Tudor Book Reviews

Posted By Claire on February 22, 2012

When best-selling author Carol Wolper sent me an email introducing her book and describing it as “the story of Anne and Henry updated for 2012″ and saying “Not a lot has changed since the 16th century. Shorter skirts and iPhones, that’s about it”, I was intrigued and agreed to read and review it. When it arrived and I read the back cover I was even more intrigued, but also worried that I just wouldn’t be able to cope with Anne Boleyn’s story set in present day Hollywood. I’m not a lover of chick-lit or Hollywood type novels so I really had my doubts, and I have strong feelings about Anne Boleyn and how she is presented, and often misrepresented, in fiction. How would I cope with this novel?

Well, I was bemused by the first few pages and then I was hooked. I read it in two evenings, staying up rather late last night to finish it because I wanted to know what on earth Wolper was going to do with Anne, and they were two very enjoyable evenings. Wolper has cleverly brought Anne’s story to life in 21st century LA “Hollywood: the flashiest, most treacherous court of all” and it is entertaining, gripping and, at times, funny. You’ve got all of the elements of Anne’s true story – love, passion, intrigue, betrayal, infidelity, conspiracy… – but with cocktails, iPads, Hollywood parties, threesomes, viagra and pot thrown in. It works!

Let me introduce you to some of the characters:-

• Henry Tudor – Described as “A Los Angeles power player with sex appeal that matches his wealth”. The ‘King’ of Hollywood.
• Anne Boleyn – His girlfriend and not the usual woman to catch Tudor’s eye – she’s not an A list celebrity.
• George Boleyn – Anne’s brother and best friend who might just have a thing for men, rather than women – Yes, I know, this was one of two character I had trouble with, the other being his spiteful wife Lacy.
• Mary Boleyn – Anne’s sister, Henry’s ex and a pot-loving woman who just wants to be free to live her own life
• Theresa Cromwell – “A mature woman in a world that places a premium on youth. Henry’s brilliant VP is determined not to lose her perch on the pinnacle of power.”
• Catherine Aragon Tudor – Henry’s ex-wife and mother of his daughter, Maren.
• Ferdinand Aragon – Catherine’s politician father
• Carl Wolsey – “The wily funds manager”
• Jane Seymour – The blonde jewelry designer from San Francisco
• Wyatt – Parking valet and musician who writes a song for Anne
• Leo de Vince – The artist everyone wants to be painted by

Recognise anyone?!

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Category: Anne Boleyn, Fiction, Henry VIII, Mary Boleyn, The Tudors
Tags: Anne Boleyn, Anne of Hollywood, Carol Wolper, The Tudors

Posted By Claire on February 20, 2012

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of Susan Higginbotham’s upcoming novel “Her Highness, the Traitor”, and I’m so glad I did. My husband will testify to my enjoyment of it because I kept reading bits out to him and telling him how refreshing it was to read a novel where John Dudley wasn’t painted as a baddie and Frances Grey (née Brandon) wasn’t an overbearing, harsh mother. I also appreciated the fact that Higginbotham had meticulously researched her novel, drawing on primary sources and the recent work of reputable historians such as Eric Ives and Leanda de Lisle.

Lady Jane Grey’s story will always be a tragic one, no matter how you look at it, but what I loved about “Her Highness, the Traitor” was that the story was told through the eyes of the two mothers involved in the events of 1553: Frances Grey, mother of Lady Jane Grey, and Jane Dudley, mother of Guildford Dudley and wife of John Dudley. Higginbotham explores the impact of the events of 1547-1554 on both the Greys and Dudleys: Edward VI’s reign, the rise and fall of Protector Somerset, the rise of John Dudley and the short reign of Lady Jane Grey. Both Frances and Jane lost children and husbands in 1554, and fought to survive and put their families back together.

Higginbotham’s Lady Jane Grey is very different to the usual tragic victim we’re used to. Jane is a highly intelligent and pious girl who can be proud, haughty and abrasive. She is close to her father, Henry Grey, but her mother struggles to understand her. Although Frances and Jane are not close, Frances is far from the strict, hunting-loving monster depicted by some authors; she loves her daughter and wants the best for her. Jane and Guildford’s relationship is certainly not a love match but Guildford is a warm, fun-loving young man who cares for his wife and her family, and who goes to his death with courage and dignity. He wants the crown as Jane’s consort, but he certainly is not power hungry. As for John Dudley, well, I must admit to falling in love with him in the book! He is a wonderfully warm character who loves his family and who wants to do his duty to his monarch. He is a man of principle and conscience. I also loved the opportunity of getting to know minor characters such as Mary Dudley and Henry Sidney.

