UnholyTudor

The different media portrayals of Anne Boleyn Hello, my history nerds! How are you all doing? Ready for me to talk about Anne Boleyn again? Anne Boleyn has always had her name besmirched by propaganda, both in her lifetime and after. Anne Boleyn had a resurgence in popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries and during the reign of Queen Victoria, where Anne was seen as more of a victim who was mistreated by her husband, Henry VIII. After 300 years of being branded as a whore and ‘the scandal of Christendom’, Anne was starting to be seen in a new light.  By the 20th century, many novelists and playwrights such as Maxwell Anderson, writer of “Anne of the Thousand Days”, were full of praise for Anne, and their writings were more sympathetic towards her than previous accounts. Anne of Thousand Days was a play first shown in 1949 with the titular role played by Joyce Redman and then transformed into an award-winning film in 1969 starring Genevieve Bujold. Genevieve Bujold is one of our m...

                  An interview with Doctor Tracy Borman                                            Discussing her illustrious career Today, I have the absolute pleasure to speak to Dr Tracy Borman, joint chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces and author of numerous books. Tracy has written numerous books and has appeared in numerous documentaries. When did your interest in history begin? I’ve loved history for as long as I can remember. One of my first summer jobs was dressing up as a Victorian jailer and showing visitors around Lincoln Castle prison!  My parents always say it must have skipped a generation because they’re not particularly into history but my paternal grandfather, who died before I was born, had a huge collection of notebooks that he’d compiled, filled with local history stories that had caught his eye. M y pass...

                  The Dudley family with Christine Hartweg Firstly, could you please tell us a bit about yourself first? Jessica, thanks for having me! My name is Christine Hartweg, and I was born in South America and live in Berlin. I ran the blog www.allthingsrobertdudley.wordpress.com and wrote two books on the Dudleys. John Dudley: The Life of Lady Jane Grey's Father-in-Law and, Amy Robsart: A Life and Its End. I am currently working on Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. I have been doing this for quite some time now, especially sifting through sources, but I have restarted the writing recently, so there will be a book. I so love the writing part! Where did your interest first begin in history? When I was a child, my parents took me on holidays, and we travelled to Sweden, Lago di Garda (Northern Italy), and St. Petersburg (which was then Leningrad); these were all enchanting places which sparked an interest in history. When I was fif...

  Penelope Devereux with Tony Riches Hello Tony, thank you so much for agreeing to do an interview with me on your new book!  Firstly, could you tell us about yourself first? Thanks, Jessica – I write historical fiction full-time in Pembrokeshire, Wales.  Best known for my Tudor Trilogy, I’ve continued to follow the Tudor line to the end of the Elizabethan era. I also have a popular podcast series, Stories of the Tudors.  Where did you first discover Penelope Devereux?  In my Elizabethan Series, I wrote the second book, titled “Essex - Tudor Rebel,” which focuses on Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex and his sister Penelope. Through my research, I discovered that Penelope was a captivating and powerful woman. What made you want to write a book on Penelope?  I planned the Elizabethan Series as two interconnected trilogies. The first three books explore the lives of three Elizabethan men. All of Queen Elizabeth’s favourites, they each see her very differently. Dr...

    The ascension of James VI & I with Steven Veerapen Hello Steven, thank you so much for agreeing to do an interview with me! Firstly, please tell us a little bit about yourself. Hi Jessica, Thanks for hosting me! It’s a pleasure to talk about James VI and I. I’ve recently finished a biography of him, “The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I”, so this is very timely. Beyond that, I’m a novelist (with a new series of crime novels starring Anthony Blanke, fictional son of John Blanke, set in the reign of Henry VIII), and I teach English and Creative Writing at the University of Strathclyde. I’ve been working on the Tudors and Stuarts for a few years now, and have written novels set in the reigns of Elizabeth and James, and nonfiction studies of Elizabeth and Essex and Mary Queen of Scots and her brother Moray. I’m hoping I don’t get bored of the early modern period – thankfully no signs of that yet! Where did your interest in 16th-century history begin?  It...