Hello folks! As promised in the post from last week, here is the press release for the Joanna Denny book, Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England’s Tragic Queen

Here’s an excerpt:

No queen has made more impact on the history of England than Anne Boleyn, yet most accounts of her life thus far have been passed down to us by her detractors. Denny’s biography offers a bold new interpretation of Boleyn, demonstrating that she wasn’t the evil temptress of myth, but rather a devout Protestant, an intellectual, and a dutiful queen.

You can download a PDF of the full release here

Do you look pale and interesting?

Men with beards and pale, interesting ladies step forward - you could be in line for a part in a major new film.

Cambridge residents will have the chance to act in a sequel to the Oscar-winning 1998 film, Elizabeth. Producers are looking for extras for The Golden Age, parts of which will be filmed in Cambridge and Ely this May.

Find out more here

This title has already been out in the UK, and is now out in the US. I should have a press release shortly.
The author also has a book on Kathryn Howard that looks interesting and is now out in the UK.

Links to Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk pages below:

Jane Seymour is the latest of Henry VIII’s wives to get a novel, which is a welcome addition given the small number of books about her. I’ll be interested to see what approach the author takes. Gardner has previously written books on Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, so my guess is that she is going to write one for each of the wives.

Remember, you can pre-order this book through the links below and a small amount goes towards helping to support this site.

Because several people have emailed me about these things lately, I thought I would put a note here on the blog about movie news. I’ve added links to the IMDB listings for recently announced Tudor-related movies over on the Movies and TV page. There have been lots of rumors floating around and I’m trying to find out more concrete information for two movies in particular.

The first is a big-screen version of The Other Boleyn Girl. The two names that have been coming up are Keira Knightly as Anne Boleyn (a good choice, I think) and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Henry VIII. Hoffman recently won the Academy Award for playing the lead role in the film Capote.

The other is a sequel to Elizabeth, entitled Elizabeth: The Golden Age, set during the later years of the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots and will climax with the conflict with the Spanish Armada. I’ve been hearing news on and off for over a year now about whether or not this project is going forward and if Cate Blanchett will be returning as Elizabeth. Well, today several news articles (a few links below) came out about production starting next month with Cate in the lead. Here’s hoping the history is a little better this time around (but I’m not holding my breath).

From The Guardian: Cate back for Elizabeth II - the sequel that is

From the BBC: Blanchett revives Elizabeth role

From Playbill:

Stage and screen veterans Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons head the cast of the new HBO Films miniseries “Elizabeth I,” which will debut on the cable network April 22 and 23.

Read more

From the BBC

Archaeologists have been revealing details about the discovery of a medieval bridge in Shropshire.
…
The bridge, known as St George’s Bridge, once acted as a gateway to the town from Wales and was in existence during the 15th Century.

And why is this of interest to Tudor fans?

It is thought that future King of England, Henry Tudor, used the bridge in 1485 to enter England from Wales on his way to the battle at Bosworth.

Here’s another article, with a picture: Historic gateway discovered at dig

A “haunted” Elizabethan castle could be snapped up for the princely sum of £5,000 after being put up for sale by a council.

The ivy-covered ruins of Llantwit Major Castle or “Old Place” in Llantwit Major, South Wales, will go under the hammer on April 3 at the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel.

Read more

Another article on the sale from icWales

The cover story on the March issue of BBC History Magazine is How Bloody Was Mary? by David Loades author of Mary Tudor: A Life. I haven’t had a chance to read the article yet, but it looks interesting!

The National Portrait Gallery in London is marking its 150th anniversary and will be celebrating with a special exhibit on Shakespeare and the “Chandos” portrait, which was the first in the gallery’s collection. More information and a review of the exhibit from The Observer

There has been a slew of news articles out lately about the portraits of Shakespeare and this exhibit, so I’ve just selected a few to point to here:

Britain’s National Portrait Gallery unveils ‘true’ image of Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s Likeliest Likeness, Forsooth

To be or not to be the Bard’s portrait?

The only true painting of Shakespeare - probably

The major development on the Bermondsey Square site has provided the unprecedented opportunity for archaeologists to explore this important site.

Bermondsey Abbey was founded from Cluny in France shortly after the Norman conquest.

More here

Katherine of Valois, grandmother of Henry VII, died at Bermondsey and Elizabeth Woodville (widow of Edward IV and mother of Elizabeth of York) retired there in Henry VII’s reign.