Tudor Book Blog

Sorry Posts have been slow lately, I have been supper busy this week helping all my friends with their Halloween Costumes! I will try to catch up on posts tomorrow, because I have a lot of good stuff waiting!

But here is a special treat for Halloween!

Because Halloween is this week (yay! costumes and candy!) I have decided to highlight books focusing on Spooky Tudor Stories.

The Tower of London:

There are many many ghost stories related to the Tower of London (ha…can’t imagine why!). Many of these originate from Tudor times. Ghosts of the Tower of London by G. Abbott attempts to bring all of these spooky stories together and explain where they have come from. I have read and enjoyed this book (well…as much as one can enjoy a book telling stories of murder, torture, and ghosts!)

Here’s the amazon link.

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Gather.com has posted an article titled Witches: A Legislative History in Tudor England. Here’s what it says:

Publishers Weekly has posted a short review for Alison Weir’s new book The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn. Here is what they say:

The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn Alison Weir. Ballantine, $28 (464p) ISBN 978-0-345-45321-1

“Rejecting as myth that Henry VIII, desirous of a son and a new queen, asked his principal adviser Thomas Cromwell to find criminal grounds for executing Anne Boleyn, the prolific British historian Weir (The Six Wives of Henry VIII) concludes that Cromwell himself, seeing Anne as a political rival, instigated “one of the most astonishing and brutal coups in English history,” skillfully framing her and destroying her faction. Ably weighing the reliability of contemporary sources and theories of other historians, Weir also claims that though perhaps sexually experienced, Anne was technically a virgin before sleeping with Henry. Anne was also, Weir posits, a passionate radical evangelical, with considerable influence over Henry regarding Church reform. Weir wonders if Anne’s childbearing history points to her being Rh negative and thus incapable of bearing a second living child. Dissecting four of the most momentous months in world history and providing an eminently judicious, thorough and absorbing popular history, Weir nimbly sifts through a mountain of historical research, allowing readers to come to their own conclusions about Henry’s doomed second queen. 15 pages of color photos.”

Here’s the link to the page where there are several more reviews for other (non-Tudor) books in case you want to check them out!

Here is a novel I heard about a while back. I recently ran across it again, so i thought I would share! The book is told from Anne’s point of view…the only catch is that she is already dead and now reincarnated in 1970! Henry is also there and the two have no idea who the other is or what happened between them. Anne has a compulsion to punish him and he can’t keep from falling in love with her. It is a big mess! However, Anne soon figures out the purpose of their reincarnations…for Anne to have a chance to forgive him. Ha, we shall see how that goes!

It is written by Nell Gavin and was published in 2002. For more on the book and author, here is a link to the author’s site and page about the book
including a “Behind the story” page where the author explains her thoughts and reasons for writing the book.

Here’s the amazon link for more info!

Liane Hansen talks with author Hilary Mantel, this year’s winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Follow this link to listen!

Revelation is the fourth book in C.J, Sansom’s series set in Tudor England and follows lawyer Matthew Shardlake. According to the reviewer, “the novel opens with the brutal murder of an old friend, whose death seems both random and ritualistic…It soon seems that the death is more than just a personal tragedy; it may be part of a series of violent deaths which Archbishop Cranmer is keen to keep quiet in case they hinder a prudent marriage between King Henry and the reformist Lady Catherine Parr. As Shardlake has promised his dead friend’s widow that he would find his killer, he has no option but to become involved once more with the complicated and dangerous world of medieval politics.”

Sounds interesting!

Here’s the link.

The Boleyn Wife by Brandy Purdy is told from the point of view of Jane Parker, wife of George Boleyn. She tells of her marriage, the fall of Anne Boleyn, and the eventual rise and fall of Katheryn Howard.

That’s All She Read Blog has posted a review of the book as well as offer a giveaway of an autographed copy!

Here’s the link to the blog for the review and your chance to win!

