History, Historical Fiction and everything in between
While we know her as the 'Nine Day Queen', Lady Jane Grey would probably have passed into history as an irrelevant, albeit intelligent, Tudor cousin had it not been for the ambitious machinations of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. Having schemed his way to the position of Lord Protector during the reign of young Edward… Continue reading The Nine Days of the Nine Day Queen
Conspiracy theories are a way of life, they're everywhere. Chances are you could find a conspiracy theory about anything and the Tudors are no exception. Forget wondering whether Elizabeth and Leicester were an item, here we see how not only were they an item, but parents to, amongst others, Shakespeare himself. These are not the… Continue reading Was Elizabeth I a man and other theories…
I love The Tudors, I probably shouldn’t, but I really do. The history is so ridiculous and mashed together and I wonder why at various times they make up stuff when the actual history is far more interesting and dramatic, but the acting is good and the costumes are stunning. It would take far, far… Continue reading The Tudors, Artistic Licence and Outright Fictions
It's almost Halloween! Therefore break out the ghost stories! Yay! Given that Henry VIII and his six wives are still immensely popular centuries after their deaths, it is hardly surprising that people still claim to have seen them, haunting various palaces and castles. Ghosts are thought to remain in places of importance, especially if a… Continue reading Henry VIII and his Six Ghosts
A rather late review considering I read and finished the book within twenty-four hours of its release. I wish that I could say that was because it was such a compelling read. Unfortunately I just wanted to get it out of the way. The Cousin's War started as one of the more entertaining series I… Continue reading The White Princess
Recently I watched The Last Days of Anne Boleyn, part of the BBC Tudor season. It is a documentary but also a debate between historians and authors of historical fiction, trying to piece together what happened to cause Anne Boleyn's downfall and the events of her last days. While looking at the hows, whys and… Continue reading Sidelining Jane Seymour
Pssst, I’m going to let you in on a secret. Anne Boleyn was Queen of England for three years! We know, you cry! But think about it, how much of our fiction shows Anne Boleyn as a queen, performing her duties or highlights any of her achievements while she held the crown? Now compare this… Continue reading Anne the Quene
When Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth wife was put on trial for adultery, most of the evidence came from the girls who shared a younger Catherine’s rooms and witnessed her pre-marital escapades. The only evidence from Catherine’s own hand was a letter she had penned to her lover, Thomas Culpeper, which was found among his… Continue reading People and Personalities: Thomas Culpeper
One of the greatest problems we, as historians, face is one of discerning people and personalities from sources. We can happily find out where a person was, what they did, where, how and why they did it, who they did it with etc. We can even look at the lasting repercussions of a persons actions… Continue reading People and Personalities: Francis Drake
Recently I watched the 2008 film version of The Other Boleyn Girl. (Why, why did I do this to myself?) In between raging at the major historical inaccuracies and wondering where Benedict Cumberbatch as William Carey disappeared to early in the film, we came to a rather disturbing rape scene between Henry VIII and Anne… Continue reading The Rape of Anne Boleyn
