A few years ago, great brouhaha ensued when mystery writer Robert Galbraith was “outed” as none other than JK Rowling by the best friend of a wife of one of Rowling’s solicitors. Considering the massive fallout for the solicitor over this, I am assuming that best friend is no longer welcomed in his home. I… Read more Robert Galbraith’s Mysteries
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times … Happily, I am able to share that The Jezebel Effect went to #1 in the category of Women in Politics on Amazon: That’s great, right? Yes! But then I saw my first review and sadness came for me. Someone has given me… Read more Good News / Bad News
Edward II was a deeply flawed king. In her book Edward II: The Unconventional King, Kathryn Warner doesn’t attempt to hide that fact. However, she also uses meticulous research to debunk myriad myths about Edward II, including the malarkey that he was killed via a hot poker in the rectum. Edward II had a rough… Read more Review of Edward II: The Unconventional King
Although the general public remembers Henry VIII as a tart-chasing tartar, many modern historians such as Lacey Baldwin Smith have defended the king as a rather “prudish” man with more wives than mistresses. In her new book, The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories, Amy Licence disagrees. She argues that… Read more The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories
A friend of mine, Claire Ridgway, who writes non-fiction books about the Anne and George Boleyn and who does not agree with the Kell/McCloud syndrome theory but is a nice person nonetheless, has launched The Tudor Society. It is “an exclusive membership club for all those who love Tudor history and who want to keep… Read more The Tudor Society
I loved reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books as a child. Then when my girls were old enough, I started to read the series to them and discovered that I had to edit the crap out of the lavish racism lest my daughters burst into tears with horror. Which then inspired me to ponder the… Read more The Real Little House
This weekend I bought and then voraciously read a book by Pauline Kiernan entitled Filthy Shakespeare. I was a wonderful read for a potty-mouthed Tudor enthusiast like myself, but is not for those whom the Anglo-Saxon derived earthy words for body bits and sex offend. Let’s just say that while the book dealt with Tudor… Read more Merry Old England
I am a big fan of author Jeannie Lin. She writes fiction set in Imperial China and it is hella well done. My favorite of her books are The Lotus Palace and The Jade Temptress. I cannot heap enough praise on them. Not only is she an excellent wordsmith, she is one of the rare… Read more Tudor China?
I recently bought Clare Cherry and Claire Ridgway’s new book, George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier & Diplomat, and I was very glad I did. The blurb for the book promises a lot of information: “George Boleyn has gone down in history as being the brother of the ill-fated Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry… Read more Review of George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier & Diplomat
On May Day, 1464, six-year-old Katherine Woodville, daughter of a duchess who has married a knight of modest means, awakes to find her gorgeous older sister, Elizabeth, in the midst of a secret marriage to King Edward IV. It changes everything-for Kate and for England. Then King Edward dies unexpectedly. Richard III, Duke of Gloucester,… Read more Book Review: The Stolen Crown