers Weekly online has published a short review of the new book Thomas Cromwell: The Rise and Fall of Henry VIII’s Most Notorious Minister by Robert Hutchinson. It is set to come out in Sept. of this year.

Here’s what they say:

“Rising to power with Anne Boleyn’s decapitation and losing his own head over the Anne of Cleves debacle, Thomas Cromwell (1485–1540) was Henry VIII’s loyal hatchet man—dissolving Catholic monasteries, breaking with the pope and finding ever more loopholes to justify Henry’s marital and financial whims. Hutchinson (The Last Days of Henry VIII) effortlessly explains the business side of the Tudor court in which Cromwell’s legal mind excelled while giving a one-sided portrait of controversial Anne Boleyn. Of the five royal wives Cromwell knew, the “pockmarked and sadly malodorous” Anne of Cleves receives most of Hutchinson’s meager sympathy. In spite of considerable research, the focus on Cromwell’s professional life means that the man from humble beginnings still eludes readers as anything more than a petty and “rapacious loan shark.” Unlike contemporaries More and Cranmer, Cromwell seems uninterested in religion, friends or family. But those more interested in the nuts and bolts of Henry’s court rather than the monarch’s soap opera antics will find this a welcome respite from fictionalized Tudor drama. 8 pages illus., 8 pages of color photos. (Sept.)”

Here’s the link to the Publishers Weekly review page.

And here’s the amazon link for the book for more info.

I have always enjoyed Antonia Fraser’s biographies, and now she is writing one on Elizabeth I! There isn’t a lot out yet about this new book, but amazon has its release date as Sept. 2010. I will post as more info. becomes available!

Here’s the amazon link.

For those who do not read my Tudor News Blog, I have updated the Tudor Events/Timeline Page with an extensive timeline on Henry VIII. I intend on going into even more detail later, but that will have to be put on hold as I have a ton of other website projects I want to do!

Here’s the link.

The next big thing I hope to add are links to primary documents about many of the events on the timeline. I will post when I am able to add more!

Most people either do not know or forget that Henry VIII was a “spare” or second son. He was not intended for the throne of England. But the premature death of his brother, Arthur Prince of Wales, cast him in the spot light and, well, the rest is history. 

Not a lot is know about Prince Arthur. Most of what people hear about him is related to Katherine of Aragon on their wedding night (did they consummate? Did they not?) as it was a key point in her later divorce trial from Henry VIII. 

But, that is about to change! There is a new biography coming out on Prince Arthur that will hopefully reveal more about him as a person, not just his marriage and death. 

Arthur, Prince of Wales is a collection of essays published by Boydell & Brewer Publishing. These essays, written “by historians, art historians and archaeologists, investigate Arthur’s life and posthumous commemoration from every angle. They set him in the context of the fledgling Tudor regime and of the religion, art and architecture of late medieval death and memory. They close with an exploration of the re-enactment of Arthur’s funeral at Worcester in 2002, an event that sought to rescue the prince from the oblivion that has been his lot for five hundred years.”

Here is the link to the Publisher’s site for more information.

Here is the amazon link. It says the book should be released in September.

Arthur, Prince of Wales

I was searching around on You Tube today and found that Historic Royal Palaces has posted a very interesting “debate” between David Starkey (his latest release is Henry VIII: Virtuous Prince) and Hillary Mantel (her latest is a novel on Cromwell titled Wolf Hall). The two are discussing Henry VIII and how they see him. It is interesting to get two sides, one from a biographer and one from a novelist!

Here is the link.

The Guardian has published a new double book review about the new biographies on Mary I. The author compares Anna Whitelock’s “Mary Tudor: England’s First Queen” and Eamon Duffy’s “Fires of Faith: Catholic England Under Mary Tudor.” It is an interesting read, as both authors offer very different views on Mary. 

Here’s the link.

I have added a new page with links to author official sites and fan/publisher sites. You can get to it here or look under “Blogroll” on the right column and click “Author Sites.” If you have an author fan site or Tudor book site, contact me here and I will add you to the links!

The Anne Boleyn Files, a website devoted to debunking the myths of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife, has interviewed author Alisa Libby. Libby has written a new novel on Henry’s fifth wife and first cousin to Anne Boleyn, Katheryn Howard, called “The King’s Rose.” Howard shared a similar fate to Anne’s on the scaffold. 

