Recently Purchased/Borrowed/Swapped Tudor Books

[Colleen, Mod #3]

I just ordered No Will But His: A Novel of Katherine Howard by Sarah A. Hoyt on amazon.com. Does anyone else have any recently purchased or borrowed/swapped books they would like to share?

[Susan]

I finished Giles Tremlett's biography of Catherine of Aragon and recommend it. I found it very well written and informative.

I have David Loades' bio of Elizabeth I on order, along with his Six Wives book -- if it ever shows up! I think the weather in the UK has slowed it down.

[Colleen, Mod #3]

What is it called Susan, CoA is someone I would deffs like to read more about.

[Susan]

It's Catherine of Aragon: The Spanish Queen of Henry VIII

[Colleen, Mod #3]

Thank you Susan!

[Aly]

Hehe! Colleen I was trying to choose between the Hoyt novel and The Concubine and I got the second book instead. In hindsight I wish I wouldn't have......

[Colleen, Mod #3]

Get the Hoyt one next and maybe we could do a buddy read! :D

[Samantha]

Colleen wrote: "I just ordered No Will But His: A Novel of Katherine Howard by Sarah A. Hoyt on amazon.com. Does anyone else have any recently purchased or borrowed/swapped books they would like to ..."

I've read "No Will But His" and really disliked it. I hope you enjoy it more than I did... Between the anachronisms and the far fetched plot, I found it difficult to read.

[Colleen, Mod #3]

Rats, I hope I do like it, KH is one of my favorite wives so I have tried to get every book on her I could find.

[Samantha]

A couple that I really loved are "The Boleyn Wife" by Brandy Purdy, mainly about Jane Boleyn and dealt with both Anne's time as Queen, as well as Katherine Howard. The other was strictly about Katherine Howard and was called "The King's Rose" by Alisa M Libby.

[Aly]

The King's Rose was great! I think she did a really good job with it. Colleen, I'd love to do a buddy read!!! Name a date and I'll do it with ya!!!

[Gregory]

I have just started Starkey's Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII. I have actually been putting off reading this since I had been very unimpressed with some of his earlier work. So after a few chapters I was more than pleasantly surprised that Starkey in effect apologies for previous errors and rather than preening about his knowledge really digs into the issue of Henry's queens. I feel that I can recommend this book to anyone who wishes to go past the more bland rote versions of the standard myths.

[Aly]

Starkey's Six Wives was good, but I like Antonia Fraser's better. I find her much more readable.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

No new Tudor books lately for me, but I will be interested to see how you like No Will But His, Colleen

[Susan]

I got this bio by David Loades in the mail today:

Elizabeth I

[Mimi V]

Greg wrote: "I have just started Starkey's Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII. I have actually been putting off reading this since I had been very unimpressed with some of his earlier work. So ..."

i've just started this as well. i've enjoyed the other Starkey that i've read, so anticipate that this will be the same. i like that right at the beginning he outlines some well-known "facts" about Henry's wives that are not in fact true.

[Colleen, Mod #3]

Aly, how about as soon as we both get the book? lol
Lyn, will deffs let you know how the book is, I am looking forward to it.

[Christine]

I just ordered Death and the Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I and the Dark Scandal That Rocked the Throne.

[annie]

Samantha wrote: I've read "No Will But His" and really disliked it. I hope you enjoy it more than I did... Between the anachronisms and the far fetched plot, I found it difficult to read."

I couldn't even finish it, it was that bad. I just bought 'The Confession of Katherine Howard'. Hope it's better than Hoyt's!

[Samantha]

annie wrote: "Samantha wrote: I've read "No Will But His" and really disliked it. I hope you enjoy it more than I did... Between the anachronisms and the far fetched plot, I found it difficult to read."

I cou..."

I'm glad i'm not the only one! Let us know how "The Confessions of Katherine Howard" is! I'm always looking for a good Katherine Howard book.

[Aly]

Samantha, have you read Lacey Baldwin Smith's biography of KH? It's kinda dated, but it has some good info in it.

[Samantha]

No, but it's being added to my "to be read" list! Thanks Aly!

[Gregory]

I can also recommend it as being quite detailed

[Aly]

Not a problem!! I was surprised at the level of detail for how short of a book it is (it's less than two hundred pages). But it was such a wonderful read, and I discovered a lot of things that HF writers just kinda gloss over. It seems rare anymore that I find new (to me) info on the Tudors LOL so it's awesome when it happens!

[Gregory]

If you liked that style search around for Pollard's books he wrote earlier this last century but his research and information is presented very well and reads'fresh' and contemporary.

[Charli]

I've just finished reading 'The Traitors of the Tower' by Alison Weir - it's not a particularly long one (around 100 pages) but it give an account of 6 of the most famous Tudor prisoners; the Earl of Hastings, the Earl of Essex, Lady Salisbury, Lady Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard. I'd definitely recommend it - I finished it in a day!

[Jennifer, Mod #5]

Charli wrote: "I've just finished reading 'The Traitors of the Tower' by Alison Weir - it's not a particularly long one (around 100 pages) but it give an account of 6 of the most famous Tudor prisoners; the Earl ..."

Thanks Charli! That looks interesting... added it to my TBR :)

[Susan]

I got The Tudor Court in the mail today. Jam-packed with useful information.

