Most people know that the 5 November is about the Gunpowder Plot, “a failed mass assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland and the entire House of Lords by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.” It’s celebrated now by burning bonfires with effigies of Guy Fawkes… Read more The Last Gunpowder Plot: The Newport Rising
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was King Henry VIII’s right hand man for years, and when he fell from the king’s favour, the prelate — along with everyone else — blamed Anne Boleyn for his disgrace. This is, however, poppycock. Wolsey was accused of committing treason because he committed treason. Motivated by his hatred of Henry’s intended… Read more The Arrest and Treason of Cardinal Wolsey
Princess Sophia Matilda of the United Kingdom was born on 3 November 1777, the 12th child of King George III and his consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Little Sophia was loved, but what is considered “good parenting” has changed so radically since her time that her upbringing can horrify the modern reader. Her parents, especially her… Read more The Scandals of Princess Sophia
King Edward V was born on 2 November 1470 in Westminster Abbey where Queen Elizabeth Woodville, had taken refuge during the very brief period when the baby’s father, King Edward IV, had been dethroned and the crown returned to King Henry VI. Edward’s birth must have been seen as an excellent sign for the Yorkists,… Read more King Edward V
Robert Burns published the poem Halloween on 31 July 1786, when Jane Austen was ten years old. The devoted lover of poetry that she was, she would have doubtlessly have been familiar with it as a teen. But did she celebrate Halloween, the way others did in her time? Alas, we cannot know for sure … but it… Read more Regency Hallowmas
Today is Hallowmas, also known as All Hallows’ Day, All Saints’ Day, Feast of All Saints, or Solemnity of All Saints. It is a day to honor all Christian saints, both known and unknown, but honestly it mostly makes me think of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This feast day begins at Vespers (sunset… Read more Hallowmas
Harri Tudur, grandson of a Welshman and a French Princess, the great-great-great-grandson of King Edward III, was crowned King Henry VII, the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty, on 30 October 1485. It is important to note that he made sure he was crowned king by “right of conquest” before he married Edward IV’s eldest daughter… Read more Henry VII Crowned King
Imagine a world where a married woman could work faithfully for her employer for more than fourteen years, chronically underpaid, yet still be thrown out like garbage because she was pregnant with her husband’s baby. This is exactly what happened to Mrs Dorothy Doar in 1832, which I recently read about in the excellent book… Read more A Regency Crime: The Persecution of Mrs Doar
Today I am lucky enough to have a guest post by Sharon Bennett Connelly, author of Heroines of the Medieval World and blogger-in-chief at History … the Interesting Bits. Enjoy! Although they had the same start in life, the two daughters of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster led very different lives as adults.… Read more The Daughters of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster
Renée of France, the youngest and second surviving daughter of King Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany, was born on 25 October 1510. Like the other women in her family, Renée of France would show her mettle from an early age … which included religious devotion, a stainless-steel spine, and the kind of… Read more Renée of France