The Early Modern History Blog

New Historical Fiction Coming Soon

2010-07-22T01:29:00.000-07:00

Browsing on Amazon yesterday I was pleased to find that there are two new historical fiction books coming out in the next two months.

Phillipa Gregory's The Red Queen, released August 19th 2010. This is the second of three books on the Wars of the Roses. The first, The White Queen, focused on Elizabeth Woodville, and this new book will focus on Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of the future Henry VII.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Queen-Philippa-Gregory/dp/1847374573/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279787563&sr=8-1

C.J. Sansom Heartstone, released September 2nd 2010. Not strictly historical fiction, but set in the Tudor period, this is the fifth book in the Shardlake series, and if the other books are anything to go by then this is going to be worth looking out for. I found out about this author through reading historical fiction and would heartily recommend him.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heartstone-Matthew-Shardlake-C-Sansom/dp/1405092734/ref=pd_sim_b_12

Those of you who like historical fiction in general may want to look at these recent releases.

Alison Weir, The Captive Queen, which focuses on Eleanor of Aquitaine.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Captive-Queen-Alison-Weir/dp/0091926211/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Suzanna Dunn, The Confession of Katherine Howard.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Confession-Katherine-Howard-Suzannah-Dunn/dp/0007258291/ref=pd_sim_b_3

Emily Purdy, The Tudor Wife.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tudor-Wife-Emily-Purdy/dp/1847561942/ref=pd_sim_b_4

Today in History: Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales Dies in Ludlow Castle: April 2nd 1502

2010-04-02T01:50:00.000-07:00

Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales (1486-1502) was Henry VII eldest son. He was heir to the throne of England, and he had just married the Infanta, Catalina (Katherine) of Aragon. The Tudor Dynasty had never looked so secure, and when the young couple were sent to Ludlow in December 1501, the king and queen of England must have been full of hope that the new family would prosper. Unfortunately that hope was not to last. On the 2nd April 1502 Arthur died suddenly in Ludlow Castle of what was known in the sixteenth century as the sweating sickness, an almost flu like sickness that took hold very quickly. It could also be deadly, and surviving the first twenty four hours was very important.

In the past many historians have attributed Arthur's premature death at the age of 15 to him being sickly, and although this opinion has changed in recent years, some still believe that this was the reason behind Arthur's death. What is rarely mentioned is that Katherine of Aragon was ill at the same time, but happened to survive. Sweating sickness was also rife in Ludlow in 1502 and so it is likely that both Arthur and Katherine caught it. I am certain that Arthur could not have been that sickly child! The records that survive do not mention other illnesses, and due to the importance of the prince's rank such things would have been recorded. The king and queen, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York were happy to send their son and daughter in law to Ludlow in December 1501. If Arthur had been prone to illness it is not likely that the king would have wanted to risk his son's health by sending him to Ludlow, known for being damp and cold. This is seen in his attitude to Henry, duke of York who was not sent to Ludlow after Arthur's death because he did not want to lose another heir. I suspect if there was any concern for Arthur's health then he would have been kept in London after the wedding of 1501.

Arthur's death also had consequences. His younger brother Henry would become heir and in 1509 upon the death of Henry VII, he became Henry VIII. Henry VIII's contribution is well known, and whereas I am not a great fan of counter-factual history, sometimes I do wonder what would have happened in England if Arthur had lived.

If you are interested in knowing more these sources in particular are invaluable.

Garrett Mattingly, Catherine of Aragon, (London: Cape, 1942)

Steven Gunn, and Linda Monckton (eds.) Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, Life Death and Commemoration, (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2009)

Henry VIII Patron or Plunderer

2010-03-31T02:22:00.000-07:00

I have just come across this rather fascinating programme on Henry VIII and the architecture connected with him. It is the first in a two part documentary by architectural historian, Jonathan Foyle, who examines the palaces, tapestries, music and paintings created in Henry's name, and whether any of these commissions compensated for the religious treasures that he would eventually come to destroy.

Here is the link. I imagine it will be on iplayer for the next week maybe two. If you are interested in the architectural aspect of Henry's reign then this is a programme well worth watching.

http://bbc.co.uk/i/l7qdh/

History Recommendations February 2010

2010-02-19T01:56:00.000-08:00

(1) Mary Boleyn: Josephine Wilkinson.

