“The grey-green sea looked hungry as it lapped and chewed on the English shore, voracious, like the monsters mapmakers paint at the edge of the world.” THE TUDOR BRIDE by Joanna Hickson “The thrilling story of the French princess who became an English queen, from the best-selling author of The Agincourt Bride. Perfect for fans of The White Queen. Even… Read more »
Seven Will Out: A Renaissance Revel by JoAnn Spears In Spears’ previous novel, Six of One: A Tudor Riff, modern day historian Catherine “Dolly” Rolly traveled to an astral plane where she met the wives of Henry VIII and learned their stories from the source. This time Dolly returns and is met by the later generation Tudors, including Elizabeth I,… Read more »
Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle Penelope Devereux, daughter of Lettice Knollys, the woman Queen Elizabeth I called the “She-Wolf” for marrying the royal favorite, is pitted against the Essex faction’s rival, Robert Cecil, in this panoramic Tudor narrative. Penelope, beautiful, level-headed and witty, makes a perfect waiting lady and voice for the out-of-favor Devereux family, though it is her… Read more »
The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy This is the book that started my obsession with Jean Plaidy–the first of her novels I read and my absolute favorite characterization of Anne Boleyn. Eight years have passed, and reading it again I stand by my initial delight in finding an admirable protagonist in Anne–after having been introduced to her by… Read more »
The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner England, Summer 1553: Brendan Prescott, a foundling serving in the household of the Dudley family, is immediately immersed in political intrigue when he joins the court as Lord Robert’s squire. With an unknown background and generic face, he makes the perfect spy and is only too happy to lend his services to the… Read more »
King’s Fool by Margaret Campbell Barnes Another great novel from this author! I really enjoyed her book My Lady of Cleves, though found the one on Anne Boleyn, Brief Gaudy Hour, had a sketchy timeline and depicted Anne as I hate seeing her: shallow and evil. This is the story of the life of Will Somers, royal jester to Henry… Read more »
The enigmatic Anne Boleyn comes to life in this charming, brilliant portrayal by acclaimed British novelist Margaret Campbell Barnes. The infamous love of King Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn undertook a rocky journey from innocent courtier to powerful Queen of England. A meticulous researcher, Margaret Campbell Barnes immerses readers in this intrigue and in… Read more »
Virgin and the Crab: Sketches, Fables and Mysteries from the early life of John Dee and Elizabeth Tudor by Robert Parry So who is the Virgin and who is the Crab? Well, it probably comes as no surprise that the Virgin refers to Elizabeth, later to become Queen Elizabeth I. The Crab is a little less obvious – but it… Read more »
There are three “Princes in the Tower” novels that have intrigued me over the years: To the Tower Born by Robin Maxwell, Figures in Silk and Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Vanora Bennett. All three make use of a background character’s view of events, some fictional–such as Bennett’s Isabel Lambert and Maxwell’s Nell Caxton–and others who were indeed on… Read more »
Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen and the Men Who Loved Her by Robert Stephen Parry A unique mixture of fact and fiction, this volume contains 14 short chapters on Queen Elizabeth I’s relationships with the various men in her life—from her cold and distant father to her trusted councilors and, of course, the well-documented round of suitors. While some chapters give… Read more »
The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir A very comprehensive novel on the Virgin Queen’s early life, The Lady Elizabeth begins when the precocious child is not yet three. During her years as the king’s bastard daughter she witnesses her father marry four times, welcoming a new “step-mother” each time—fully aware that Catherine Howard’s fate was the same as her own… Read more »
The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Claire Ridgway A timeline of the final days of this controversial Queen of England, The Fall of Anne Boleyn recreates those harrowing months in 1536, with firsthand accounts, official documents and records, and court gossip. Though offering opinion here and there, many points of view are expressed from various biographers, and so there is… Read more »