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Posted By Claire on February 9, 2012

Although Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, is way out of my area of expertise (Tudor history), I jumped at the chance to read Matilda, when Jonathan Cape publishing offered me the chance, because I always find strong historical women interesting. I had also thoroughly enjoyed Borman’s book on Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s Women.

I read Matilda in just a few days because it captivated me. It was an historical biography but it wasn’t heavy, it was a thrilling story. Now, I’m certainly not an expert on the period, on William or on Matilda, so I cannot pass judgement on Borman’s level of historical accuracy, but I can say that it was a wonderful read and that I enjoyed every minute of it. By the end of it, I felt that I had really got to know this incredible woman who was more than just a consort, she ruled alongside her husband and was strong and important in her own right. I felt I knew the real Matilda and I had fallen under her spell. Borman’s writing style had really drawn me into Matilda’s story.

What is thrilling about Matilda’s story is that it actually has all the ingredients of a novel, yet it is true. We have love and passion, power, betrayal, victory and defeat, bloodshed, rivalry, strong characters, a family saga… Exciting stuff! Combine that with an author who has obvious passion for her subject, a knowledge of the period and the willingness to challenge traditional historical perceptions of Matilda and her family, and you have a top-notch book. This petite but formidable queen steps off the page and comes to life in front of you.

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Category: Non-fiction
Tags: Matilda, Tracy Borman, William I, William the Conqueror

Posted By Claire on February 9, 2012

If you have read my review on Miss Dimple Disappears, you will know that I loved Mignon F. Ballard’s first book. Well, I loved this one too!

It’s so nice, at the end of a hectic, brain-stretching day, to curl up with a book that you can relax with and unwind to. I described the first Miss Dimple book as “a good old fashioned murder mystery” and this one is too. Think Agatha Christie rather than Patricia Cornwell; mysery versus thriller. That’s what this book is like.

Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause is set in 1943 in the town of Elderberry, Georgia, the backdrop we know from the first book. It features Miss Dimple and other characters we know from the first book, such as teachers Charlie and Annie, and mixes a murder mystery with the story of these characters’ personal lives as they cope with the impact of the World War Two on their day-to-day lives. While on a school outing, Annie and her class discover a skeleton and a whole chain of events begins. Buddy Oglesby disappears, there is a shooting in the town, money disappears and Phoebe Chadwick is acting strangely… What is going on? Can Miss Dimple get to the bottom of it and bring normality back to Elderberry?

Well, I can’t tell you, that would spoil it, but Ballard draws all the different threads together brilliantly and it is a wonderful who-dunnit. Perfect for murder-mystery fans but also those interested in wartime small town America.

Details

Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause by Mignon F. Ballard
Format : Hardcover
Pages: 272
Publisher: Minotaur Books (November 2011)
ISBN-10: 0312614756
ISBN-13: 978-0312614751
Availability: Click here to order from Amazon.com or click here to order from Amazon UK.

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Category: 20th Century History, Crime/Thriller, Fiction
Tags: Mignon F Ballard, Miss Dimple, murder mystery, Second World War, World War II

Posted By Claire on January 3, 2012

I was very very excited about reading this Anne Boleyn novel because I have come to know Anne Clinard Barnhill through both The Anne Boleyn Files and Anne Boleyn Fellowship site. I knew, first-hand, just how much research had gone into the writing of this novel so was dying to read Anne’s take on Anne Boleyn’s story.

Anne Clinard Barnhill is descended from the Shelton family – Sir John Shelton, his wife Anne Boleyn (sister of Thomas Boleyn and aunt of Queen Anne Boleyn) and their daughter Margaret, or Madge Shelton – and it was her research into her roots which inspired this novel. At the Mercy of the Queen is the story of Anne Boleyn’s rise and fall told through the eyes of her cousin, Madge Shelton, who is chosen to serve the new Queen as a lady-in-waiting. The stories of the two women run in parallel as Madge tries to help Anne Boleyn keep the love of Henry VIII while also trying to keep her love for Arthur Brandon, the illegitimate son of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, a secret and the lecherous Sir Henry Norris at arm’s length.

Country girl Madge has to keep her wits about her at the dangerous Tudor court and depend on the advice of her friend, poet Thomas Wyatt. Madge becomes a trusted confidant of Anne Boelyn and is eventually forced to make the ultimate sacrifice for her Queen and cousin by agreeing to become mistress to the King in an attempt to keep the Queen in favour. Will Arthur’s love for her be strong enough to cope with her betrayal and how will she avoid marriage to Norris, a rich gentleman and courtier? When Anne Boleyn falls from power in May 1536, Madge sacrifices herself again by choosing to stay at her mistress’s side and go into the Tower with Anne, not knowing whether she’ll ever see Arthur again or whether she’ll survive the bloody events. She puts her queen first and is faithful to the bitter end. Will Madge get a happy ending?

