Claire at ‘The Anne Boleyn Files’ and ‘The The Fall of Anne Boleyn’ and Sarah at ‘Remembering the Executed’ have posted about the executions of the men accused of adultery and treason with Anne Boleyn.
The Fall of Anne Boleyn – The Executions of Five Men
Remembering the Executed – George Boleyn
Remembering the Executed – Henry Norris
Remembering the Executed – William Brereton
The Boleyn Festival has opened at Blickling in Norfolk.
Four-day festival dedicated to Anne Boleyn opens at Blickling Hall – Eastern Daily
8th June – Mary I: Gender, Power, and Ceremony in the Reign of England’s First Queen (Queenship and Power) by Sarah Duncan
‘Mary I: Gender, Power, and Ceremony in the Reign of England’s First Queen explores the gender politics of the reign of Mary I of England from her coronation to her funeral and examines the ways in which the queen and her supporters used language, royal ceremonies, and images to bolster her right to rule and define her image as queen. By detailing the ways that Mary’s powers were defined as the first queen ruling in her own right, and as a married ruler with Philip of Spain as king consort, this study provides a deeper appreciation of Mary’s capabilities as an early modern queen and the importance of her precedent.’
Further details – Palgrave Macmillan
Further details – Amazon.co.uk
8th June – Three Medieval Queens: Queenship and the Crown in Fourteenth-Century England (Queenship and Power) by Lisa Benz St. John
‘This innovative study looks at a previously unstudied dimension of medieval queenship, examining the ways in which three fourteenth-century English queens—Margaret of France, Isabella of France, and Philippa of Hainault—exercised power and authority. These women were consorts and dowagers for overlapping periods, creating a continuous transition from one queen to the next. It thus provides a unique perspective on normative queenly behaviour and political culture, formulating valuable insights into gender, status; the concept of the crown, and power and authority.’
Further details – Palgrave Macmillan
Further details – Amazon.co.uk
22nd June – The Last Plantagenet Consorts: Gender, Genre, and Historiography, 1440-1627 (Queenship and Power) by Kavita Mudan Finn
‘An examination of fifteenth-century British queens through literature and history.’
Further details – Palgrave Macmillan
Further details – Amazon.co.uk
29th June – Her Highness, the Traitor by Susan Higginbotham
‘Joan Dudley’s husband, the Duke of Northumberland, becomes the most powerful man in England, while Frances Grey perchs with her daughter Jane dangerously close to the throne. But when Mary Tudor asserts her own right to the crown, Frances and Joan find that the lives of their husbands and children are in mortal danger. The story of the women behind the crowning of Jane Grey, this novel is an illuminating tale of ambition gone awry.’
Further details – Susan Higginbotham
Further details – Amazon.co.uk
15th July – Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s Henchmen by Patrick Coby
‘The extraordinary life of Thomas Cromwell and the real story of ‘Wolf Hall’. Thomas Cromwell, chief architect of the English Reformation served as chief minister of Henry VIII from 1531 to 1540, the most tumultuous period in Henry’s thirty-seven-year reign. Many of the momentous events of the 1530s are attributed to Cromwell’s agency, the Reformation, the dissolution of the monasteries and the fall of Henry’s second wife, the bewitching Anne Boleyn. Cromwell has been the subject of close and continuous attention for the last half century, with positive appraisal of his work and achievements by historians, this new biography shows the true face of a Machiavellian Tudor statesmans of no equal.’
10th May – Mary Rose by David Loades
‘A paradise…tall, slender, grey-eyed, possessing an extreme pallor’. The contemporary view of Henry VIII’s younger sister, Princess Mary Rose as one of the most beautiful princesses in Europe, was an arresting one. Glorious to behold, this Tudor Princess with her red hair flowing loose to her waist, was also impossible for Henry to control. She first married the king of France, a match of great importance to Henry’s diplomatic plans. He was dead within three months. The talk of the European courts was that the teenage bride had killed the 51-year old Louis XII with her exertions of the king in his bedchamber. She then ran off with her new lover, the great rake of the Tudors era, Charles Brandon. After some uncomfortable arguments with Henry VIII, she was officially sanctioned to marry the Duke of Suffolk in 1515 at Greenwich Palace. Yet Henry remained deeply fond of his sister, he named his greatest warship after her and continued to support Mary despite her ignoring his every request. David Loades’ biography, the first for almost 50 years brings the princess alive once more. Of all Tudor women, this queen of France and later Duchess of Suffolk remains an elusive, enigmatic figure.
National Geographic’s three part series ‘Bloody Tales of the Tower’ looked at different events in the history of the Tower of London.
Between each event, a timeline of the Tower of London was shown. For example, in episode 2 (Executions), events moved from 1381 to 1554. As the years passed along the timeline, the physical changes to the Tower were shown.
I thought it was an excellent idea!
Not the same as watching the programme but you can get the gist of it below.
All images are (c) National Geographic.
