Lets fatten up our TBR list! Recomend a book chain

[Donna]

I liked Edward VI: The Lost King of England. It was an excellent book, very well researched. I am about to begin The Queen's Fool by P.G.

[Jennifer, Mod #5]

A lot of mixed reviews on that one, Donna. Let us know what you think :)

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

I thought it was just OK - not as good a read as Other Boleyn Girl.

[Angela]

Out of all of P.G's books I found that The Constant Princess was the one that I least cared for. I liked the book, it just wasn't as like-able as her others.

[Marissa]

Angela wrote: "Out of all of P.G's books I found that The Constant Princess was the one that I least cared for. I liked the book, it just wasn't as like-able as her others."

Different strokes I guess. I think that my father had died shortly before that and I was gripped by a fear of losing my husband so The Constant Princess hit home for me.

Plus, it was interesting to read about Catherine of Aragon back when she was young and glamorous... rather than as a dowdy wife that is second to Anne Boleyn.

[Marissa]

Angela wrote: "Out of all of P.G's books I found that The Constant Princess was the one that I least cared for. I liked the book, it just wasn't as like-able as her others."

Different strokes I guess. I think that my father had died shortly before that and I was gripped by a fear of losing my husband so The Constant Princess hit home for me.

Plus, it was interesting to read about Catherine of Aragon back when she was young and glamorous... rather than as a dowdy wife that is second to Anne Boleyn.

[Gemma]

I'm not a great fan of historical fiction, but The Constant Princess looks interesting.

For a book on a similar theme, try Gimes Tremlett's Catherine of Aragon: Henry's Spanish Queen. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did - it captures Catherine's early (young and glamorous!) life in Spain very well.

[Angela]

Angela wrote: "Out of all of P.G's books I found that The Constant Princess was the one that I least cared for. I liked the book, it just wasn't as like-able as her others."

I think my problem with the book was that I had studied COA for so long that I had my own version of her.

[Jennifer, Mod #5]

Susanna wrote: "I thought it was just OK - not as good a read as Other Boleyn Girl."

Same for me but The Boleyn Inheritance was my favorite, followed by TOBG :)

[Marissa]

Jennifer wrote: "Susanna wrote: "I thought it was just OK - not as good a read as Other Boleyn Girl."

Same for me but The Boleyn Inheritance was my favorite, followed by TOBG :)"

I haven't read either of those actually. I feel like I have though since TOBG was made into that movie that everyone on the planet went to see, except me. I FEEL like I've read it just from hearing people talk about the movie. I think it can be chalked up to a stubborn refusal to like what everyone else likes.... which is silly since other people like it for a reason!

[Jennifer, Mod #5]

LOL I wasn't a huge fan of the movie :)

[Marissa]

Jennifer wrote: "LOL I wasn't a huge fan of the movie :)"

P.S. I meant a stubborn refusal to NOT like what everyone else likes!! oops!

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

Jennifer wrote: "Susanna wrote: "I thought it was just OK - not as good a read as Other Boleyn Girl."

Same for me but The Boleyn Inheritance was my favorite, followed by TOBG :)"

My favorite Greggory is actually Virgin Earth, followed by Boleyn Inheritance and then The Other Boleyn Girl.

[Aly]

I couldn't stand the movie TOBG. The book was ok. TBI was IMO superior, but I still don't like how PG's characters are so flat. I feel that she could flesh them out a bit. I couldn't stand the Constant Princess and was sad that I spent money on it actually. I feel like I'm really harsh on PG, but she is so well known among people who aren't Tudor fanatics. And I feel that she doesn't give the Tudors what they deserve. Especially Henry. He is constantly the background character and always mean, stinky, fat etc. In my role as advocate for Henry, I have to say that there was more to the man than just those characteristics!!

[Angela]

Aly wrote: "I couldn't stand the movie TOBG. The book was ok. TBI was IMO superior, but I still don't like how PG's characters are so flat. I feel that she could flesh them out a bit. I couldn't stand the ..."

I agree with you about Henry. He had such a powerful presence, why put him in the background? And why always that Henry? I wish to see him front and center and more so the Henry of his youth, the vibrant Henry, not the one-sided man he is often portrayed as.

Which version of the movie did you watch, the British or the American?

[Aly]

Thank you, Angela!!! That's how I feel too!! I watched the American version. I've heard that the British version is much more favorable.