About a week ago, I finished Jane Seymour, a novel. I liked it a great deal; I thought that it went beyond the usual stereotypes to focus in on the psychology of the characters.

[Kelly A.]

I just took out The Queen's Governess from the library and read it in one day. It's about Elizabeth's governess Kat Ashley. I thought it was pretty interesting to get the same old story just from a different point of view. Thomas Seymour came off as a major prick in this book...that's putting it lightly.

[Tracy]

Just finished . Similar to both pretty good books.

[Gregory]

To all my friends on Goodreads just a quick note to let you know I put up another article on that fascinating royal family of ours the Tudors, as well I’ve put in a few notes on how my protagonist Red Ned Bedwell fits in the Tudor hierarchy. Also I’m letting everyone know that the prologue from my soon to be released book The Liberties of London will be on the Red Ned blog tomorrow. At present the prologue from The Cardinal's Angels is up.
In the meantime good luck and have a great week end
http://rednedtudormysteries.blogspot....
Regards Greg

[Jennifer]

I just bought David Starkey's "Six Wives".

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

Just got Carolly Erickson's The Last Wife of Henry VIII out of the library.

[Jennifer, Mod #5]

Susanna wrote: "Just got Carolly Erickson's The Last Wife of Henry VIII out of the library."

I own that one but haven't read it yet because I wasn't thrilled with The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette. You'll have to let us know if it's worth the read.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

When I get to it, I shall let y'all know!

[Jennifer, Mod #5]

Thanks Susanna!

Anyone else find any good Tudor books lately? I'm not sure if I should post it here or not as it's not strictly Tudor-related but it is related.

I'm reading The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory, the 2nd in her Cousins War series. I also read The White Queen and I've got to say, I'm impressed. I've been disappointed with Gregory and the books I've read by her, with the exception of her Boleyn books. These ones are comparable to this. And she even points out in her Author's Note that some of her book is fact, some is guesswork, some is fiction. That's a pretty big thing for someone who always says her work is accurate.

This one is told from Margaret Beaufort's point of view (mother to Henry VII).

[Susan]

I'm reading Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer. It's a young adult novel, but adults might like it as well (I'm enjoying it, and it's been many years since I was a young adult). I've ordered her other Tudor novels as well.

I got Bess of Hardwick by David Durant, a NF book, in the mail last week. Looks good.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

Got The Oxford Illustrated History of Tudor and Stuart Britain out of the library - so far I am enjoying it, but it is very serious non-fiction.

[Seb]

I'm reading 'Les Tudors' by Liliane Crété; well, unfortunately this is a french book. I did not find English books related to 'Tudors' in the bookstore. I enjoy it anyway.
Sounds interesting 'Bloody Mary' by Carolyn Meyer; I'll have a look to get it.

[Seb]

Hi everybody,

I'd like to learn more too about the Plantagenets family who preceded the Tudors. Does anyone know some good works of reference I could read?

Thanks a lot.

[Susan]

Sebastien wrote: "Hi everybody,

I'd like to learn more too about the Plantagenets family who preceded the Tudors. Does anyone know some good works of reference I could read?

Thanks a lot."

Are there particular Plantagenets in which you're interested?

[Seb]

Susan wrote: "Sebastien wrote: "Hi everybody,

I'd like to learn more too about the Plantagenets family who preceded the Tudors. Does anyone know some good works of reference I could read?

Thanks a lot."

Are..."

Hi Susan,

Thanks for your reply; Well, not in particular. I've studied English history at university this year and found the subject very very interesting. I think I tend to get confused about the different dynasties so I'd like to find a book which could give an overall view of what is the Plantagenets family.

I hope to get a better grasp at British history by reading books. I'm so happy to have join in this group.

Thanks again.

[Susan]

Thomas Costain wrote a popular history about the Plantagenets, but his work is pretty dated, at least as far as the later Plantagenets are concerned. Here's one book you might want to try:The Plantagenets: History of a Dynasty. I think it just follows the family through Richard II, however.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

I was introduced to the Plantagenets with Costain, as a teenager; I found him very readable.

[Seb]

Susan wrote: "Thomas Costain wrote a popular history about the Plantagenets, but his work is pretty dated, at least as far as the later Plantagenets are concerned. Here's one book you might want to try:[book:The..."

Thanks a lot. I just have a look at it on amazon and it just looks like what I'm looking for.

Thank you Susan and Susanna too for your comment about the book.

[[deleted user]]

I recently bought Wolf Hall, and now I must admit (after reading the thread about it) that it's scaring me a bit

[Jennifer, Mod #5]

Susan wrote: "I'm reading Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer. It's a young adult novel, but adults might like it as well (I'm enjoying it, and it's been many years since I was a young adult). I've ordered her ot..."

I became interested in Bess when I read The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory. Having my interest piqued was the only good thing to come out of that book though... in my opinion :P

[Jennifer, Mod #5]

I looked at Wolf Hall the other day and thought about buying it but I'm a little scared of it too. Aly said it's well worth struggling through it though :)

[[deleted user]]

Just hearing the word struggling in that sentence makes me scared :)

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads, Mod #4]

I really enjoyed it; but it's not an "easy historical fiction read."