Helene Harrison's Blog, page 9

Documentary – The Queens That Changed the World – Episode 2 – Queen Anne

Below are notes I took while watching the Channel 4 documentary ‘The Queens That Changed the World’, episode 2, which was on Queen Anne. The first episode was on Elizabeth I and you can see my notes here. Future episodes will be on Queen Victoria, Hatshepsut, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Boudica, all of which I … Continue reading Documentary – The Queens That Changed the World – Episode 2 – Queen Anne

Book Review – ‘Anne of Athelhampton and the Riddle of the Apes’ by Giles Keating

I wasn’t sure what to make of this book when I started it. But I ended up quite enjoying it. Based in a real Tudor house (Athelhampton) which you can still visit today, Anne is the daughter of the house and is gifted a monkey, Endy, by a man who is blackmailing her father. Based … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Anne of Athelhampton and the Riddle of the Apes’ by Giles Keating

Book Review – ‘Holbein’s Hidden Gem: Rediscovering Thomas Cromwell’s Lost Book’ by Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey

When Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey revealed their latest find I was gobsmacked. It seems almost unbelievable to think that Thomas Cromwell’s Book of Hours has just been sat on a shelf in the Wren Library at Trinity College, Cambridge, for so many years without really being examined. As Emmerson and McCaffrey explain in this … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Holbein’s Hidden Gem: Rediscovering Thomas Cromwell’s Lost Book’ by Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey

Book Review – ‘Penelope: Tudor Baroness’ by Tony Riches

Thanks to Tony Riches and Preseli Press for gifting me this for review. What I really like about Tony Riches’s novels are that they bring to life people that have been lost or sidelined. Penelope Rich (nee Devereux) is a woman who had an incredibly interesting life and was sister to the executed Earl of … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Penelope: Tudor Baroness’ by Tony Riches

Documentary – The Queens That Changed the World – Episode 1 – Elizabeth I

Below are notes I took while watching the Channel 4 documentary ‘The Queens That Changed the World’, episode 1, which was on Elizabeth I. Future episodes will be on Queen Anne, Queen Victoria, Hatshepsut, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Boudica, all of which I will add to this blog as I watch the episodes. I enjoyed … Continue reading Documentary – The Queens That Changed the World – Episode 1 – Elizabeth I

Book Review – ‘Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown’ by Alison Weir

Thanks to Headline Publishing for sending me a copy for review. An interesting addition for sure to the Six Wives series. Hearing the stories told in more detail by the six wives now told by Henry VIII was interesting. Weir presents a view of Henry where he is attempting what is probably an impossible task … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown’ by Alison Weir

Book Review – ‘Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England’ by Kathryn Warner

Thanks for Pen and Sword for gifting me a copy of this for review. Reading this book was like revisiting some of my university courses on Women and Subversion, and the Female Experience, talking about infanticide, marriage, fornication, incest, pregnancy, and childbirth. It was so interesting to reread over some things I’ve studied, but also … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England’ by Kathryn Warner

Book Review – ‘Children of the House of Cleves: Anna and her Siblings’ by Heather R. Darsie

Huge thanks to Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this to review. This was an intriguing idea and read right from the start. It’s not a topic I’ve read much about. I know the Anna of Cleves English history but not the wider history of the Von der Mark family. So, this was … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Children of the House of Cleves: Anna and her Siblings’ by Heather R. Darsie

Book Review – ‘Wars of the Roses: The People, Places and Battlefields of the Yorkists and Lancastrians’ by Paul Kendall

Thank you to Pen and Sword for gifting me a copy of this to review. What I do like about Paul Kendall’s books is that his books seem to each have 100 sections, whether it’s people, places, or objects. There isn’t just an image plate section in the middle, but the images are dispersed throughout … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Wars of the Roses: The People, Places and Battlefields of the Yorkists and Lancastrians’ by Paul Kendall

Book Review – ‘Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman’ by Lucy Worsley

I knew this book would be good; Lucy Worsley is always such an engaging writer and excellent historian. This book doesn’t disappoint. I’ve only read one or two Christie novels but reading this biography makes me want to read so many more. Worsley examines Christie’s life chronologically and also through the medium of her writing. … Continue reading Book Review – ‘Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman’ by Lucy Worsley