The Lost Tudor Princess

The Lost Tudor Princess by Alison Weir

• Print Length: 576 pages 
  
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 12, 2016)
• Publication Date: January 12, 2016
• Sold by: Random House LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00XG95GJC

The Blurb ...

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE INDEPENDENT • From New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir comes the first biography of Margaret Douglas, the beautiful, cunning niece of Henry VIII of England who used her sharp intelligence and covert power to influence the succession after the death of Elizabeth I.
 
Royal Tudor blood ran in her veins. Her mother was a queen, her father an earl, and she herself was the granddaughter, niece, cousin, and grandmother of monarchs. Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, was an important figure in Tudor England, yet today, while her contemporaries—Anne Boleyn, Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I—have achieved celebrity status, she is largely forgotten. 
 
Margaret’s life was steeped in intrigue, drama, and tragedy—from her auspicious birth in 1530 to her parents’ bitter divorce, from her ill-fated love affairs to her appointment as lady-in-waiting for four of Henry’s six wives. In an age when women were expected to stay out of the political arena, alluring and tempestuous Margaret helped orchestrate one of the most notorious marriages of the sixteenth century: that of her son Lord Darnley to Mary, Queen of Scots. Margaret defiantly warred with two queens—Mary, and Elizabeth of England—and was instrumental in securing the Stuart ascension to the throne of England for her grandson, James VI.
 
The life of Margaret Douglas spans five reigns and provides many missing links between the Tudor and Stuart dynasties. Drawing on decades of research and myriad original sources—including many of Margaret’s surviving letters—Alison Weir brings this captivating character out of the shadows and presents a strong, capable woman who operated effectively and fearlessly at the very highest levels of power.

****
Margaret Tudor's life was just as scandalous and intriguing as her more well-known cousins, and her story is worth reading. Margaret lived through three different imprisonments, the birth of eight children, only two of which survived into adulthood. Sadly, her wish for them to prosper lead to her imprisonments. She was impulsive and reckless with her choices, much like Mary Queen of Scots, who gave birth to Margaret's grandson James, who later in life became King James VI of Scotland and King James I of England and Ireland after Queen Elizabeth I died. I enjoy Alison Weir's books and this one is no exception. I recommend it to anyone interested in Tudor history. I caution though that it is a very hefty book and it isn't for the faint of heart. You have to like non-fiction in order to appreciate its worth and depth. 

This book was given as an advanced copy to review by NetGalley, my review is written with honesty and without any ties to the author. I did not receive any monetary gain from doing so.

In Bed with the Tudors

In Bed with the Tudors by Amy Licence  

Paperback: 256 pages

• Publisher: Amberley; Reprint edition (March 19, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1445614758
• ISBN-13: 978-1445614755

Illegitimate children, adulterous queens, impotent kings, and a whole dynasty resting on their shoulders. Sex and childbirth were quite literally a matter of life or death for the Tudors – Elizabeth of York died in childbirth, two of Henry VIII’s queens were beheaded for infidelity and Elizabeth I’s elective virginity signaled the demise of a dynasty.

Amy Licence guides the reader through the births of Elizabeth of York’s two sons, Arthur and Henry, Catherine of Aragon’s subsequent marriages to both of these men, Henry VIII’s other five wives and his mistresses, and the sex lives of his daughters. 

This book details the experiences of all these women, from fertility, conception and pregnancy through to the delivery chamber, on to maternal and infant mortality. Each woman’s story is a blend of specific personal circumstances, set against their historical moment: for some the joys were brief; for others it was a question that ultimately determined their fates.

****

Let me start by saying that this author is by far one of my favorite authors of non-fiction. She is truly gifted and paints a vivid picture of the time period that she is writing about.  

Every chapter is filled with bite size morsels of any detail that one would think of in terms of what goes on in the medieval bedroom. I have been reading about Tudor history for a few years now, and was surprised to find out new facts that I didn't know. It is in chronological order, from Henry VII on down the Tudor line, so it is easy to find what you are looking for if you want to skim through it. I thought at first I might do that, but once I started reading, I couldn't stop. 

I especially liked that Amy tells about Henry VIII's other sexual encounters outside of his marriages, and how they were viewed during his time. It told what was appropriate, and what was not. Of course there was always a double standard, but interesting nonetheless. Some of the names of illegitimate children that Henry was said to have fathered were also mentioned, as well as known mistresses. This is especially interesting to me because I had a distant cousin (Anne Bassett) who was said to be one of them.

This book goes into great depths, and is very well researched. The author remains unbiased, providing all angles of theories mentioned. She uses a variety of sources of the time to find silly superstitions that will make you laugh, as well as stories of other less known women of the time and their experiences, giving life to the book and filling in where there might otherwise be gaps. 

She also tells where fictional writers have taken liberties in their story-lines, and helps the reader to see what can be, and can't be proved, so that they won't be without knowledge of the truth. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Tudors. It's an exceptional read.

This book was given as a copy to review by Amberley Publishing, my review is written with honesty and without any ties to the author. I did not receive any monetary gain from doing so.