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

The Printed Page Blog has posted a new novel from the Elizabeth Mystery series called The Queen’s Governess by Karen Harper. The story follow Kat Ashley, Elizabeth’s confidant and eventual “mother figure.” According to the synopsis, The Queen’s Governess is s ”fresh and intriguing historical novel told in the voice of Queen Elizabeth I’s governess. Katherine Ashley, the daughter of a poor country squire, happily secures an education and a place for herself in a noble household. But when Thomas Cromwell, a henchman for King Henry VIII, brings her to the royal court as a spy, Kat enters into a thrilling new world of the Tudor monarchs.

Freed from a life of espionage by Cromwell’s downfall, Kat eventually befriends Anne Boleyn. As a dying favor to the doomed queen, Kat becomes governess and surrogate-mother to the young Elizabeth Tudor. Together they suffer bitter exile, assassination attempts, and imprisonment, barely escaping with their lives. But they do, and when Elizabeth is crowned, Kat continues to serve her, faithfully guarding all the queen’s secrets (including Elizabeth’s affair with the dashing Robert Dudley) . . . and ultimately emerging as the lifelong confidante and true mother-figure to Queen Elizabeth.”

Looks interesting. The reviewer says that she has read this series and they “are fun, light-hearted mysteries.”

Here’s the link.

This new book by Eric Ives has been released this past week! Yay! The Lady Jane Grey Reference Blog has posted two new reviews for it:

The first is from BBC History Magazine. It discusses more about the events leading up to Jane’s succession than the actual book itself. However it is a nice overview of the events.

The second review is from The Spectator. Reading the second review it makes sense why the first focused so much on the events leading up to Jane’s reign…that is what Ives focuses on in the book! Rather than focusing on JAne personally, he focuses on the events, both leading up to her reign, her actual reign, and her fall. It states that Ives concludes that King “Edward was motivated, Ives believes, not by a fear that the Catholic Mary would undo his Protestant religious settlement, but because he thought his sisters were illegitimate. Not only had Henry VIII’s marriages to their respective mothers been invalidated, but in 1536 an act of Parliament had declared Elizabeth and Mary to be bastards. Although their father had re- instated his daughters in the succession eight years later, he had never seen fit to legitimise them. Ives argues that Edward was fully entitled to set aside his father’s will, not least because the arrangements he put in place accorded better with common law than Henry’s provisions. This being so, Jane Grey was Edward’s rightful heir rather than a usurper, and in asserting her own claim it was Mary who was guilty of rebellion.”

Very interesting! This is a new approach I am very interested in reading more about!

I ran across this 1980’s novel on Catherine Parr the other day and decided to post about it. I had not heard of it before, but thought it would be interesting to look into as there are good reviews for it. I am interested to read more fiction on the “lesser known” wives and this looks like a good one!

Here’s the amazon link. There are some customer reviews that reveal more info. on it.

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Next is a titled The Dark Rose and is part of The Morland Dynasty series which I hadn’t heard of before. It was published in 2001. The first book in the series is set in the 1430’s, so predates this blog a bit. However, The Dark Rose begins in 1509 with the death of Henry VII. The novel follows the great grandchildren of the characters in the fist book. One of these members is Anne who ends up living with the Parr family. She becomes friends with the young Catherine Parr. According to the review linked below, “The Dark Rose sees the entire reign of Henry VIII, and all that it encompassed: war, famine, pestilence, the break with Rome, and the rise of Protestantism.”

Here’s the review link and here’s the amazon link.

Here is a new interview with Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall and winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Mantel explains what drew her to Cromwell as a subject, how she balances historical accuracy with artistic license, and much more!

Here’s the link.

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Suzannah Lipscomb, author of 1536: The Year that Changed Henry VIII, is speaking at Washington and Lee University Nov. 3. She will be talking about the events that changed Henry VIII. Did you know she also works as a research curator at Hampton Court Palace (sigh, my dream job!)

Here’s the link. I don’t know if there will be a podcast/video of it, but I hope so! If anyone goes and wants to write about it, please let me know and I will share!!!

