Those of you who follow my blog, know I have written several posts about the Spanish Hapsburgs (I have provided selection at the bottom of this post) Obviously, I am rather fascinated by this family and its penchant for incestous marriages–but I have been stuck on the Spanish branch of the family. Well, beyond casual […]
Anyone who has a thing about Tudor England will have heard of Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife—the second one he divorced. Some say he felt tricked by Thomas Cromwell (and, I suppose, by Holbein) stating the real-life Anne was a far cry from the beautiful woman in her portrait. Whatever the case, Anne
From portrait to Protestantism – a post about Sibylle of Cleves Read More »
Today, I am hosting Rosemary Griggs and her book Mistress of Dartington Hall as part of her ongoing Coffee Pot Book Club tour. Now, I am not generally a big fan of Tudor England, but I really enjoyed Ms Grigg’s previous book about Dartington–well, more specifically about the female protagonist, Roberda–so when the opportunity came
I was recently in Dresden, which has absolutely no connection to the books I am writing or planning to write. But sometimes, life invites you to stroll down an alternative path, which is why my friend Alison Morton and I took a long weekend in Saxony. Alison, of course, had a reason for wanting to
When Death calls your name – a reflection on the Moritz Monument and a gagged lady Read More »
Recently, I posted about a book dealing with Inés de Castro, a purportedly very beautiful woman who caught the eye (and heart) of Pedro of Portugal. Now, it would seem the de Castro genes were very good genes, because Inés had a younger half-sister named Juana whose beauty also caught the eye (but not the
Today, I am happy to host Judith Arnopp’s latest release, Marguerite: Hell Hath No Fury! For those of you familiar with Judith, you may know she has penned an excellent trilogy featuring another Margaret–Margaret Beaufort–and that protagonist has something very important in common with today’s leading lady, namely they were both Lancastrian noblewomen. Marguerite was
Marguerite – Meet Judith Arnopp’s latest protagonist, a cornered lady who fought back. Read More »
It has been quite some time since I indulged in my fascination with the Hapsburgs, this once so powerful family that controlled most of Catholic Europe and preferred to marry very close kin—which, eventually, led to disaster, at least for the Spanish Hapsburgs. But the Hapsburgs weren’t always an inbred dynasty on the brink of
Anna and Maria – Holy Roman Empresses that took their procreating duty seriously! Read More »
The first book I ever read by Wendy J Dunne was The Light in the Labyrinth. “Oh, God,” I muttered as I opened it. “Another Anne Boleyn story.” I probably pulled a face, because, yes, I do feel the Anne – Henry VIII story is overly exploited in historical fiction. But this version blew my
Falling Pomegranate Seeds – Ms Dunne’s fabulous retelling of Katherine of Aragon’s story Read More »
In November of the year 1700, that gallant warrior king Karl XII of Sweden, hastened to defend the city of Narva (in present day Estonia) from the besieging Russian army. The Great Northern War had kicked off some months earlier when an alliance between Denmark, Russia and Saxony/Poland had initiated an attack on Sweden’s Baltic
The enslaved child – of Lovisa von Burghausen and her travails in 18th century Russia Read More »
We are reaching the end of an entire month focused on the women of the past and I hope you have enjoyed the eclectic selection of “heroines” as presented by all my lovely guests. But history is not done–it is written every day as exemplified by Alison Morton in her post below. And the events
Marching on – Alison Morton on women making history as we speak Read More »