Lets fatten up our TBR list! Recomend a book chain

[Tracy]

My new favorites...Rivals in the Tudor Court and Secrets of the Tudor Court both books are about the Duke of Norfolk a character who is usually a small supporting role. This author tells the life story of the man who gave up both of his nieces to marry and then be beheaded by Henry VIII. Such a complicated man who lived through much heartbreak before becoming the monster Tudor history lovers know.

[Jaye]

I've been wanting to read Secrets of the Tudor Court.

My top list of recommendations are (in no particular order):
The King's Rose, by Alisa Libby - GREAT book. One I most definitely could not put down!

The Wild Queen: The Days and Nights of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Carolyn Meyer (finished last week, just came out 2 weeks ago) - EXCELLENT. Could not put it down.

Mary, Bloody Mary, by Carolyn Meyer - Awesome portrayal of Mary. You really feel sympathy towards her in this book.

Beware, Princess Elizabeth, by Carolyn Meyer

Patience, Princess Catherine, by Carolyn Meyer

Doomed Queen Anne, by Carolyn Meyer - My favorite novel so far about Anne. I loved it.

Alison Weir's The Wives of Henry VIII and Innocent Traitor (I did read The Lady Elizabeth a few weeks ago and it was just ok. Good, but she really ran off with the story, with it being fiction, and I KNOW that she knows her Elizabeth I.)

I also have enjoyed the "historical entertainments" by Carolly Erickson. I got annoyed with the over-exaggeration and the inaccuracies, but I got over it pretty quickly and just wrapped up myself in the stories. I really enjoyed The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette above all the others, but I just finished reading The Favored Queen (2011, about Jane Seymour) and also read The Memoirs of Mary, Queen of Scots, and The Last Wife of Henry VIII in high school. I am anxiously awaiting her book on Catherine Howard to come out later this year - I can't wait to see her take on a queen that no one knows a lot about.

[Heather]

Donna wrote: "Margaret Campbell Barnes books are very easy reading. Not the 'best researched,' (so much information has been discovered since she wrote her novels) but still fun.

Jean Plaidy's books are simila..."

Donna,
When you read the Queens of England series, did you read them in published order, historical/chronological order, or no order at all? I'm looking forward to reading these!

[Heather]

I haven't read any of Jaye's recommendations, but I put the Carolyn Meyer books on my TBR.

I would absolutely recommend The Pleasure Palace by Kate Emerson...it's the first in The Secrets of the Tudor Court. I love the story from a non-traditional POV, this one about Jane Popyncourt.

Additionally, I highly recommend The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory...I liked this one over The Boleyn Inheritance...it just didn't capture me.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

Interesting - I preferred The Boleyn Inheritance to The Other Boleyn Girl.

[Orsolya]

Susanna wrote: "Interesting - I preferred The Boleyn Inheritance to The Other Boleyn Girl."

I did, as well.

[Heather]

Susanna wrote: "Interesting - I preferred The Boleyn Inheritance to The Other Boleyn Girl."

I can not imagine that scenario! :)

I loved being encapsulated in the Boleyn girls scandal...I just wasn't all that excited about trying to determine what Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Jane Boleyn's inheritances were. It did, however, lead me to be far more interested in Jane Boleyn. She was portrayed as such a bitch in TOBG, I want to know her side of the story, by TBI didn't answer that for me.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

The two Gregories I've enjoyed most were The Boleyn Inheritance and a non-Tudor, Virgin Earth.

[Anne]

Heather wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Interesting - I preferred The Boleyn Inheritance to The Other Boleyn Girl."

I can not imagine that scenario! :)

I loved being encapsulated in the Boleyn girls scandal...I just was..."

I just finished a book by Julia Fox about Jane Boleyn. While I was disappointed in it seemed to be mroe about what Jane saw, or heard, or was told, it did give me a more sympathetic view of her. What she lost when George was beheaded, how Thomas treated her, and how she worked her way back into Henry's good graces only to lose her life. You might enjoy reading the book.

