Somehow or another I don’t have anything on my tracking calendar for May, so no round-up of new books and exhibitions this month. I do want to remind folks that the Elizabethan Treasures exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery wraps up on May 19 though! I really wish I could have seen it in person, but it’s just a little too far (and expensive) to get to from Texas. 🙂
The Guardian had kind of an interesting article this weekend about why Henry VIII was so freaked about plague – a letter by the Venetian ambassador, dated 1511, says his grandmother, Elizabeth Woodville, actually died of plague. Not sure why Henry would be traumatized by the death of a woman who died when he was one year old, but some historian may elucidate. Also, the translation says “the Queen-Widow has died of plague,” which implies more recency than a 20-year-old death, but again, this is a job for experts.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/25/white-queen-died-of-plague-claims-letter-found-in-national-archives