In the last few weeks I have been trying to read more history during the day. Now don’t get me wrong, I am reading lots of history at the moment particularly since I have just finished the first three chapter drafts of my dissertation. What I mean by reading more is that I have just been looking to read more for fun as opposed for my work. The city library has just been refurbished and so they have many more history books than they used to including new books. I was very pleased to pick up the first two. Josephine Wilkinson’s 'Mary Boleyn' and Leanda De Lisle’s 'The Sister’s Who Would be Queen.' The latter of which I will be reviewing next, but now on to the first of these books.

This is a book that I have been looking forward to reading. Mainly because I have quite a few books on Mary’s sister Anne, but in many of these books you don’t learn much about Mary at all. Aside from Philippa Gregory’s popular novel 'The Other Boleyn Girl,' Mary has not received much attention. In the beginning, I was surprised by the length of the book, it being less than 200 pages. However, when I began to read it became obvious why. The large double spaced print of the book suggested that there was not a great deal to tell, and that in a paperback edition the book would be even smaller, perhaps no more than 100 pages in standard print and 1.5 space. Looking at the sources used in the study a wide range of both primary and secondary evidence is used, but even then you could get a sense that there was not much available evidence on Mary herself, and what was obtained was from other records on Henry VIII or Anne Boleyn. This is okay though as it helps to explain the length of the book. There is probably not enough evidence for a longer study. Unfortunately, I felt that there may not have been enough evidence for what she had written because sometimes I felt that he attention went more to Mary’s sister Anne, of which we all know more about. Of course proper context is needed and for this Anne's position needs to be explained, but perhaps Mary was lost a little in the middle as the author reiterates Anne Boleyn’s rise to precedence. The focus does come back to Mary in the end when her second marriage is discussed. In places the author had to rely on circumstantial evidence, but she held up her arguments by coupling this evidence with the documentary evidence. This is seen with regard to the paternity of Mary’s children, which is something that we cannot know for certain, but the author offers her own views as to who it could have been.
Nevertheless, it was good to read a book on Mary as opposed to Anne. This along with the recent biography on Jane Boleyn brings to the forefront some of the more forgotten characters in Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s story. I did find that the book was very well written. I found it easy to follow, but the author also had a clear argument which is refreshing to see in popular history. Even if there is not much about Mary to know, I would still recommend this book particularly to anyone who reads often on the Tudors or on Anne Boleyn, and wishes to know more about an often forgotten sister.

British Library Visit.

2009-10-31T04:34:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the great pleasure, after much planning, to visit the British Library for research that I am doing for my MA dissertation.

I do not live in London so it was quite a long journey to get there by train, and it also meant it would be an overnight stay. This was fine as it meant that I would get lots of research done on the days that I was there. I have been to the British Library before. We found it by accident when I was in London in May and we attended the exhibition that they had there on Henry VIII. It was then that I found a document on display that I knew that I would need for my dissertation. It was a fantastic exhibition, and it was even more great that I knew I would have to come back later on n the year.

Nothing prepared me for such a great visit. The first day was filled with trains and then registration at the library where I got my library card. I ordered some of the documents I needed for the next day and then we went to the hotel.

Next day bright and early I get to the library, I pick up some of my documents and I go and sit in the Manuscripts reading room. Now I have been studying history for seven years now, so I was not wholly suprised by what I was met with. Nothing printed at all like the Calendar papers, but hand written throughout. Making out what was being written was interesting. I think that I need to take a course in reading early modern writing, but I could make out enough and thankfully most of my documents were in English. Even the ones that were in Latin were interesting, and I could take much away from them. Even if it was just talking about the style of writing, and who it may have been addressed to.

The visit did something that I have never really experienced with the printed documents before, it brought the people of the time alive to me. I could look at the pictures and heraldry that a real person had drawn with ink and parchment. You could imagine the king or councillors writing the document for the first time. (perhaps that is the author in me though) Needless to say that it was something special to see the originals, as this was the first time that I had the opportunity to look at them. I see now why historians say you should look at the original sources. They do so much more than the printed ones do, they give you a glimpse into someone's life. It reminds you that person once existed. Its personal like letters as opposed to email which can be rather impersonal.

The other great thing about the library was the fact that everyone was working! I know you would expect that from any library, but in our uni library some people are more interested in their iPods and chatting, than their work. In the BL everyone was quiet, if the computers were on, it was not to surf facebook, but to make their notes. It was quiet, but that did not matter because everyone was embroiled in their own work.

To sum up, a fantastic visit. I am looking forward to my visit to The National Archives and hoping that it will be just as fruitful ad this one!

