Part of Anne Boleyn’s mystery is that we have so little evidence directly relating to Anne from which we can draw conclusions about what she was like as a person. Even though she became Queen of England what we don’t know about Anne Boleyn could fill volumes compared to the surprisingly little we do know.… Read More Anne Boleyn’s Love Letters
The Mistresses of Henry VIII (2009) The Mistresses of Henry VIII attests that while the lives and personalities of Henry VIII and his six wives are well documented, Henry was involved in numerous affairs with women who have been largely forgotten by history. Hart’s book claims to ‘rescue’ these women from ‘obscurity’ relating the tales… Read More The Mistresses of Henry VIII – Kelly Hart
The position of royal mistress, even a recognised maîtresse en titre was fraught with difficulties. The lucky, or perhaps more aptly, unlucky woman would have to work tirelessly to maintain the king’s interest. She would have to dispose of rivals without reducing herself to nagging the king or displeasing him in any way lest she… Read More The Mistresses who would be Queen
The Encyclopedia of Mistresses: An Under-the-Covers Look at the “Other Women” of History’s Most Influential Men. (2001) In an ambitious project, Dawn B. Sova put together The Encyclopedia of Mistresses in 1993, which as you might expect is a collection of encyclopaedic-esque entries for women who have gone down in history as ‘the other woman,’… Read More The Encyclopedia of Mistresses – Dawn B. Sova
‘The Merry Monarch’ was very merry indeed. Known for his love of partying and women Charles II brought fun back to England in a big, big way. Even before his return to England however, Charles was having fun in his own way, mostly with women. He acknowledged over a dozen illegitimate children with several mistresses,… Read More The Courtesans of Charles II
March is National Women’s History Month here in the UK and in America. The theme for 2014 is “Celebrating Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment.” To that end for the month of March we will be dedicated to all things mistress related, looking at the women in history who played a major role behind the… Read More National Women’s History Month
Right, normal blogging resuming in 5,4,3,2… My most recent article The History of: The Young Victoria touches on the role of Prince Albert in modernising the monarchy with the advent of new inventions. This theme continues in The King’s Speech (2010) showing the monarchy having to adapt to the popularity of radio and the rising… Read More The History of: The King’s Speech
The Young Victoria (2009) as the title might suggest, documents the early life and reign of Queen Victoria. The film is extremely accurate, not just in its portrayal of historical events but also in matters of dialogue and expression. Filming took place at various English landmarks in order to support the accuracy and authenticity. This… Read More The History of: The Young Victoria
Happy New Year all! This month is history on film month, because I have decreed it, and what better way to start than looking at the most filmed British monarch; Elizabeth I. Here is a selection of the more modern filmic depictions of Gloriana (and one early one) and whether they are worth a watch.
Reign, a period drama created for The CW, is two episodes in and is gaining a fair amount of mixed reviews. There are those who are quite happy to ignore the history behind the piece and enjoy the drama and entertainment value, while many are criticising the absurd acting and arguing that it is simply… Read More Reign: The “Story” of Mary, Queen of Scots
History in the (Re)Making 