Helene Harrison's Blog, page 4

Guest Post – Tony Riches on Bess Throckmorton and Writing Historical Fiction

Today I’m thrilled to welcome historical novelist, Tony Riches! Tony has written many novels based around the Tudor period and Wars of the Roses, and the latest is the final in his Elizabethan series, Bess: Tudor Gentlewoman, based around the life of Bess Throckmorton. He wrote his Tudor trilogy and Brandon trilogy prior to moving […]

Book Review – ‘Shackled to a Ghost’ by C.F. Kirkham-Sandy

Publisher: Amazon Digital Period: Tudors Thanks to the author for sending me a copy of this novel for review. I was intrigued by this novel when I was offered a copy by the author for review. I’ve never heard of a novel told from the points of view of Thomas More, Desiderius Erasmus, and Margaret […]

Media Review – ‘The Tudors’ Series 1

Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Natalie Dormer, Sam Neill, and Maria Doyle Kennedy There was a lot of love when I suggested the idea on Instagram that, as I was rewatching Showtime’s ‘The Tudors’ perhaps I did a little review of each season. ‘The Tudors’ is a show that seems to be a lot of people’s […]

Book Review – ‘Scotland’s Medieval Queens: From Saint Margaret to Margaret of Denmark’ by Sharon Bennett Connolly

Publisher: Pen and Sword History Period: Medieval Thanks to Sharon Bennett Connolly and Pen and Sword for a copy of this to review. I’ve really enjoyed ‘Heroines of the Tudor World’ by Sharon Bennett Connolly, so I was intrigued by this one as it’s not a period I know much about, or a country I’m […]

Guest Post – Rebecca Batley on the Lord Protector and His Wives

Today I welcome back Rebecca Batley, who I have previously spoken to about her book on Anne Neville, the wife and queen of Richard III. Rebecca’s new book moves forward a few decades and is about Edward VI’s Lord Protector, Edward Seymour, and his wives Catherine Filliol and Anne Stanhope. These personal relationships are fascinating […]

York Minster and York Castle Museum

A Fantastic Day Trip to York I visited York last month with my godson and we visited York Minster and the York Castle Museum. I’d been to York Minster before, but not the York Castle Museum and I couldn’t believe it because it’s a really fascinating museum! We also then walked some of the castle […]

Book Review – ‘Bastard Prince: Henry VIII’s Lost Son’ by Beverley A. Murphy

Publisher: Sutton Publishing Period: Tudors I’ve wanted to read this book for a while, and I’ve seen mixed reviews. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if there was enough information on Henry Fitzroy to write a full biography as he seems to be relatively absent from the primary sources, probably hugely overshadowed by Anne Boleyn […]

Book Review – ‘The Queen’s Musician’ by Martha Jean Johnson

Publisher: SparkPress Period: Tudors Big thanks to Martha Jean Johnson for gifting me a copy of this for review. I really enjoyed this book, based around the life of Mary Smeaton, a Tudor musician who became completely entwined in the life of Henry VIII’s second queen, Anne Boleyn. As a Tudor historian specialising in Anne […]

‘The Queen’s Musician’ by Martha Jean Johnson

Publisher: SparkPress Period: Tudors Big thanks to Martha Jean Johnson for gifting me a copy of this for review. I really enjoyed this book, based around the life of Mary Smeaton, a Tudor musician who became completely entwined in the life of Henry VIII’s second queen, Anne Boleyn. As a Tudor historian specialising in Anne […]

Being a Neurodivergent Historian and Author

My Experiences of Writing, Research, and Life in General I’ve known since around the age of 17 that I was autistic and probably dyspraxic as well. I was told that it’s 99.9% certain but that I was too old to diagnose. Now at the age of 34 I am pursuing that formal diagnosis though I […]