History Picks of the Week

2009-10-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

Book of the Week

This weeks book pick belongs to Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales. A new collection of essays edited by Steven Gunn and Linda Monckton

http://historytodaymagazine.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-if-arthur-prince-of-wales-had-been.html

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arthur-Tudor-Prince-Wales-Commemoration/dp/1843834804/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254919749&sr=8-1

http://www.boydellandbrewer.com/43834804.HTM

Articles

Is historical fiction back in fashion?

http://historytodaymagazine.blogspot.com/2009/10/historical-novels-are-back-in-fashion.html

16th Century ship holds a fortune:

http://izismile.com/2009/10/05/the_diamond_shipwreck_-_a_16th-century_vessel_carrying_a_fortune_in_gold_16_pics.html

Prize Winner is a Historical Novelist

Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall wins Booker Prize, but David Starkey thinks its ‘Historical Tosh’

http://historytodayeditor.blogspot.com/2009/10/hilary-mantel-has-won-this-years-man.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/07/hilary-mantel-booker-dan-brown

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audio/2009/oct/06/digested-read-wolf-hall-hilary-mantel

http://www.themanbookerprize.com/prize/thisyear/winner

History Picks of the Week

2009-09-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of weeks I have been doing some things to get this blog noticed a little bit more, so please do check out this blogs new twitter account. It will offer up to the minute updates and maybe a few little other extras too.

http://twitter.com/C16history

Now on to the history picks. While I am researching/thinking/writing the next feature I thought I would make you all aware of some blogs that I have come across that people interested in Early Modern (Tudor/Stuart) history may be interested in looking at.

Academic News: This is a brilliant site for all academic related news: http://www.history.ac.uk/news

News Picks:

Tracy Borman's book on Elizabeth I's women is book of the week on BBC radio 4: Listen to some of the book here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2009_37_mon.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mq4lv/Book_of_the_Week_Elizabeths_Women_Episode_2/

Mary, Queen of Scots last letter on display: http://historytodaymagazine.blogspot.com/2009/09/mary-queen-of-scots-last-letter-on.html

Futuristic home of Tudor history planned in Portsmouth:http://www.architecturescotland.co.uk/news/1794/Futuristic_home_of_Tudor_history_planned_in_Portsmouth.html

Article Picks:

I found this fascinating article at http://tudorhistory.org/blog/ John Dee: Guardian Newspaper: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/20/scholars-rescue-image-john-dee

The Elizabeth Files: The most recent article is about Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester written by historical novelist Jeane Westin. http://www.elizabethfiles.com/did-they-or-didnt-they/3099/

BBC History Magazine Podcast

2009-09-26T02:41:00.000-07:00

Very recently I began to listen to my podcasts again. They always help with my work and as a result I feel less inclined to spend hours on the internet, and consequently not really working at all.

As I flicked through my podcasts, I found all my old favourites. My comics podcasts, anime casts and several writing ones. It then occurred to me that I had not history podcasts. So I went to the iTunes store and went looking. There was not a great selection, although if you are into military history its worth looking into. I did find one little gem though, that being the BBC History Magazine Podcast. Very informative, and brilliant for those who cannot always afford the magazine, but want to get their historical fix. I have listened to a few episodes recently and I would highly recommend it.

September Issue includes:

A Second World War special by Dr Dan Todman.

The Battle of Quebec by Dan Snow

Elizabeth I's Ladies by Tracy Bowman.

http://www.bbchistorymagazine.com/

New and Upcoming Releases

2009-08-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

Hello again.

I have always found these lists rather interesting, and very useful. So I thought I would compile one myself. Below you will find a list of new and upcoming releases in Tudor History, as well as in Historical Fiction. I hope you find it as useful as I find them. Click on the link for their amazon page and more information.

Recent Releases:

The Sisters Who Would be Queen: Leander De Lisle

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sisters-Who-Would-Queen-Katherine/dp/0007219059/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250541998&sr=8-2

Jane Seymour: Elizabeth Norton

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jane-Seymour-Henry-VIIIs-True/dp/184868102X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=125054

Philippa Jones: The Other Tudors: Henry VIII’s Mistresses and Bastards \

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Other-Tudors-Henry-Mistresses-Bastards/dp/1847734294/ref=pd_cp_b_1

Josephine Wilkinson: Mary Boleyn The True Story of Henry VIII’s Mistress

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mary-Boleyn-Story-Henry-Mistress/dp/1848680899/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

Lacey Baldwin Smith: Catherine Howard

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Catherine-Howard-History-Revealed-Amberley/dp/184868214X/ref=pd_sim_b_3