Elizabeth I and Her Circle

Elizabeth I and Her Circle 
by Susan Doran

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (June 1, 2015)   
  
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199574952
• ISBN-13: 978-0199574957

This is the story of Elizabeth I's inner circle and the crucial human relationships which lay at the heart of her personal and political life. Using a wide range of original sources - including private letters, portraits, verse, drama, and state papers - Susan Doran provides a vivid and often dramatic account of political life in Elizabethan England and the queen at its center, offering a deeper insight into Elizabeth's emotional and political conduct - and challenging many of the popular myths that have grown up around her. 

It is a story replete with fascinating questions. What was the true nature of Elizabeth's relationship with her father, Henry VIII, especially after his execution of her mother? How close was she to her half-brother Edward VI - and were relations with her half-sister Mary really as poisonous as is popularly assumed? And what of her relationship with her Stewart cousins, most famously with Mary Queen of Scots, executed on Elizabeth's orders in 1587, but also with Mary's son James VI of Scotland, later to succeed Elizabeth as her chosen successor?

Elizabeth's relations with her family were crucial, but just as crucial were her relations with her courtiers and her councillors. Here again, the story raises a host of fascinating questions. Was the queen really sexually jealous of her maids of honour? Did physically attractive male favourites dominate her court? What does her long and intimate relationship with the Earl of Leicester reveal about her character, personality, and attitude to marriage? What can the fall of Essex tell us about Elizabeth's political management in the final years of her reign? And what was the true nature of her personal and political relationship with influential and long-serving councillors such as the Cecils and Sir Francis Walsingham? And how did courtiers and councillors deal with their demanding royal mistress?

This book is a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about Elizabeth I, daughter to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

It's a rather quick paced read, and ends at 416 pages. It's well researched, and the author has made it as easy to get through as slicing a piece of cake, IF you are academically driven. That is very unusual to say, because most books that include sources in the passages take a bit of dedication to muddle through, and even then, you may have to read through it again to catch everything. This one is actually written in a way that makes it flow nicely, and it kept me quite interested from the get go.

It isn't in chronological order, but it is divided into sections and the bibliography is beautifully done. It's a collection of political portraits, going into interesting details about her relationships with those she chose to surround herself with, and those she didn't. I have read several books about Elizabeth, so I was surprised to learn a few things that I didn't already know. Bravo for the author!

For being a woman, and not the son that her father so much wanted her to be, she knew enough to surround herself with very clever advisers. She may not have done everything right, but she had heart, and didn't back down from anyone. Her father would have been proud.

Like history? Non - fiction? Add this to your list. I am certain that you won't regret it.

Although this book was given as a copy to review by NetGalley, my review is written with honesty and without any ties to the author herself. I did not receive any monetary gain from doing so.

Elizabeth The Virgin Queen & The Men Who Loved Her

Elizabeth The Virgin Queen And The Men Who Loved Her

by Robert Parry

134 pages
ISBN: 1499355599
published June 2, 2014

When I first got this book in the mail, I thought that the cover was beautiful. It is has a velvet finish and the colors in Elizabeth's clothing are vibrant and lively. They say, “never judge a book by it's cover,” but this particular cover makes me want to open the book almost immediately. I would have to say that the inside definitely matches the outside. The book is thin, but packs a powerful punch. If one wants to know anything about Elizabeth, but doesn't want to spend hours and hours reading, this is the place to start. It is unique and sumptuous.

Elizabeth was a complex person, and not very easy to please, which you think might detour others from wanting to be around her, but this is just not so. Besides the benefit of being close to her, there was something more endearing about her that made men want to compete for her affections. These men in her life played a vital role in English history. Their influence, although quite passive, contributed to keeping peace to the realm just by being at her side. It wasn't just Robert Dudley who loved her, but others who each had their own personality to attract her attentions.

The book starts with the most obvious of men; her father, and then ends with one of the least liked by me; Robert Devereux. After a short biography of each man, there is a fictionalized scene between Elizabeth and himself. The author, in my opinion, is quite brilliant with the way he made the words flow so naturally on the pages. Each scene pulled me in and made me feel as if I were in the same room with Elizabeth, so long ago. He has a knack for being able to make Elizabeth come alive on the pages. His words are what I would imagine in my mind, her exact same words, and her actions the same actions. Forget television, read this book! It is very entertaining, and fast paced. It only took three days to read the book, an hour per sitting.

I like how the author wrote the book as if I were on a weekend tour with him, learning about Elizabeth and her dynamic personality, that was clearly shaped by the men in her life. He even rated each of the men according to his perception of them. They would rate between one Tudor rose to five Tudor roses, five being the highest of admiration. Cute.

By the conclusion of the book, the reader will be well educated on how life at court with Elizabeth would have been. It touches upon all the major points in her life, and clears up any confusion that one might have encountered during a fictional portrayal of Elizabeth. This little book is probably one of my favorites so far, and I have read many Tudor related books. Not only do I like it because it is short, and very detailed, but because the author is meticulous in his research. There were a couple of things that I learned too. There is nothing about this book that I do not like.

I highly recommend any of Robert's books. They are all wonderful.

2014 'ELIZABETH - The Virgin Queen and the Men who Loved Her.'
2013 'WILDISH - A Story Concerning Different Kinds of Love'
2011 'THE ARROW CHEST - A Victorian Mystery'
2009 'VIRGIN AND THE CRAB - Sketches, Fables and Mysteries from the Early Life of John Dee and Elizabeth Tudor'

Currently, he is working on a project entitled 'The Hours Before' - a Gothic Mystery set in the Belle Epoque, expected to be released in 2015.