[Mary]

She certainly has never had a sympathetic hearing from any author I've ever read. Jane always comes across as a lying, scheming bitch. I'll have to add this book to my TBR pile.

[Orsolya]

Anne wrote: "Heather wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Interesting - I preferred The Boleyn Inheritance to The Other Boleyn Girl."

I can not imagine that scenario! :)

I loved being encapsulated in the Boleyn girls scan..."

Fox's book is mere speculation. I gave it low reviews. I have yet to find a "stong" Jane book. However, I suppose this is all due to a lack in enough information on her.

[Anne]

Orsolya wrote: "Anne wrote: "Heather wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Interesting - I preferred The Boleyn Inheritance to The Other Boleyn Girl."

I can not imagine that scenario! :)

I loved being encapsulated in the Bole..."

I was disappointed, as I mentioned in a previous post, with regards to Julia Fox's book about Jane. BUT...I'm really enjoying her book "Sister Queens".

[Orsolya]

Anne wrote: "Orsolya wrote: "Anne wrote: "Heather wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Interesting - I preferred The Boleyn Inheritance to The Other Boleyn Girl."

I can not imagine that scenario! :)

I loved being encapsul..."

Unfortunately, I did not like "Sister Queens" either and gave it 2 stars. I think Fox is NOT the author for me. You can see my review at: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Anne]

Orsolya wrote: "Anne wrote: "Orsolya wrote: "Anne wrote: "Heather wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Interesting - I preferred The Boleyn Inheritance to The Other Boleyn Girl."

I can not imagine that scenario! :)

I loved b..."

I love all the opinions here! I think the reason I'm enjoying "Sister Queens" is because the information on Juana is very new to me. And it's not as much of a "she probably heard" or "she would have seen" type of book as the Jane Boleyn book by Fox. I did enjoy reading your review.

[VL]

I love the selection of books everyone has offered so far! I have two recommendations to add: The Kingmaker's Daughter by P. Gregory comes out soon (I got an advance copy of it) and Elizabeth I by Margaret George.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

Yeah, I had that "she must have known" problem with The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn.

[Anne]

Susanna wrote: "Yeah, I had that "she must have known" problem with The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn."

Uh oh! I have that on the shelf to read. ;-)

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

It felt (to me) like it had more of them than her bio of Eleanor of Aquitaine. And we know a great deal more about Anne than we do Eleanor.

Your mileage may vary, though!

[Anne]

Susanna wrote: "It felt (to me) like it had more of them than her bio of Eleanor of Aquitaine. And we know a great deal more about Anne than we do Eleanor.

Your mileage may vary, though!"

Hmmmm....well have to give that one a try soon...

[Orsolya]

Anne wrote: "Orsolya wrote: "Anne wrote: "Orsolya wrote: "Anne wrote: "Heather wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Interesting - I preferred The Boleyn Inheritance to The Other Boleyn Girl."

I can not imagine that scenari..."

Juana is one of my favorite figures so perhaps that is why the book didn't resonate with me... I needed "more". Plus, I don't like Fox's writing style.

[Orsolya]

Susanna wrote: "Yeah, I had that "she must have known" problem with The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn."

I actually enjoyed this one!

[Sarah]

This is sort of unimaginative right now, but Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies are both good, if you can stomach a sympathetic portrayal of Thomas Cromwell.

I'm wondering if anyone has read D. L. Bogdan's Secrets of the Tudor Court. It's about Mary Howard and I found it pretty poor. The diction is either modern or Victorian (with a "naught" or a "mayhap" tossed in here and there), but, worse, she has Mary using modern psychology to explain people's actions. And Mary herself, to me, came off as dull and maybe a little stupid. Did anyone like this book? I would love to be convinced!

[Orsolya]

I saw that you just gave it 1-star. My fellow history buff friends on here gave it 2 and the other 4. I guess it is a love it or hate it sort of work!

