Tudors

In the shadow of a queen – Tony Riches shares the inspiration for his Elizabethan series

Today, I have Tony Riches visiting me. He does that from time to time, usually because there’s a new exciting book of his to talk about. And yes, there IS a new exciting book to talk about, but as I haven’t read it yet, it will have to wait some weeks. Instead, I was chatting […]

In the shadow of a queen – Tony Riches shares the inspiration for his Elizabethan series Read More »

Say hello to Bess – Tony Riches gives us yet another Elizabethan lady

Now and then, Tony Riches and his books have popped up on my blog, and over the last few years, I’ve followed Tony as he has explored the Tudor dynasty from its early inception (when Owain Tudor secretly wed Henry V’s widowed queen) to its heyday as a ruling family. With Bess – Tudor Gentlewoman,

Say hello to Bess – Tony Riches gives us yet another Elizabethan lady Read More »

Falling Pomegranate Seeds – Ms Dunne’s fabulous retelling of Katherine of Aragon’s story

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 »

A Matter of Time – in which Henry VIII faces approaching death

I am no fan of the Tudors. I am deffo no fan of Henry VIII or Anne Boleyn, and have a tendency to avoid all novels set in this period. But there are exceptions: Judith Arnopp is a writer whom I greatly admire for giving us such relatable (yes, even Henry is relatable, although not

A Matter of Time – in which Henry VIII faces approaching death Read More »

A Catholic recusant in the court of Elizabeth I

In the aftermath of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg (and yes, I know it isn’t entirely certain he did nail them, but it makes for a forceful image, doesn’t it? Much more forceful than politely handing them over to the bishop) the people in Europe were to live

A Catholic recusant in the court of Elizabeth I Read More »