I recently posted about several interview with author Diane Haeger at the Scandalous Women Blog and the Devourer of Books Blog. Now the Burton Review has another interview with author Diane Haeger as well as giving away a copy of her latest book The Queen’s Mistake, following the life of Queen Katheryn Howard!

The interview delves into Haeger’s views on Katheryn’s feelings for Henry, Lady Rochford’s motives in helping two young lovers, and future works among many other things! It’s a great interview!

Here’s the link.

Daphne at Tanzanite’s Shelf and Stuff has pointed out that The Perkin Warbeck Conspiracy has been released this week in the UK.

This book focuses on “Perkin Warbeck, pretender to the English throne, claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York & Norfolk, the younger of the two sons of Edward IV imprisoned in the Tower of London by Richard III, and whose true fate is unknown to this day. He led two attempts to claim the crown, but was captured by Henry VII and hanged at Tyburn. This book looks at who Warbeck really was, how he was used by those in power in Burgundy, France, Italy, Scotland and Ireland, and the progress of the conspiracy itself…[and] reveals how close the conspirators came to bringing about a fundamental change in European politics.”

This is a very interesting time in Tudor history that I know little about besides the basic facts. I am interested to read this book and see what news ideas the author offers. Looks like it will be a really good read!

Here’s the amazon link.

I normally post reviews that are serious, presenting the good and bad of a particular book. I can’t resist here. I ran across this hilarious review of a book I had not heard of, but will be sure to quickly forget! A Reader’s Respite Blog has posted a scathing review for Heir Apparent, a novel set in the past and future. Apparently two future museum workers go back in time to secure a blood heir for the 21st century Tudor throne. Whilst in Tudor England, the two museum workers get hit on by Henry VIII and attacked by the evil Anne Boleyn. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not against time travel/sci-fi/historical fiction novel combinations. This review (and from the sound of it the book as well) is just hilarious.

Here’s the link. Thanks Michele for the good laugh!

…Oh, and she is giving the book away on her site

For those of you who don’t read the Tudor News Board:

Well, I finally got around to fixing a small error on my Hampton Court Photo Tour that reader Alec was so kind to point out! Thanks again!

I am still working on adding an entire primary source section (complete with pictures of documents when possible). I will update as I add more stuff. It’s taking forever because there is so much good stuff out there!

I am also still looking for Tudor author official site/fan sites to add the the Tudor Authors Page. If you know of an author site not listed here or have a fan site you would like listed, you can contact me here and I will be happy to add it! Or, if you have a Tudor link in general, let me know and I will add it also!

Not that this really pertains to the site but I am almost done with my Anne Boleyn costume! Yay! I will post pictures on the Costume Section of the site as well as the Tudor Costume Blog when I’m done (and can find the darn cord to my camera!).

Hum…I’m trying to think if there is anything else…well if I remember I will post again! Happy reading!!!

When I was searching around online for new Tudor books, I ran across a series I hadn’t hear of before called “My Story.” It seems similar to the Royal Diaries Series (of which I am a huge fan! ). In the series there are several Tudor books:

The Bloody Tower

The Bloody Tower is the diary of a young girl named Tilly who lives at the Tower of London with her father, who is the Tower physician. She witnesses some famous Tudor events, such as the arrest and execution of Lady Jane Grey and the imprisonment of Princess Elizabeth. The book also gives insight into daily Tudor life, as Tilly describes her daily life.

To Kill a Queen

To Kill a Queen is another of the My Story series which focuses on Tilly’s daughter Kitty, whose brother becomes entangled with conspirators who wish to put Mary Queen of Scots on the throne. The book is Kitty’s diary where she describes her fears and what she finds out about her brother and his friend’s plot against Elizabeth I.

My Tudor Queen

My Tudor Queen follows the story of Eva De Puebla, lady-in-waiting to Princess Catalina of Aragon (later Katherine of Aragon). She follows her mistress through her marriage to Prince Arthur, his death, and life under Henry VII.