[Sarah]

Maybe so! I didn't hate it, really, I just didn't think the language was right for the period and I never knew what the secrets were. I'm struggling with the language issue in my own novels, how to be authentic and still be readable. It's very hard! But I don't think you can have 16C people "projecting" emotions or calling somebody a "nervous wreck" or wanting "closure." these are all 20C post-Freudian concepts. Maybe I'm just crabby on this issue!

[Orsolya]

I don't think you are being crabby about it. Although I haven't read the book; I HAVE read others with which I complain about the same things (much too modern language, concepts, or thinking). I think it is particularly important to keep all areas synched with the time period to maintain authenticity and reader interest.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

Yeah, that kind of language usage in a historical can really push my buttons; think I'll avoid this one.

[Sarah]

Whew, I'm glad it's not just me. I was beginning to feel like a curmudgeonly school teacher slapping a ruler against my palm. Mantel has been taken to task for modern dialogue, but she uses third-person narrators, not first, and she always gets the ideas right. I'll probably get my comeuppance when my first novel comes out and my mistakes get pointed out to me, alas!

[Orsolya]

Haha, that may happen as payback from karma! ;)

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

I see GR Giveaways is having a giveaway of an Alison Weir novel - A Dangerous Inheritance.

[VL]

I thought A Dangerous Inheritance was a decent book. I like Weir's writing style although it could get a little confusing to remember which character was talking.

[Mary]

Just found Claire Ridgway's "The Fall of Anne Boleyn" on Kindle for $0.99! Good deal!

[Jeannepw]

I'm reading Weir's The Princes in the Tower right now, so I'm interested in seeing what she does with the Plantagenet character in A Dangerous Inheritance.

I just found this book on Elizabeth and religion and downloaded it to my Kindle today:

[Mary]

Don't know the author, but the premise sounds interesting.... http://kindlenationdaily.com/2012/08/... ...When the skeletal remains of a young woman and her baby are found entombed behind the kitchen wall of a historic Tudor house, Cassandra is overcome with grief. She seems to know who the young woman was, but not how she knows or how she came to be there. Cassandra becomes inexplicably drawn to the house and the mystery of the “Bones of Blackfriars.” As she begins to learn the truth about the Thorne siblings who occupied the house during the reign of Elizabeth I, her own life takes an unexpected turn and she finds that her fate is linked to the Thornes in ways she never imagined.

[Leanne]

Susanna wrote: "I see GR Giveaways is having a giveaway of an Alison Weir novel - A Dangerous Inheritance."

Yes but only available to the US, not the UK :(

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

Yes, sorry; I think it's US-only.

[Crystal]

Has anybody read this book -- Dear Henry: Confessions of the Queens?

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12...

It was sent to me on one of those recommendation emails from Amazon. The few reviews on Goodreads don't look so hot, so I'm wondering if it's worth putting on my to-be-read list. I trust the opinions of this group. Let me know if you have read it and what you thought, if you would. Thank you!

Crystal

[Crystal]

Here's another one I didn't see on this group's bookshelf. The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown by Claire Ridgway.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...

Opinions from those of you who've read it? Is it worth adding to my to-be-read list???

You guys are the best!
Crystal

[Sarah]

I haven't read this one, but I think I'll check it out!

[Orsolya]

Anything by Claire is worth adding. She runs the website The Anne Boleyn Files and is an amazing historical researcher.

[Sharon]

I agree and think that Claire is 'awesome'! I found a couple of new books that just came out and look very interesting: "Le Temps Viendra: A Novel of Anne Boleyn" by Sarah Morris and I really am intrigued with "Blood Will Tell: A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII" by Kyra Cornelius Kramer.

