Lady Jane Grey Reference Guide

Books 2013: On Sale Today – Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle

Posted on 14th March 2013 by Tamise

14th March 2013 – Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle

‘Widowed for the second time aged thirty-one, Katherine is obliged to return to court but, suspicious of the aging Henry and those who surround him, she does so with reluctance. Nevertheless when she finds herself caught up in a passionate affair with the dashing and seductive Thomas Seymour, she believes she might finally be able to marry for love. But her presence at court has attracted the attentions of another…

Captivated by her honesty and intelligence, Henry Tudor has his own plans for Katherine and no one is in the position to refuse a proposal from the king. With her charismatic lover dispatched to the continent, Katherine becomes Henry’s sixth wife.

Passionate about religious reform, and ever aware of the fates of his previous queens, she must draw upon all her instincts and intellect to navigate the treachery of the court. With the Catholic faction once more in the ascendency, reformers burned for heresy and those around the dying king vying for position in the new regime, her survival seems unlikely – and yet she has still not quite given up on love…’

From Amazon.co.uk

Further details – Elizabeth Fremantle

Further details – Amazon.co.uk

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Books 2013 – On sale last month – Elizabeth of York: The Lost Tudor Queen

Posted on 7th March 2013 by Tamise

18th February 2013 – Elizabeth of York: The Lost Tudor Queen by Amy Licence

‘As Tudors go, Elizabeth of York is relatively unknown. Yet through her marriage to Henry VII she became the mother of the dynasty, with her children including a King of England (Henry VIII) and Queens of Scotland (Margaret) and France (Mary Rose), and her direct descendants including three Tudor monarchs, two executed queens and, ultimately, the Stuart royal family. Although her offspring took England into the early modern world, Elizabeth’s upbringing was rooted firmly in the medieval world, with its courtly and religious rituals and expectations of women. The pivotal moment was 1485. Before then, her future was uncertain amid the turbulent Wars of the Roses, Elizabeth being promised rst to one man and then another, and witnessing the humiliation and murder of her family. Surviving the bloodbath of the reign of her uncle, Richard III, she slipped easily into the roles of devoted wife and queen to Henry VII and mother to his children, and has been venerated ever since for her docility and beauty. Yet was she as placid as history has suggested? In fact, she may have been a deeply cultured and intelligent survivor who learnt to walk a difficult path through the twists and turns of fortune. Perhaps she was more of a modern woman than historians have given her credit for.’

From Amazon.co.uk

Further details from Amazon.co.uk

his story, her story

Posted in Books 2013 | Tagged Amy Licence | Comments Off

Another book for 2013 ….

Posted on 6th March 2013 by Tamise

15th August 2013 – Crown of Thistles: The Fatal Inheritance of Mary Queen of Scots by Linda Porter

‘The struggle between the fecund Stewarts and the barren Tudors is generally seen only in terms of the relationship between Elizabeth I and her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. But very little has been said about the background to their intense rivalry. Here, Linda Porter examines the ancient and intractable power struggle between England and Scotland, a struggle intensified during the reigns of Elizabeth and Mary’s grandfathers. Henry VII aimed to provide stability when he married his daughter, Margaret, to James IV of Scotland in 1503. But he must also have known that Margaret’s descendants might seek to rule the entire island. Crown of Thistles is the story of a divided family, of flamboyant kings and queens, cultured courts and tribal hatreds, blood feuds, rape and sexual licence on a breath-taking scale, and violent deaths. It also brings alive a neglected aspect of British history – the blood-spattered steps of two small countries on the fringes of Europe towards an awkward unity that would ultimately forge a great nation. Beginning with the unlikely and dramatic victories of two usurping kings, one a rank outsider and the other a fourteen-year-old boy who rebelled against his own father, the book sheds new light on Henry VIII, his daughter, Elizabeth, and on his great-niece, Mary Queen of Scots, still seductive more than 400 years after her death.’

From Amazon.co.uk

Further details – Amazon.co.uk

Linda Porter

Posted in Books 2013 | Tagged Books 2013, Crown of Thistles: The Fatal Inheritance of Mary Queen of Scots, Linda Porter, Mary Queen of Scots | Comments Off

‘Crown of Thistles: the fatal inheritance of Mary Queen of Scots’ Talk by Linda Porter

Posted on 5th March 2013 by Tamise

Historian Linda Porter (author of ‘Mary Tudor: The First Queen’ and ‘Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr’) is giving her first talk about her new book at Wrest Park on Sunday 10th March.

This is your first chance to hear about ‘Crown of Thistles: the fatal inheritance of Mary Queen of Scots.’

You can get tickets here:

Wrest Park Literary Season

Posted in Talks | Tagged Linda Porter | Comments Off

Secrets of the Vatican Archives in Mail on Sunday Live Magazine

Posted on 4th March 2013 by Tamise

The Mail on Sunday’s ‘Live Magazine’ has an article about the secrets of the Vatican Archives. There are a few Tudor era related items mentioned (all of which were on display at the Lux in Arcana exhibition in Rome last year.

You can read the article here:

As the world waits for a new Pope, we explore the Vatican’s secret archives (with no help whatsoever from Dan Brown) by Andrew Preston (Live Magazine)

You can read about my visit to the exhibition and see some of the Tudor treasures in my guest post at The Anne Boleyn Files:

Lux in Arcana Exhibition