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The Royal Diary Series is another great “diary” type series with each book focusing on the younger lives of their subjects.

Here are some of the Tudor-related Diaries:

Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor

This diary focuses on young Elizabeth Tudor in the last few years of her father, King Henry VIII’s reign, and his marriage to Catherine Parr. Elizabeth and childhood friend Robery Dudley get into many adventures, such as hunting for the ghost of Katheryn Howard and keeping Catherine Parr from getting arrested.

Side note: There is also a great tv-movie inspired by this book!

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Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553

This book follows the young life of Mary Queen of Scots when she lived at the Royal French Court. She introduces the reader to characters such as Catherine de Medici, Diane de Poitier, the four Mary’s, and even Nostradamus.

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Isabel: Jewel of Castilla

This diary follows the early life of Isabel, future Queen of Castilla who married Ferdinand and mothered Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII and mother of Mary I. The book focuses on Isabel’s marriage prospects and the civil war between her two brothers over the crown of Castille.

Side note: There is also a tv-movie version of this book, but in my opinion it’s not as good as the Elizabeth one.

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There are many more Tudor books for kids, but above are some of my favorites and definitely worth checking out. Remember, these aren’t just for kids! I’m 22, and still love them!!!

In the last post a wrote about some new/future non-fiction releases. Here are a few new/future fictional releases:

1) Killer of Men (Elizabethan Trilogy):

According to the publisher, “after the defeat of a local warlord during Queen Elizabeth’s bloody campaigns in Ireland, a young Irish boy is taken as a slave and brought up in the household of the Earl of Leicester at Kenilworth. A fine-featured and biddable lad, the young horseboy is popular in the stables and kitchens, but when one of the household’s professional tournament fighters is killed in an accident in the tiltyard as an important pageant is approaching, Irish John gets the chance to become more than just a servant. As the only one who fits Black Richard’s outsize armour and with his uncanny skill with even the most unruly of the heavy chargers, John learns to tilt, to fight at the barriers, to wield all the weapons of chivalry in front of a crowd - and to lose with style. Until the day one of his opponents takes one too many liberties with the scullery maid John is sweet on, and suddenly he has a real fight, with life and death in the balance, on his hands. Once bloodied, he begins an epic journey following Leicester on his military campaigns in Ireland, Scotland, Flanders and France — a true pageant of blood, horror and heroism that will see the chivalric ideals of Le Morte D’Arthur tested against the brutal realities of Elizabeth’s imperial ambitions.”

I haven’t read much about The Elizabethan Trilogy, written by Christian Cameron, but I like that it doesn’t really focus on the royal court but gets into the lives of common people. I think this is the first in the Trilogy. I’m having trouble finding more about it. I will post as more become available.

Here’s the amazon link from more info. on Cameron’s novel.

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2) Lady Jane Grey: Queen for Sale

This new novel is by Caroline Corby and is part of the ”Before They Were Famous” series, telling the story of the young Lady Jane Grey. Here’s the amazon link for more info. It will be released in July 2010.

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3) Henry VIII Has to Choose

This looks like a fun one! It is written by Julia Jarman and won’t be released until March 2010. According to the publisher, “Henry VIII is looking for another wife. So he sends his painter, Hans Holbein, to paint him portraits of all the best-looking princesses. Who will he choose, and will she look like her portrait?”

Here’s the link.

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4) Anne Boleyn and Me (My Royal Story)

This is probably geared toward a younger audience, but still looks pretty good! It is written by Alison Prince and according to one review, the story follows Elinor Valjean who is the daughter of a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of England. The story is told from her diary, which begins in 1525. She describes her daily life living among royalty, and how she eventually becomes a lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn. “But as Elinor’s life becomes happy, as she grows up, falls in love, marries, and has children, Anne’s only becomes worse, as she ends up disappointing Henry by failing to provide a living son.” Here’s the link.