[Crystal]

I am totally ashamed to admit to all of you that I missed the Philippa Gregory Q & A last night on Goodreads. For some dopey reason I thought it was happening tonight, and I crashed out last night at 9:30 like a woman in need of a walker and Depends underpants. I think I'm getting old or something. Oh, man, I really wanted to be in on that discussion too. So sorry I can't fill you in on what happened since I missed the party.

On a lighter note, there is another Goodreads group I belong to that is almost persecuting authors. I have never felt as welcome there as I do here. I love this group. There are so many terrific people here, and I feel I can safely share my opinion on any Tudor book I read here without backlash. I will always be honest about the books I read because I love the Tudors so much! Thank you all of you for sharing your opinions on Tudor books as well. I've got several I can't wait to start reading that I've received as recs here!

I really should've been born in England and right at the beginning of Henry's reign so I could've been his royal laundress. Best way to get the dirt on that man if you ask me.

I bought this last week as an ebook. I'm hoping it will be another wealth of information on what it was like to live in those days. If anybody's read that one, please, let me know if I wasted my money or not. Thank you!

[Crystal]

Also, this has nothing to do with reading, but I thought some of you might get a kick out of this if you haven't seen it. I've been watching youtube videos of a Yeoman of the Warder at the Tower of London who does the tour. He's hilarious. Here's the 5th one (I think it discusses details about Anne's beheading):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnPOG5...

What I wouldn't give to go on that tour in person and see the tower with my own eyes. I don't care about the haunted stuff, just want to walk where they once placed their feet. Anybody in this group ever been on the tour at the Tower of London? I'd love to hear details about it. I can only imagine how amazing it is based on the youtube videos I've watched.

p.s. I'm slow. I barely figured out how to insert book covers in these posts and for some dorky reason I'm damned proud of myself like I invented the rack or something. So silly!

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

That looks like a neat book, Crystal

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

Yes, Crystal, many moons ago - 1983. No idea what it's like now, I hear they have a newfangled "tribute" to the beheaded, that from the sound of it I should hate.

[Crystal]

Susanna wrote: "That looks like a neat book, Crystal"

I'm excited about it. I'll write a review after I read it.

[Crystal]

Susanna wrote: "Yes, Crystal, many moons ago - 1983. No idea what it's like now, I hear they have a newfangled "tribute" to the beheaded, that from the sound of it I should hate."

Do you remember what you enjoyed about the tour?

And why do you think you would hate the new tribute for the beheaded? Because it's macabre or caters to the people that go there less for history and more because they want a thrill from haunted places? Just curious; not trying to be flippant, only want to understand what the tours are really like.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

I enjoyed all of it, I think. Going through Traitor's Gate gave me quite a thrill, I remember.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

Because it looks like it takes up a lot of space on the green, from the pictures I've seen. And is in a very modern style.

I'm an old fogie.

[Sarah]

I love that little bookLife in a Tudor Palace. Small but beautifully formed.

Just thought I might recommend my own book (I hope that is OK?).I have just published my first historical novel on Anne Boleyn Le Temps Viendra:a novel of Anne Boleyn. You can read more about it on my web site (including reviews)http://www.anneboleynbook.co.uk/. It is out in ereader now at http://spartan-publishing.com/books/h... and on pre-order for the paperback from tomorrow from Spartan Publishing.

However, two books I enjoyed immensely and took so much from for my research were:The Royal Palaces of Tudor England: Architecture and Court Life, 1460-1547 and Anne Boleyn: In Her Own Words & the Words of Those Who Knew Her. They are not cheap but worth it, if you really want to get behaind all the well known events and brings Anne's life and story to life... and I could go on all day with many more!

[Zoey]

Crystal wrote: "Also, this has nothing to do with reading, but I thought some of you might get a kick out of this if you haven't seen it. I've been watching youtube videos of a Yeoman of the Warder at the Tower of..."

Hi Crystal
I went to the UK in May and went to The Tower (along with Hever Castle & Hampton Court) & absolutely loved it. I definitely recommend you go if you ever get the chance.