Helene Harrison's Blog, page 6

Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 – 80 Years Since the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau

In a step away from my usual Tudor content, today I thought it was important to talk about Holocaust Memorial Day, which falls each year on 27 January. On this day in 1945 the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland was liberated. This was the largest labour and death camp in the Nazi German … Continue reading Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 – 80 Years Since the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau

Two-Year Anniversary of ‘Elizabethan Rebellions’

Today, 16 January 2025, marks exactly two years since my first book, ‘Elizabethan Rebellions: Conspiracy, Intrigue and Treason’ was published. It still sometimes feels like it’s not really real, like it’s a dream. And that’s with my third book coming out in July! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me, from my … Continue reading Two-Year Anniversary of ‘Elizabethan Rebellions’

Book Review – ‘Emblems of Monarchy: Royal Portraiture in Yorkist and Early Tudor England’ by Frederick Hepburn

Thank you to Brepols Publishers for sending me a copy of this for review. This book is really interesting, looking at portraiture and image from Edward IV through to Henry VIII – eighty years of royal portraiture. It is very detailed and there are images of portraits, stained glass, coins, and manuscript images throughout. The … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Emblems of Monarchy: Royal Portraiture in Yorkist and Early Tudor England’ by Frederick Hepburn

Book Review – ‘Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor’ by Nathen Amin

Thanks to Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this for review. Wow, what a much needed and brilliant book! I always think you can’t really understand yourself without understanding your own history and experiences. It’s the same with other people, although this is much harder with people who lived 500 years ago. This … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor’ by Nathen Amin

Media Review – ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ Episodes 4-6

See my review of episodes 1-3 of ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ here. Episode 4 – Jenneke This episode opens with the Whitehall Mural of Henry VII, Elizabeth of York, Henry VIII, and Jane Seymour. It was interesting to see this recreated – the historical work that has gone into this series is … Continue reading Media Review – ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ Episodes 4-6

Media Review – ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ Episodes 1-3

Episode 1 – Wreckage Episode 1 felt a little slow most of the way through, though I suppose it was supposed to just be setting up the story for the rest of the series. It introduced some new characters and re-castings including Timothy Spall at the Duke of Norfolk and Harry Melling as Thomas Wriothesley. … Continue reading Media Review – ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ Episodes 1-3

Book Review – ‘The Pretender’ by Jo Harkin

Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for a chance to review this novel. It’s always interesting to consider the life of the boy we today know as Lambert Simnel, and I’d never actually considered that Simnel was the real Earl of Warwick which is a suggestion made in this story. Could Clarence have swapped his real … Continue reading Book Review – ‘The Pretender’ by Jo Harkin

Book Review – ‘Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen’ by Alison Weir

I think this one is my favourite of the three released so far because it’s a story that I don’t know as well so there were more twists and turns in it for me. It was also a very interesting take, that Jane is haunted by the fate of the queen who went before her. … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen’ by Alison Weir

Book Review – ‘Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession’ by Alison Weir

I was quite surprised that I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first in the series, ‘Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen’. There were some bad dramatic choices in this novel which just made it seem unreal somehow, and it’s a pity because I think Anne Boleyn’s story is fascinating and it doesn’t … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession’ by Alison Weir

Book Review – ‘Totally Chaotic History: Roman Britain Gets Rowdy’ by Greg Jenner

Like Greg Jenner’s previous children’s book on Ancient Egypt, I loved this. It’s funny, informative, and engaging, and I imagine kids love it because I do! It’s brilliantly illustrated, and I love the format of Jenner writing it, being interrupted by historian Emma Southon, and interspersed with a chaos meter and funny cartoons by Rikin … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Totally Chaotic History: Roman Britain Gets Rowdy’ by Greg Jenner