UnholyTudor

    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...

  In the footsteps of Anne Boleyn By Natalie Grueninger and Sarah  Morris Hello, my book lovers! How are you all doing? I hope you've read plenty of books in the sun!  So, I am recommending "In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn" this month. I first read this book when I was 14, and it made me want to visit every building Anne Boleyn set foot in. I can say this for all Anne Boleyn fans going to historic buildings she has set foot in is few and far between.  You have the obvious ones, like, Hever Castle, Hampton Court and the Tower of London but where else did Anne Boleyn go? And do they still survive? It became pretty clear to me that both Natalie and Sarah put a lot of work into the research of this book, they themselves have visited all the buildings too, so they could give us, the reader, a more personal experience and a more realistic one too. I loved this book for the fact I felt I was walking in Anne Boleyn's footsteps, literally. I have in fact been to some of the b...

  The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn    B y Sir Eric Ives Hello, my fellow history nerds! H ow are you all doing? This month I am recommending The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Sir Eric Ives. This book is a holy grail when it comes to reading and researching Anne's life. This book was published in the 1980s. So it has been around for a long time, but it is such a good book, for me, this is the holy grail when it comes to reading about Anne Boleyn, there is much more up-to-date research and books about Anne, but I always refer to this.  Eric Ives has gone into such detail, but it is not a hard read, it feels very much like he is having a conversation with you. It does not feel like a lecture, because sometimes non-fiction feels like someone throwing so much information at you and you are not actually learning anything. I only bought this book last year as I have always thought maybe it was overhyped because it was the first of its kind regarding Anne Boleyn, but as ...

We all know the story of Henry VIII and his six wives, but I still like to talk about them occasionally. Anna Von Kleves, the Flanders mare? Or a beautiful young woman with a steely determination to survive? I have chosen to refer to Henry's fourth wife as Anna, not Anne, she often referred to herself as Anna. The fourth wife of Henry VIII, and the shortest marriage. However, she had the most successful outcome of his wives. Yes, Katheryn Parr survived, but, Anna watched what happened to her successors, she was wealthy and lived a relatively happy life. Anna of Cleves was born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1515, between June and September. She was the second daughter of Duke John III and his wife Maria. Anna's father was heavily influenced by the scholar Erasmus, and John was aligned with the protestant faith but his wife was more of the Catholic faith. Anna and her sisters were closely brought up by their mother and Anna was most likely brought up in the Catholic faith. We do not ...

   Elizabeth of York,  The first Tudor Queen Elizabeth was born into a turbulent period of   history, the Wars of the Roses, she was the eldest daughter of Queen Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward IV. Elizabeth was the daughter, niece, sister, wife, mother and grandmother of monarchs, she has one hell of a lineage. Elizabeth was born at the Palace of Westminster in 1469, this was one of the preferred lodgings of Edward IV. She was christened at Westminster Abbey; her grandmothers, Jacquetta Rivers and Cecily Neville, were her sponsors. Elizabeth was surrounded by some of the most dominant women of their time, which might have influenced her. In 1475, Edward IV made an advantageous marriage proposal for Elizabeth to Louis XI's son, Charles. This was a very good match but one that the French would end up abandoning in 1482, Elizabeth was publicly jilted, which was humiliating.  Not much is known about the early years of Elizabeth's life, she was brought up like a...

  Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History By Tracy Borman Hello, my fellow history lovers, this month I am recommending a new book, it was released last month by the incredible Tracy Borman, she is joint curator of Historic Royal Palaces and author of multiple non-fiction books and historical fiction. This book solely focuses on Anne and her daughter Elizabeth, and the impact Anne had on her daughter and her very successful reign. Anne Boleyn is often a figure of controversy and was an unpopular figure in her lifetime, but, this book shows how much of a positive impact she made on her life and her ideals shaped Elizabeth's life.  If you know me, you know I am obsessed with Anne Boleyn and accept no slander about her whatsoever, so if you are the same as me, this book is for you, it highlights Anne's brilliance, how intelligent she was and how much she fiercely loved and protected her daughter till the very end. As we all know Anne Boleyn was e...

  A life working at Hampton Court Palace Interviewing James Peacock, the Anne Boleyn Society               I have had an exclusive interview with James Peacock, he works at Hampton Court Palace and he created the Anne Boleyn Society. I have questioned him on all things Hampton Court and Anne Boleyn! Let us dig in! So, James tell us a bit about yourself! So, I live on the outskirts of London and have been interested in Anne Boleyn/Tudor history since childhood. I lived in Australia for a few years growing up. I'm a huge fan of Kylie Minogue and about nine years ago I set up The Queen Anne Boleyn Society. What drew you to wanting to work at Hampton Court Palace? I've always had a fascination with the Tudors and of course Anne Boleyn, but also other parts of history as well and fortunately Hampton Court has a  diverse history spanning multiple eras. What do you find so fascinating about Tudor history? The Tudors have something for everyone....

  The saddest princess by Leah Toole An exclusive interview with Leah Toole on her first book Leah wrote her first book on Princess Mary Tudor, the first-born daughter of Henry VIII. This book is historical fiction but is thoroughly enjoyable. You can purchase Leah's book for yourself on Amazon. Tell us a bit about yourself, Leah!  I am a German/British mum of 2, passionate about Tudor history. I grew up in Portugal and lived there for 24 years, where I met my husband and our kids were born.  Where did your fascination with history start? I decided to study History completely at random alongside English Literature and Language and instantly fell in love with it.   Why did you decide to write your first book on Princess Mary?   I believe that Mary I and how we perceive her today is so negative due to the Propaganda during her reign which we still believe to this day when she didn't actually do anything that Henry VIII or even Elizabeth I did. People forget that s...