Read of the Week

Hey readers,
This week I enjoyed a really great book entitled The Women of the Cousins' War: The Duchess, The Queen and the King's Mother by Philipa Gregory, David Baldwin and Michael Jones. This book is interesting because each author tackles one of the major matriarchs of the period in a series of essays. The essays cover Jacquetta, dowager duchess of Bedford, her daughter Elizabeth Woodville who would become queen of Edward IV and Margaret Beaufort, mother to Henry Tudor (Henry VII) Each "short story" covers the womens' early lives including their birth and childhood, early marriages and eventual rise to power. The stories overlap nicely, painting a very well written, comprehensible picture of the time period. One complaint I might have is that the authors took some liberties when speculating how each character might have felt in certain situations. Despite this, the book is extremely well-written and fun to read. If you are a fan of Gregory's historical fiction novels, this is a must read!

Elizabeth I Documentary

Hello All,
Today I enjoyed this short documentary entitled Elizabeth: From Prison to Palace narrated by renowned Tudor historian David Starkey. It was recently produced by BBC History. I hope you enjoy it!

Richard III Remains Confirmed!

Early this morning, scientists at the University of Leicester confirmed that the remains of a man found at the Grey Friars' Abbey archaeological site are indeed that of King Richard III, the last Plantagenet king of England. The DNA testing, which was performed to compare material from the skeleton and a known living descendant of Richard's sister Anne, was a nearly perfect match through the maternal line. The remains were located late last summer after a brief, successful search for the monarch's bones. The find is a great advance for English history and archaeology as facial reconstructions as well confirmations of Richard's fatal wounds and scoliosis can now be performed. I am enclosing the link here so you may read more on the topic!

This Day in Tudor History

On this day in history, 1520 Mary Boleyn, sister to Anne and future mistress to King Henry married William Carey. Contrary to popular belief, Carey was quite a catch. He was in favor with the King and had already amassed some wealth. There is no evidence to suggest that she was married off quickly, to the first man who came along in order to cover up her affairs in France. Sometime shortly after her marriage, probably in around 1521 Mary began an affair with King Henry VIII. Over the next several years, she would birth two children, Catherine and Henry named in honor of the reigning monarchs. There were some rumors that the children were actually Henry's and not sired by her husband William, however no contemporary evidence exists to suggest that this Henry was not a Carey by blood, although Catherine's paternity has been questioned. William died of the Sweating Sickness in 1528. Upon the death of her husband, Mary was left with substantial debt and little to no income. As a result, the King granted wardship of her son Henry to Anne. Mary would remarry in 1534 without permission of her father or the King, causing great turmoil between Mary and her family. The man, William Stafford, was a relatively poor landowner from Essex. His meager means support the theory that this marriage was a love match; quite uncommon during the time period especially for the high ranking nobility. She seemed happy finally, unlike her sister who would meet her demise just two short years later.

Read of the Week

This week I decided to review The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir to accompany the podcast I posted earlier this week. It was book I greatly enjoyed. Despite only covering the last several days of her life, the book is over 300 pages. In this book you will discover Weir's theory for the downfall of Anne, that Cromwell was solely responsible for the plot against her and that Henry believed the charges of incest and adultery against her. I love the way this book does not romanticize Anne's last days, the book reads like a forensic report. Weir carefully examines each piece of evidence in Anne's case including the court records, personal letters and eye-witness accounts of the time. I do have certain issues with some of the evidence she presents; first of all that Anne miscarried a deformed fetus in late January 1536. There is absolutely no primary evidence of this, in fact Weir cites a modern author as her source for this information. I have deeply researched this topic and each author who writes that Anne carried a deformed baby cite each other as their source, with no credible beginning information. Secondly, Weir claims that Jane Boleyn testified against her husband and sister in law, accusing them of incest. This is an inaccurate claim. (To read my research regarding these claims click here.) Other than these inaccuracies, Weir's book is incredibly well written and fun to read. Despite knowing how the book will inevitably end, the writing is fresh and suspenseful. Pick it up today!