In the interview, Libby debunks or explains many of the myths of Katheryn Howard (such as her stupidity and looseness).

Here’s the link to the interview.

Here is another link to the Anne Boleyn File’s review of “The King’s Rose.”

I know I have posted at least one other review about this new novel, but I felt that this one (linked below) is good to get a well balanced perspective on the book. The author of the review decided she did not like the book for several reasons (listed in the review). I want to provide as much perspective on different books as I can, so I am including both good and bad reviews.

Here is the link to the review. 

I have not read this book (it is on my looooooooooooooong list of must reads) so I cannot offer any perspective on it yet. Once I am finally able to finish some of the 1000000 books I have started, I can offers some reviews. If you would like to review this book or any other Tudor related book, please contact me here!

Sorry it has been quiet here lately, I haven’t run across any news! But, we are still live blogging Alison Weir’s Henry VIII: King and Court over at the Live Book Blog. Feel free to join in the discussions! 

I have a hectic week ahead with it being the last week of my summer semester at my university. But I promise to update the blog as soon as any news comes my way!

I don’t know how I missed posting this, but Philippa Gregory has a new novel coming out. Her new novel, “The White Queen,” is about Elizabeth Woodville, an important figure in the Wars of the Roses. She married Edward IV secretly, and was mother to Elizabeth of York (Henry VII’s wife) and the Prince’s in the Tower, as well as grandmother of Henry VIII.

According to the publisher, this novel is the first in a new series called “The Cousins War,”  set during the Wars of the Roses. Philippa Gregory “brings this family drama to colourful life through its women, beginning with the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen.” She tells the story “of a common woman who ascends to royalty by virtue of her beauty, a woman who rises to the demands of her position and fights tenaciously for the success of her family, a woman whose two sons become the central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the Princes in the Tower whose fate remains unknown to this day.”

Here is the amazon uk link. The book is being released in the UK in August. 

The Maiden’s Court blog has posted an interview with Robin Maxwell, author of “The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn,” “The Bastard Queen,” “Signora Di Vinci,” and more! It is interesting to hear some of her back story (she has a degree in Occupational Therapy) and how she ended up writing fiction, most focusing on the Tudor period. 

Here is the link to the blog interview.

Here is a new novel on Elizabeth of York, mother of Henry VIII. Elizabeth grew up in the tumoltuous time of the Wars of the Roses, and won its victor Henry Tudor. Together they began the Tudor dynasty. According to the publisher, “thrust into the intrigue and drama of the War of the Roses, Elizabeth has a country within her grasp—if she can find the strength to unite a kingdom torn apart by a thirst for power. A richly drawn tale of the woman who launched one of the most dramatic dynasties England has ever seen, The Tudor Rose is a vibrant, imaginative look at the power of a queen.”

It will be released Oct. 1.

Here’s the link.

Here is another Tudor novel by Carolly Erickson about Mary, Queen of Scots. Written as a memoir, Erickson provides a sympathetic look at the doomed queen from her early life growing up in France, to her death. It will be released Sept. 1.

Here’s the amazon link.

Here is an interesting new novel: “The Virgin’s Daughters” by Jeane Westin follows the story of Elizabeth through the eyes of two of her ladies-in-waiting, Katherine Grey (sister of Jane Grey) and Mary Rogers. Both are forced to battle against a court filled with love, sex, and betrayal while trying to maintain the love of their queen as well as protect her, and themselves, from the two men in her life (Dudley and Essex). 

Here is the amazon link for more info.

Here is a new novel on Henry VIII’s fifth wife, Katheryn Howard who was eventually beheaded for adultery. The novel is titled “The Queen’s Mistake: In the Court of Henry VIII” by Diane Haeger, recent author of “The Secret Bride.” According to the publisher, “wanting only love, Catherine is compelled to deny her heart’s desire in favor of her family’s ambition. But in so doing, she unwittingly gives those who sought to bring her down a most effective weapon—her own romantic past.” It sounds like it is going to be very sympathetic to Katheryn who has gotten a pretty bad reputation in history.

Here’s the amazon link for more info.