Contrary to popular belief, Henry VIII wasn’t a tyrannical monster who chopped off heads willy-nilly … until 1535. Prior to that year, Henry was reluctant to use the axe when other solutions were possible and the worst thing he had done was separate Katherina of Aragon from their daughter, Mary. Even that wasn’t just being… Read more The Bloodbath Begins: Henry VIII Turns to the Axe
Thomas Cromwell was a human being, and like the rest of us he was caught somewhere between an ape and an angel. He was a man, and both the monster and the maven were a myth. He was devoted and ruthless, loyal and backstabbing, loving and heartless. To those whom he felt himself pledged he… Read more Cromwellian Complexity
I am in a bit of a quandary. Wither do I dither, you may ask? You see, it is International Women’s Day, many women are on strike for A Day Without Women, and there are too many things I want to blog about on this topic. On the one hand, I could blog about Jane… Read more International Women’s Day and Squirrels
I really, really enjoyed this book – plus I learned a lot of really interesting things about Tudor art and symbology! In 1572, the good looking and talented Nicholas Hillyarde paints the first of many portraits of Elizabeth I, England’s “Virgin Queen”. His ability to capture the likeness of his patrons make him famous and… Read more The Truth of the Line by Melanie Taylor
I must say that adored The Raven’s Widow, both as a historian and as an avid reader. The book is a narrative of the life of Jane Parker Boleyn, widow of George Boleyn and a woman who has been used as a malignant foil for many fictional writers based on unsubstantiated historical rumors and not… Read more The Raven’s Widow
Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547, but the time needed to have his body lavishly embalmed and his funeral procession planned meant that the king was not actually buried in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor until almost three weeks later. On 14 February the king’s funeral procession began its journey from Whitehall, where the… Read more Bluff King Hal is Laid to Rest
On 2 December 1546 Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and his son, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, were both thrown into the Tower for the shadiest of reasons and for the weakest of excuses. Only the duke would survive. Henry Howard, one of the great poets of the Tudor age, would be executed for trumped up… Read more Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey
The fiercely maternal and profoundly strong-willed Margaret Beaufort died peacefully in her bed on 29 June 1509. Founder of the Tudor Dynasty, she was buried in Westminster Abbey with every honor and an Italian sculptor was commissioned to create the effigy on her tomb. The famous humanist scholar Erasmus honored her by composing her epitaph,… Read more The Passing of Margaret Beaufort
I love the meme that goes around social media roughly wondering, “If May the Fourth is Star Wars Day, and the next day is Cinco de Mayo, then is the day after that the Revenge of the Sixth?” Ah, the pun is very punny. Notwithstanding the joke, some pretty bad stuff has gone down on… Read more The Dark Side and the Sound of Silence
Historical fiction is a touchy subject for reasons that I, as someone with Asperger’s syndrome, have a hard time fathoming. There is fiction, and there is fact, and if the twain don’t meet 100% then it is historical fiction. In fact, historical fiction that is 100% accurate in historical details (how I do love Susan… Read more Fictions and Factions