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Category: Anne Boleyn, Fiction, Six Wives, The Tudors, Uncategorized
Tags: Anne Boleyn, Anne Clinard Barnhill, historical fiction

Posted By Claire on January 2, 2012

US version

Thank you so much to Niki Incorvia M.A. for taking the time to review Chris Skidmore’s book on Edward VI for us…

This book immediately struck my interest. As someone who wishes to specialize in rebellions during the Sixteenth Century, I left a huge void in my research by not studying Henry VIII’s youngest son Edward VI’s short reign on the throne. Apparently, I am not the only one who thought Edward needed some credit where credit was due. British historian and author Chris Skidmore does an excellent job of uncovering the falsities, betrayals, and the ultimate struggle for power amongst the men leading the country [England] while Edward was still a minor. Unfortunately, Edward never made it to his majority, but during his years as England’s boy-king he showed the world his capabilities and shrewd intellect that would perhaps one day rule one of the greatest kingdoms in early modern Europe.

As many Tudor fans know there is little written about Edward’s short stint on the English throne. Most historians seem to jump from Henry VIII’s death to the tumultuous and mostly misunderstood reign of Mary I and then to the second most infamous Tudor, Elizabeth I. Skidmore (2011) writes enthusiastically, “Edward’s was a reign of supreme importance, not only for understanding the progress of the English Reformation, but also the essential politics of the age” (n.p.). The author could not be more accurate in the last part of that sentence “the essential politics of the age.” To read about the downfall of two of Edward’s beloved maternal uncles, either by their own doing (Thomas) or by their enemies (Edward), was dramatic and unyielding.

When reading this book I kept thinking this must be the end for Edward Seymour; he is finally going to be brought to trial and executed at the hands of those who wish to see his demise. However, Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, always seemed to make a comeback which really gave the reader a great insight into how slippery and dangerous the world of politics was at that time.

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Category: Edward VI, Non-fiction, The Tudors
Tags: Chris Skidmore, Edward VI

Posted By Claire on December 20, 2011

Congratulations to MelanieP, J A Shuler and Anne Elizabeth who won Miss Dimple book sets from our recent giveaway! I’ve emailed you three for your addresses and St Martin’s Press will send your books out as soon as possible.

Thanks to all who entered!

If you didn’t win but want to get your hands on Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause then Click here to buy from Amazon.com or here for the Kindle version. Also available from Amazon UK – click here

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Category: 20th Century History, Crime/Thriller
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Posted By Claire on December 12, 2011

To celebrate last week’s release of “Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause”, the latest book by Mignon F Ballard, Minotaur Books/St Martin’s Press have offered our visitors the chance to win a set of Miss Dimple books – 2 books: Miss Dimple Disappears and Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause.

There are 3 sets up for grabs and to be in with a chance of winning one of them simply leave a comment on this post, making sure that you fill in your email so that I can contact you if you’re randomly picked. It is open to residents of the USA and Canada – sorry everyone else! 3 winners will be picked on Monday 19th December so get commenting!

Click here to read my review of Miss Dimple Disappears and here are some details on Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause. I’ve just received my copy and am chomping at the bit to read it as I loved the first one.

Publisher’s Blurb for Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause

It’s September 1943, and the town of Elderberry, Georgia has exciting plans for the War Bond Rally to support the troops fighting the war abroad. Miss Dimple’s friend and librarian, Virginia Balliew, has agreed to chair the big event, with the help of Buddy Oglesby to publicize it. But when Miss Dimple’s first-grade class discovers a skeleton at the edge of a cotton field, and Buddy disappears along with the war bond money, it’s clear that something is amiss in the little town. It’s up to Miss Dimple along with her fellow teachers, to get to the bottom of it all without drawing the thief’s attention.

Neither war abroad nor crime on the homefront can daunt valiant Miss Dimple in the latest entry in Ballard’s beloved series.

Praise for Miss Dimple Disappears

“Fan of Agatha Christie? You’ll love this mystery.”
— Woman’s World

“Genre veteran Ballard fills her story with wonderful characters and warm humor.”
— Booklist

“For all readers who wonder what life on the home front was like during World War II, Ballard’s…series launch offers plenty of wonderful nostalgia and the heartbreak that only war can bring. Fans of Southern small-town cozies and World War II historicals will enjoy this.”
— Library Journal

“Ballad provides a nostalgic look at life in small-town America during the [WWII] war.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“Intriguing…Ballard does a good job depicting a small American town as the factories gear up for war, young men enter the service, and everyone adjusts to rationing.”
— Publishers Weekly