The Cradle King: A Life of James VI and I

I thought I had already posted about this one, but I can’t seem to find it on the blog. This new biography is by Alan Stewart (hum, wonder if there is a connection ), and follows the life of James VI and I, who was born into a “‘bloody nest.’” The publisher says that “Even before his birth, his life was threatened: it was rumoured that his father, Henry, had tried to make the pregnant Mary miscarry by forcing her to witness the assassination of her supposed lover, David Riccio. By the time James was one year old, Henry was murdered, possibly with the connivance of Mary; Mary was in exile in England; and James was King of Scotland. By the age of five, he had experienced three different regents as the ancient dynasties of Scotland battled for power and made him a virtual prisoner in Stirling Castle. In fact, James did not set foot outside the confines of Stirling until he was eleven, when he took control of his country. But even with power in his hands, he would never feel safe. For the rest of his life, he would be caught up in bitter struggles between the warring political and religious factions who sought control over his mind and body. Yet James believed passionately in the divine right of kings, as many of his writings testify. He became a seasoned political operator, carefully avoiding controversy, even when his mother Mary was sent to the executioner by Elizabeth I. His caution and politicking won him the English throne on Elizabeth’s death in 1603 and he rapidly set about trying to achieve his most ardent ambition: the Union of the two kingdoms.”

Alan Stewart’s work uses primary sources to show the reality of James’ life as well as “uncovers the extent to which Charles I’s downfall was caused by the cracks that appeared in the monarchy during his father’s reign.”

Here’s the link.

Here are a few future releases that don’t have much information at present. I will update as info. becomes available, so keep your eye out!

1) Renaissance and Reform in Tudor England: The Careers of Sir Richard Morison

Known as “Henry VIII’s most prolific propagandist,” this new biography will follow the life of an “accomplished scholar, politician, theologian and diplomat who was linked to the leading political and religious figures of his day.” It is due to be released in April 2010.

Here’s the amazon link.

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2) The Reformation of the English Parish Church

Here is one that is of particular interest to me as I wrote a term paper on this very topic last semester!

This book is written by Robert Whiting. The publisher says, “This is the first ever full-scale investigation of the dramatic changes experienced by the English parish church during the English Reformation. By drawing on a wealth of documentary evidence, including court records, wills and church wardens’ accounts, and by examining the material remains themselves such as screens, fonts, paintings, monuments, windows and other artefacts found in churches today, Robert Whiting reveals how, why and by whom these ancient buildings were transformed. He explores the reasons why Catholics revered the artefacts found in churches as well as why these objects became the subject of Protestant suspicion and hatred in subsequent years. This richly illustrated account sheds new light on the acts of destruction as well as the acts of creation that accompanied religious change over the course of the ‘long’ Reformation.”

Here’s the amazon link. It is due to be released In March 2010.

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3) Life in Tudor Palaces and Houses

At this point I’m not even sure who is writing this one! But I am a sucker for architecture so I will be sure to pick this one up! It’s being released in March 2010 so I’m sure there will be more info. on it soon! Here’s the link.

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4) The Seventh Wife

This one is by Kelly Hart, author of The Mistresses of Henry VIII, one I am currently reading. Again, there is really nothing known about this book, including who it is about! Possibly a mistress of Henry VIII??? I have no idea!

Here’s the link. They better get some information up soon as this book is due to be released in Jan. 2010!

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5) Wales After 1536-A Guide

Here’s a topic that doesn’t get much attention, especially by Tudor historians (though technically the Tudors were originally from Wales). I am thinking this is an updated version/paper back release of this book as it was originally released in 1995. It is written by Donald Gregory.

Here’s the amazon link to the updated version.

And here is the link to the older version (from 1995).

Road Travel and Communication in Tudor and Stuart England is written by Mark Brayshay and will be released in April 2011. The title seems pretty self explanatory, and should offer an interesting new look at Tudor and Stuart England. I know that obviously writing letters was the main way of communication…but what about the majority of people who couldn’t write? Hum…we shall see!

Here’s the amazon link. Right now it is only showing up on Amazon UK. Hopefully it will be released in the US not long after!