‘Tudor Feminists’ looks at the lives of 10 women ranging from royalty (Queens and a potential heir to the throne) to landowners to a pirate. What these women have in common is that each in their own way can be seen to have fought against the restrictions placed on them by society.
By focussing on how they did this, the author presents a different perspective on the familiar lives of Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. I found it particularly interesting to learn more about Margaret Pole, Amelia Lanier and Grainne O’Malley and am always glad to see Arbella Stuart included.
If you want a brief but fascinating introduction to these women, then this is an excellent place to start.
Thank you to Net Galley and Pen and Sword for my review copy
In ‘Young Elizabeth: Princess, Prisoner, Queen’ we follow Elizabeth on her perilous path to the throne. Her journey is brought vividly to life through a superb narrative combined with meticulous research.
To get there she had to survive the reigns of her father, her half-brother, and her half-sister. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate by Henry VIII, overlooked by Edward VI when he left the crown to Lady Jane Grey and implicated in the Wyatt Rebellion during Mary I’s reign, when Elizabeth came close to sharing the fate of the nine day’s queen.
Tallis’s portrait of Elizabeth is a must read which gives the reader greater understanding of the Queen she became.
Thank you to Net Galley and Michael O’Mara Books for my review copy.