Book Information

Title – MISS DIMPLE RALLIES TO THE CAUSE
Author – Mignon F. Ballard
Publisher – Minotaur Books, Hardcover, 6 December 2011
978-0-312-61475-1
Click here to buy from Amazon.com or here for the Kindle version.
Also available from Amazon UK – click here

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Category: 20th Century History, Crime/Thriller, Fiction
Tags: Mignon F Ballard, Miss Dimple, war

Posted By Claire on November 17, 2011

Twenty years after the publication of his first book on Mary I, “Mary Tudor: A Life”, David Loades has released a brand new biography of Mary. In the preface of this new book, Loades writes of how he has not changed his mind about her but that he has “rethought aspects of her life and reign”, as well as learning more about Philip of Spain and his career. I haven’t read the first book so I cannot comment on how similar or different they are, but I enjoyed this immensely and have already been using it as part of my research.

If you already know me through my work on The Anne Boleyn Files website, you will know that I never take what I read in history books as fact, however reputable the historian or author, and I always make it my mission to double-check the sources. Well, David Loades make this easy because he cites his sources in full so it is easy for the history student, researcher or armchair historian to check them out and understand why he has come to the conclusion he has. Thank you, David!

Now, let’s give you a rundown of the book, something I like to do with factual books as it shows you what is covered.

• Introduction – Loades talks about how “in terms of her own ideas and purposes, Mary Tudor was a failure, and nothing can conceal that fact” and how she has been seen by history as “a loser”. He points out that she was never born to be queen (she was born to be a consort), but that she was an important queen, a powerful woman and was a success in many ways.
• The Child – Loades takes us back in time to thirty years before Mary’s birth, when a marriage was first proposed between her mother, Catherine of Aragon, and Arthur, Prince of Wales. He gives the context and background to Mary’s birth – the death of Arthur, her parents’ marriage and Catherine’s struggle to have a baby – and then gives details on Mary’s upbringing, her education and her change in circumstances when Henry Fitzroy was made Duke of Richmond. The chapter ends with her father, Henry VIII, beginning his relationship with Anne Boleyn.
• Disruption – Loades covers Henry’s struggle for an annulment, Mary’s menstrual problems and ill health, and the impact of Henry’s second marriage and Elizabeth’s birth on Mary.

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Category: David Loades, Mary I, Non-fiction, The Tudors
Tags: David Loades, Mary I, Mary Tudor

Posted By Claire on November 13, 2011

“Dangerous to Know” is the latest paperback instalment in the Lady Emily mystery series by novelist Tasha Alexander. I’ve just finished it and must admit that I’m now hungry to find the rest of the series – yes, my Amazon wishlist is rather long!

This murder mystery is set in Normandy, France, and features a Victorian character, Lady Emily Hargreaves, as its sleuth and heroine. Emily has recently had a rather brutal brush with death (must read that book!) and so has retreated to her mother-in-law’s estate in Normandy to recover from her ordeal. Unfortunately, while she’s there she stumbles upon the body of a young woman who appears to be the victim of a Jack the Ripper copycat. Emily finds out that the victim, Edith, was the daughter of a wealthy French family who was sent to an asylum after showing signs of insanity, a family failing. Edith apparently was haunted by the ghost of a murdered child whose hair was decorated with a blue ribbon, so is Emily also going mad when she also wakes up to weeping and wailing and blue ribbons left for her to find? Edith, the eccentric Madeline and Emily all seem to be being haunted by the same ghostly child, just what is going on and what has it to do with Edith’s death?

Not only is Emily busy trying to get to the bottom of this mystery, she is also getting over her grief of losing her own child in a miscarriage caused by her brush with death, plus her husband is being rather overprotective and seems to want her to cut back on the sleuthing, the job she sees as her calling. All this and she also comes into contact with the enigmatic art thief, Sebastian, who steals a Monet to get her attention, and her mother-in-law seems disappointed in her son’s choice of bride! Can she get to the bottom of these mysterious goings-on with her life and marriage intact? Read and find out!

I loved this novel. I’ve been going through a phase of reading historical who-dunnits and have loved every single one of them. I feel very lucky to have been introduced to some new authors and Tasha Alexander’s books are definitely going on my Christmas list. Alexander brought both the lives of these characters and the times they lived in to life brilliantly. You can’t help but fall in love with Sebastian – a very lovable rogue – and empathise with Emily, who is an enlightened woman living in a world which still sees women as fragile and second class. I would highly recommend this book, thank you so much to Tasha Alexander for a very entertaining read!

Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander
Format : Paperback
Publisher: Minotaur Books (September 2011)
ISBN-10: 0312383797
ISBN-13: 978-031238381-7
Availability: Click here to order from Amazon.com or click here to order from Amazon UK.

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Category: Crime/Thriller, Fiction, Victorian
Tags: Lady Emily mysteries, Tasha Alexander