[Angela]

I am not a huge fan of either, although the British version was a bit easier to watch.

[Marissa]

Aly wrote: "I couldn't stand the movie TOBG. The book was ok. TBI was IMO superior, but I still don't like how PG's characters are so flat. I feel that she could flesh them out a bit. I couldn't stand the ..."

I understand what you mean. I think PG's Earthly Joys was the first time I appreciated the complexity of the character to a certain extent. But there was still a quality to him that I felt was hidden away.... or perhaps never invented or acknowledged. It's hard to explain. I notice that once writers write SO MANY novels about the same people and era, some are bound to fall flat. It's why I really appreciate Emma Donoghue's Slammerkin and her very different but equally wonderful Life Mask. I wish she would write about the Tudor era. Tudor hf would be much improved by her writing!

[Susan]

Susanna wrote: "If you think you might want to try historical mysteries, I cannot recommend C.J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake books more. There are (currently as far as I know) four of them, starting with [book:Dis..."

Susanna wrote: "If you think you might want to try historical mysteries, I cannot recommend C.J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake books more. There are (currently as far as I know) four of them, starting with [book:Dis..."
I quite agree with you. I'm on "Revelation" now and am reading slowly to make it last longer. Only "Heartsone" left to read.

[Gregory]

Has anyone mentioned the PF Chisholm Sir Robert Cary series yet, I found those an excellent stories, complete with adventure, frustrated romance, wild border reivers and a host of great Elizabethan characters. Very well written and researched
Or for the more serious Patricia Finney' Firedrakes eye or Gloriana.
On that line of good books may I most humbly beg your indulgence and suggest a visit to my Tudor blog?
I have just posted the prologue and chapter 1 of The Liberties of London- a Tudor Christmas romp.
http://rednedtudormysteries.blogspot....
Regards Greg

[Bernie]

The missing Princes always intrigued me, since "Daughter of Time." Gregory's "Red Queen" and "White Queen" touch on this, but I preferred Robin Maxwell's "To the Tower Born."

[Gregory]

To my friends at Goodreads just a quick note to let you know I’ve put up an article on that famous Tudor figure Sir Thomas More. I am afraid to some of you that it may contradict a number of the modern myths that have sprung up around the Tudor Period Politian, Lawyer and Royal servant. For that you have my apologies however I believe that a more realistic examination of the crucial position of More may hold the key to understanding Henry VIII later actions.
Regards Greg

http://rednedtudormysteries.blogspot....

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

A Man for All Seasons is a delightful movie; it just gets More completely backwards. Whoops!

[Krystal]

Collen wrote(message 4)
Not fond of Elizabeth I though; in my opinion she inherited her mothers wit and shrewdness and her fathers cruelty and intense narcissism, not a good combination.

I have to say that it kept her on the throne long enough. Elizabeth is an interesting charcter I mean she reigned for 45 years no one can deny the fact that she brought about a lot of good and bad changes.

But to get back to the discussion I have to say I don't watch a lot of historical fiction because they chop a lot of stuff out of the movie. But I am eager to read by

[Mike]

Reply to Berni, my explanation of the Princes is they were taken by members of John Morton's 'mystery' school, using lookalikes - it was these who were buried under the stairs, referred to in Sir Thomas More's book - the subject for a future book. I recommend Sir George Buck, it's his conclusions I used in my own writing.
Edward

[Mike]

Reply to Greg, I've just posted a note to Bernie, who's interested in the Princes in the Tower, mentioning More - your opinion would be useful.

[Bernie]

Reply to Mike: Thank you--I will check this out. Wasn't Bishop Morton an ally of Margaret Beaufort?

[Gregory]

Yes Morton was firm ally of Margaret Beauforts and according to More the hero of his unfinished play Richard III.
it is interesting that More never specualted on their fate not even in allegory.
Regards Greg

[Gregory]

To Bernie the whole Princes in the Tower situation provides a lot of speculative fodder for writers and historians. I haven't really done a lot of research on this signal event but my suspicion tends towards a Tudor origin to their removal or murder. This is in part based on how Polydore Virgil the tame Tudor historian acquired and rewrote a number of then contemporary documents. As we know the Tudor claim was very slim and Henry Tudor was definately canny enough to bolster his legitimacy by any means possible.

[Mike]

Susanna wrote: "A Man for All Seasons is a delightful movie; it just gets More completely backwards. Whoops!"