Eamon Duffy: Fires of Faith: Catholic England Under Mary Tudor

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fires-Faith-Catholic-England-Under/dp/0300152167/ref=pd_sim_b_37

Alison Weir: The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lady-Tower-Fall-Anne-Boleyn/dp/0224063197/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Upcoming Releases:

Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery: Eric Ives

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lady-Jane-Grey-Tudor-Mystery/dp/1405194138/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250541881&sr=8-3

Elizabeth Norton: Anne of Cleves Henry VIII’s Discarded Bride

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anne-Cleves-Henry-VIIIs-Discarded/dp/1848683294/ref=pd_sim_b_3

Elizabeth Norton: Anne Boleyn Henry VIII’s Obsession

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anne-Boleyn-Henry-VIIIs-Obsession/dp/1848685149/ref=pd_sim_b_10

Josephine Wilkinson: The Early Loves of Anne Boleyn

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Early-Loves-Anne-Boleyn/dp/1848684304/ref=pd_sim_b_24

Chris Skidmore: Death and the Virgin: Elizabeth, Dudley, and the Mysterious Fate of Amy Robsart.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Virgin-Elizabeth-Mysterious-Robsart/dp/0297846507/ref=pd_sim_b_26

Historical Fiction:

Philippa Gregory: The White Queen

http://www.amazon.co.uk/White-Queen-Philippa-Gregory/dp/1847374557/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

Thanks for Visiting: More content coming soon.

2009-08-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

Hello visitor, and welcome to my history blog. I know that I have not been here of late, but if you have visited then thank you very much. I hope you like what is to come.

I have some plans for this blog, however, at the moment I am working on my thesis for my Masters degree. Fear not though as this blog will be back up and running soon enough, please bear with me a little longer.

Flavour of the past will be the first series of articles that I am hoping to post up. These will range from book reviews right up to me flexing my own historical muscles and bringing you my own little flavour of the past. For now this will mainly focus on the Tudor period, but this is only one theme of many that I would like to cover in this blog.

I hope that you enjoy what is to come. I am working on getting the first installment to you as soon as I can. Thank you for bearing with me, and thank you again for visiting.

Anna ^_^

Portrait of Elizabeth of York Unveiled at Hever

2009-03-15T15:16:00.001-07:00

Here is a link to the unveiling of a portrait of Elizabeth of York, Queen to Henry VII

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7942235.stm

It marks the 500th Anniversary of the accession of Henry VIII on 21st April

Theology Public Lecture at Swansea University.

2009-01-22T01:51:00.001-08:00

I thought that I would draw attention to this lecture that is being held at Swansea University on 5th Feburary at 7pm.

'How Bloody was Bloody Mary' Professor Eamon Duffy.

I am extremely excited about this, and hope to attend. For more information on the lecture and indeed the speaker click on the link below

http://www.swan.ac.uk/news_centre/WhatsHappening/Headline,30061,en.php

Flavour of the Past: Introduction

2009-01-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

Oh goodness. I have just realised how long it has been since I have updated here, and I think it has been a while too long. So whilst sorting out bits of other History projects I was working on, I started to think of an ongoing series that could be posted here. So I introduce to all Flavour of the Past. This will be an ongoing series of history reviews, updates on historical happenings around the country and sometime I will even put my own two peneth in with some historical musings of my own.

I am not entierly sure where I am going to start, I am certainly hoping to update monthly if not bimonthly when possible. Look out for the first enstallment coming soon.

Ruffs are in

2008-10-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was having a little look at Tudorhistory.org's blog today and found something rather interesting.

It seems that ruffs are back in.

http://www.elleuk.com/fashion/news/brit-sensation-gareth-pugh-does-us-proud-in-paris-last-night/

British Fashion designer Gareth Pugh's new collection features a distinctive Elizabethan flavour which seemed to go down relatively well in Paris late last month.

Which just goes to show, you keep something long enough and it will come back in fashion.

First Post....We are up and running.

2008-09-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

My father in law suggested to me today that I should have my own History blog since I am so interested in the past, and am looking for potential research projects when I finish my Masters. So here I am. I have done some research today and found this rather amusing.

http://timesonline.typepad.com/alphamummy/2008/09/20-most-controv.html

I want to know where Anne Boleyn was. Left out from this list and yet, I feel, rather controversial nonetheless. Or does encouraging your husband to divorce his wife and break away from the church not count. Still it was an article that made me giggle particularly since Sarah Palin made the list. Surely more controversial women have walked the earth.