Charlie Fenton > Recent Status Updates

Audiobook version, not on here

‘At nineteen, Catalina had learnt hard lessons. One of the hardest had been whatever power she possessed could disappear on the whims of two kings. Her mother’s death had brought with it not only more heartbreak, but the knowledge the Tudor King regarded her as less of a prize. King Henry left her with little money, her father ever less. She was simply a pawn in a power game between two kings’

‘Cromwell also bought his wife expensive jewellery, including a sapphire ring and a gold bracelet worth £80 - or approximately £40,000 in today’s currency. Both Cromwell and his wife corresponded with various merchants and hosted many suppers at their imposing home, all providing intimate glimpses of the couple, which Mantel brings beautifully to life as she conjures joyful family gatherings’

‘She began listing in her mind all she had in her medicine coffer that might help the prince: rose petals, honey, essence of lemon oil, rosemary, borage, oregano and perchance a clove of garlic and balm for the prince’s melancholy. If she had anything to do with it, Arthur would make old bones, and be Catalina’s husband for a long, long time.’

“A life devoted to God will encourage the flowering of all that’s good in Harry, and stamp out those parts of his character causing me many sleepless nights. Please don’t mistake me. My Harry has much good in him. We have perhaps spoilt him; he is easy to spoil. He has all the gifts of my family, but all the flaws as well.”

‘Throughout the kingdom, what must have been most memorable and the visitation was its gleeful destructiveness, utilizing public ridicule against tradition devotion on a scale not seen since Thomas Cromwell had orchestrated a similar campaign in 1538.’

‘María turned to the prince. The youth smiled and nodded at Catalina in reassurance, but then he turned from his bride to his sire, as if waiting and wanting to know what to do next. His body shared the same tautness as Catalina. María swallowed. Si. A girl and youth with no other choice but to do their duty.’

‘María stared at the woman in disbelief. Doña Elvira bullied all of Catalina’s women, but usually avoided doing the same to their princess. Surely, she knew Catalina well enough to know her seemingly gentle appearance hid a stubbornness like a solid rock. She almost felt sorry for the woman. Catalina’s illness must have frightened her so much she could no longer restrain her tongue.’

‘Pope Innocent II threw the case out. Significantly, he did not offer a pronouncement on the merits of either case, leaving both able to maintain that they still held a valid position. The pope sent written confirmation of Stephen’s legitimacy as King of England and Duke of Normandy, appearing to rule in the king’s favour, but he had not examined the case thoroughly and never denied Matilda’s claims.’

Audiobook version, not on here.

‘The haul is something. With it the Queen may begin to reap the rewards for her faith in me. I must hope that the profits from this prize alone will satisfy our investors and so vindicate the project. We may now attract more backers and finance more colonies along the eastern seaboard of America. Soon we will have a chain of harbour fortresses from which our adventurers may venture out’

Really enjoying this. I bought it after watching The Imitation Game but for some reason haven’t got round to reading it until now. It is fascinating and easy to listen to for someone who knows little about the topic. Love finding out how the ordinary people helped the war effort.

‘If the city, and other parts of the country, were uncertain or even fearful about female rule, or Angevin rule for that matter, then Stephen was a viable and preferable alternative. As unrest threatened, a king was needed to restore the king’s peace, and Stephen was the man on the spot prepared to undertake the task, which Matilda and Geoffrey lingered in Norman border fortresses’

‘Her gaze is bold. In any other woman, you would call it brazen. But she is our Queen. And yet I see the flicker that betrays an inner conflict. Between doubt and decision. Between what the world expects of her and what she feels herself capable of... Hers are the loneliest eyes I have ever seen.’

‘Like Mary but unlike Elizabeth, an adult King Edward would have encouraged militant piety at court. The clerics in favour would have been the providers of appropriately zealous sermons, again in contrast to the men who Elizabeth favoured’

‘She was wearing black, and just as Queen Victoria continued to wear black after the death of Prince Albert, so would she continue to do so for Stanley. She had even had the carriage repainted, the horses replaced, all in black so that everyone would know her grief.’

‘And yet here was a factory, like so many in Birmingham and elsewhere in the country, owned and managed by men, employing women to carry out all the unskilled tasks, such as pulling levers on press machines, while the men were given the skilled work – the engraving and delicate turning of the lathes – which were clearly deemed too complicated for a woman’s mind to comprehend.’

‘Probably Norfolk and Anne secure the person of Henry’s disinherited elder daughter Mary (aged nineteen) to prevent s conservative revolt on her behalf by the partisans of Catherine of Aragon and opponents of the break with Rome. Again, it was lucky that the discarded but popular Catherine had died a few weeks before; if Henry had been killed in her lifetime her past decades as queen’

‘The early reign of Edward and Philippa saw a succession of children and the Scottish wars that Edward led. The stabilisation of the reign was paramount, and Philippa was the poster child for the stalwart and loyal queen, which contrasted sharply with the previous queen. Philippa was to become the cultural ambassador of the court and a tempering influence upon Edward III.’

Audiobook version (not on here)

‘Isabella was politically isolated from Edward and her own royal properties and income were confiscated by Despenser himself. Isabella up to this point had displayed all the virtues of a good queen. She provided heirs for Edward II, she gave wise counsel through reconciliation with his barons, and she ensured diplomatic amity with France.’

‘Eleanor was not a popular queen, but she was a strong-willed woman who imposed her will upon her husband’s reign in many beneficial ways, especially during the de Montfort rising. She was given more liberty than Eleanor of Aquitaine over her dower lands and in her involvement in government, marriages and appointments to important offices of stage. She was a loving, loyal partner to her husband.’

‘We stood craning our necks at the Northern Lights. Photographs don’t do them justice. It’s the movement which impresses you most. The way those luminous pale-green waves roll and break and ripple across the sky - and vanish, and appear again somewhere else - and all in eerie silence. A sea of light. I know that for some people they’re a religious experience, but I found them intimidating.’

‘Eleanor of Provence’s story is part of the Eleanor legacy in that Henry III, her husband, was the Duke of Aquitaine, an inheritance from his grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine. Both Eleanors were duchesses of Aquitaine and no doubt Eleanor of Provence was familiar with Eleanor of Aquitaine’s life and resounding impact on queenship and dowagership.’

‘They took it in silence, but I could see them thinking, Bexhill, how frightfully middle class; all those ghastly mock-Tudor dwellings by the sea.’

When your little-known hometown is mentioned in the first few pages. Sadly not a lot has changed, it still is like that.

‘But the most ignominious death was maybe that of George Dunkyn, a Cambridge baker. In 1523, he returned from the tavern a little the worse for wear. Unsurprisingly, he needed to relieve himself into the cesspit in the corner of his garden. The demon drink caused him to fall backwards into the pit. The coroner recorded that George was ‘qweasomed’ (suffocated) by the stink. What a way to go.’

“Harry... I have never told this to anyone but you... I have made a vow, as soon as it’s in my power, to bring King Richard out of his obscure grave, and bury him like a king in the tomb that was made for him, in the abbey, with his dear Queen Anne. Not that I dare assert,” he went on quickly, “that he was without fault in what happened.”

'Statistics can prove anything. Nobody can see the future. If you and your associates really believe that, you're not an organization, you're a cult.'

No idea how to mark spoilers through the app, but had to note this part. Loved Avery in this.


‘Avery Dixon had one final thought, both clear and calm: I loved having friends.’

‘Elizabeth I could have taken the credit (if she had lived long enough), for seeing the industry of stocking-weaving thrive. Legend has it that in 1561, she was presented with a pair of knitted, black stockings and would wear nothing else. A machine to weave stockings was invented.’