Please remember More was trained by John Morton, anyone who passed through his hands had a dark and secret side - that certainly does not come out in the film.Edward

[Gregory]

Please remember More was trained by John Morton, anyone who passed through his hands had a dark and secret side - that certainly does not come out in the film.Edward


Yes Mike that is quite true, Morton was the comsumate late medieval high prelate, a man with great intelligence and few scruples.

[Gregory]

To my dear friends in goodreads just a quick note to let you know I’ve posted chapter 2 of my very very soon to be released The Liberties of London novella.
Check this address and see how Ned digs himself further into trouble.
http://rednedtudormysteries.blogspot....
Regards Greg

[Susan]

I'm reading an advance review copy of D. L. Bogdan's Rivals in the Tudor Court and am really enjoying it. I've also got Margaret George's latest on the pile. And yesterday, I received a old Tudor novel in the mail--Rosemary Churchill's Daughter of Henry VIII (about Mary).

[Ashleigh]

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..."

Love, love, love Jean Plaidy! Her books are really worth hunting down.

[Susan]

I'm reading , about the early years of Henry VIII.

[Gregory]

That one sounds interesting, I've read a few of Hutchinson's books. Though I found the quality tends to vary sometimes he's very reasonable while ohter times almost hysterical.

Regards Greg

[Amy]

Just started So far I'm really enjoying it.

[Gregory]

Weir can be quite good as a popular historian, however she really does loath Ann Boleyn and I thought accepted uncritically all the adverse claims and accusations.
Regards Greg
http://rednedtudormysteries.blogspot.com...

[Amy]

Greg wrote: "Weir can be quite good as a popular historian, however she really does loath Ann Boleyn and I thought accepted uncritically all the adverse claims and accusations.
Regards Greg
http://rednedtudor..."

I was not aware that she did not like Anne Boleyn. I am still on Katherine of Aragon. Thanks for the link!

[Gregory]

To all my fellow Tudor devotees I've just come across an excellent series of public lectures on Tudor and Stuart England from one of the Yale history courses. They are viewable on the flowing link.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Y...
I found them quite interesting and thought they may help explain some of the background to that facinating period of blood, turmoil and religion
Regards Greg
http://rednedtudormysteries.blogspot.com...

[Gayle]

So, has anyone run across any books about Owen Tudor or Henry Tudor (Henry VII)? Curious minds want to know. (Other than The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory, they are quite visible in that novel.)

[Mike]

Neither Owen, nor Henry VII, nor, for that matter, Edmund were the stuff of heroes, certainly not for romantic fiction. People can be fascinated by villains, who did remarkable things, perhaps these early Tudors are just not engaging enough.
If you can find sympathy for any of them, perhaps you could fill the gap.
Good luck.

[Ashleigh]

Was Owen Tudor mentioned a fair bit if Phillipa Gregory's "The Red Queen", or was that a different person I'm thinking of?

[Ashleigh]

Jean Plaidy's 'Uneasy Lies the Head' is about Henry VII, and he is also featured in Philippa Gregory's 'The Red Queen'.

[Susan]

Gayle wrote: "So, has anyone run across any books about Owen Tudor or Henry Tudor (Henry VII)? Curious minds want to know. (Other than The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory, they are quite visible in that novel.)"

Owen Tudor is the hero of Dragon's Whelp by Gwynedd Sudworth. He also features in a number of novels about Katherine of Valois.

Henry VII is the hero of Jean Stubbs' An Unknown Welshman. Most of the novel takes place before he becomes king.

[Gayle]

Thanks everyone. I'll have to look for these books.

[Gregory]

To my friends at Good reads just a quick note to let you know I’ve put an article up on my blog with a light hearted discussion on the fiction subsets in the Tudor history genre –fact or fiction oh yes and vampires

Regards Greg
http://rednedtudormysteries.blogspot....

[Gregory]

To all my friends and fellow Tudor devotees at Goodreads, I most humbly announce that my first book is now available on Amazon Kindle. A Red Ned Adventure- The Liberties of London, I extend to you an invitation to visit and if you so choose down load a sample.

Your Obedient Servant Greg

http://www.amazon.com/Liberties-Londo...

[Susan]

I got this a couple of days. It's a fascinating reference book:The Royal Palaces of Tudor England: Architecture and Court Life, 1460-1547

[Gregory]

Oh dear there goes the bank account, I'm going to have to get that one!

Regards Greg