Helene Harrison's Blog, page 2

Book Review – ‘Totally Chaotic History: The Stone Age Runs Wild’ by Greg Jenner

I really enjoyed this third book in the Totally Chaotic History series. I don’t know much about the Stone Age and the development of humans, so this was really interesting. I had no idea that there were so many different kinds of hominins! Greg Jenner has a really great voice and way of getting information […]

Book Review – ‘Past Mistakes: How We Misinterpret History and Why It Matters’ by David Mountain

“… it’s impossible to deny the role of history in shaping our perceptions of society, both past and present. And so, when we get our history wrong, it can have far-reaching and unexpected consequences for how we view ourselves and make sense of our world. History, whether we like it or not, has an annoying […]

Guest Post – Aimee Fleming on Tudor Princes and Princesses

Princess Elizabeth: The Forgotten Tudor Today I welcome back Aimee Fleming to my blog. Aimee has previously been a guest on my blog writing about her first book on Margaret More Roper. You can read Aimee’s previous post here. Aimee’s new book Tudor Princes and Princesses: The Early Lives of the Children of Henry VII […]

What is History, What is History, Now: What does History Mean to Me?

And Why does History seem to be Considered an Unimportant Subject in Schools? It’s important to say straight off that history isn’t an unimportant subject, one that won’t get you anywhere in the world. History is one of those areas of study that gives you an incredible number of transferable skills – critical thinking, logic, […]

Book Review – ‘The King’s Mother’ by Annie Garthwaite

Publisher: Penguin Books Period: Wars of the Roses, Medieval Thanks to Viking Books for gifting me a copy of this for review and for inviting me to be a part of the blog tour for the paperback release! I have to start by saying, what a brilliant follow up to ‘Cecily’! If you haven’t read […]

Guest Post – Amy McElroy on Mary Tudor, Queen of France

Today I’m delighted to welcome Amy McElroy! Amy and I released our first books on the same day in January 2023. This time, Amy is here to talk about her recently released third book Mary Tudor: Queen of France about Henry VIII’s younger sister (not his daughter!) who was Queen of France and Duchess of […]

Book Review – ‘Katharine of Aragon, Spanish Princess: ‘I am Not as Simple as I May Seem’’ by Heather R. Darsie

Publisher: Amberley Publishing Period: Tudors Big thank you to Amberley Publishing for gifting me a copy of this in exchange for a review. I haven’t read anything quite like this book before and it was so fascinating! This isn’t a biography of Katherine of Aragon, but an exploration of her Spanish roots and ancestry and […]

Tynemouth Priory and Castle

My Local English Heritage Property A couple of weeks ago, I went to explore my local English Heritage property, Tynemouth Priory and Castle. It’s been a good few years since I visited, I think before the COVID lockdowns, though I walk part a lot. It sits on the headland at Tynemouth on the north-east England […]

Anne Boleyn: 489 Years Since Her Execution in 1536

Why are We Still So Fascinated? In Tudor history circles, May is definitely Anne Boleyn month. This year, 2025, marks 489 years since Anne Boleyn was executed on 19 May 1536 on fabricated charges of adultery, incest, and treason. She was beheaded with a sword by an executioner sent for from France before her trial […]

Guest Post – Heather R. Darsie on Katherine of Aragon and her Spanish Heritage

Today I am delighted to welcome the lovely Heather R. Darsie as part of her blog tour for the launch of her new book Katharine of Aragon, Spanish Princess: ‘I Am Not as Simple as I May Seem’. Heather has previously written books about Anne of Cleves and has now travelled from Germany to Spain […]