Category: Book news

Sandra Worth, who has written several novels set in the period of the Wars of the Roses has a new book coming out in December on Elizabeth of York, the first Tudor Queen.

Here is a link to more information about the book on Sandra’s website.

And as a special treat, I will be hosting a thread here on the blog where readers can ask Sandra questions and she will respond. We haven’t set an exact day for it yet, but keep your eyes open!

Last but not least, here are the Amazon links (US on the left, UK on the right) to pre-order the book:

First, the excerpt, at the Times Online:

David Starkey offers a fresh vision of Henry VIII

Before he was a brutal dictator, he was a virtuous king: in a new biography, David Starkey offers a fresh vision of Henry VIII

Henry and I go back a long way.

My first essays at Cambridge were on his grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. My doctoral dissertation was a study of his privy chamber and its staff. One of them, William Compton, has a part here.

Full excerpt

And next is John Guy’s review of the book, also from The Times online:

Here, ready for the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession, is the first volume of David Starkey’s two-volume life of the king, which has been eagerly awaited for at least 10 years.

I mentioned A Compendium of Common Knowledge (as part of Renaissance, The Elizabethan World) as my website of the month back on the October 2006 podcast and now I’m pleased to hear that Maggie has turned it into a book! Click the cover above or here for ordering information.

This one slipped past me, but since I know a lot of you are readers of her books, I figured I should post links to her next book. This time the subject is Mary Queen of Scots during her captivity in England. It’s been out a while in the UK and will be out on the 16th in the US. Amazon links below (US on the left and UK hardcover in the center and paperback on the right).

I received an email from author Carlyn Beccia about her new young adult non-fiction work “The Raucous Royals”, which looks like loads of fun. It includes some of our favorite royals as well.

Here’s the website for the book, her blog (which is in my RSS reader!) and You Tube channel with a trailer for the book.

Here are the usual Amazon affiliate links (US on the left, UK on the right):

I’m not sure what started it, but I’ve noticed an uptick in the interest of this legendary Hungarian countess, who was a contemporary of Elizabeth I.

I received a note from the author of this new book on the countess, with US Amazon link below.

Not until 2011 though. Maybe the exchange rate will have improved enough by then for me to travel over. 🙂

From the BBC:

Illustrated books once owned by English monarchs are to go on public display for the first time.

About 150 medieval and Renaissance books and other literary artefacts will be put on display at the British Library in London in 2011.

They are among almost 2,000 manuscripts donated to the British Museum by King George II in 1757.

The exhibition follows a major research project supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
…
Manuscripts featured in the exhibition will include a copy of Philippe de Mezieres’s letter to Richard II and the Shrewsbury Book of romances presented to Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI, as a gift for their marriage in 1445.

Full article

Tip of the gable hood to Kathy for the link

I received an email from the author about this upcoming book – The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: The Tragedy of Katherine, Mary and Lady Jane Grey by Leanda de Lisle. Looks interesting!

It will be out in September in the UK (Amazon UK pre-order link below) and next year in the US (I couldn’t find a pre-order link yet, but I’ll post one when it shows up).

Update: I received an email from the author saying that the publication will be delayed until early 2009 for the UK version. I’ll post on the book again when we get closer to the final publication date.

With all the books coming out (seemingly daily) about the Tudors, I don’t go out of my way to find them. But, if I come across a good review, or someone mentions a new book on my email list or in a blog comment, or when a publisher or author asks me to post something, then I’ll fire up Word Press. It would be practically a full-time job to post about just the books related to Tudor history, not to mention all the other stories that come through my Google news alerts!

First up is a new book by John Guy about the relationship between Thomas More and his daughter Margaret. I’ve vaguely been aware that she was a very well-educated and intellectual woman, but not much more. I think I’ll have to pick up a copy of this book to fill out my knowledge! Here’s a review in the Times Online. And below are links to pre-order at Amazon US and to buy at Amazon UK.

Next up are pre-order links for a book discussed in this thread over on the Question and Answer blog on the Tudors and Stuarts on Film. It sounds fascinating!

I received an email from the author of this book, which looks really interesting! Sometimes the Tudor period being concurrent with the Age of Discovery, and the fact that Henry VII was a sponsor of the Cabots, gets lost in the shuffle of wives, heirs and other salacious bits. 🙂

Amazon links:

I thought I had posted about this when the UK version came out, but I couldn’t find it in the archives, so I guess I didn’t!

Here are Amazon links (it comes out on July 8 in the US and has been out for a while in the UK):

TEN THINGS YOU DIDN

I meant to post a reminder about this a week or two ago, but totally forgot. I originally posted about Alison Weir’s next Tudor novel, this time about Elizabeth before she was Queen, back in February. Here are the links again if anyone is interested (and again, full disclosure – I get a small commission off each sale)

Also, Alison Weir has been on a tour giving talks on the book and other related topics and will be coming to the US soon. If she’s going to be in your area and you’d like to meet up with other Tudor fans, leave a comment below!

Here’s the schedule: http://alisonweir.org.uk/events/index.asp
Thanks to TudorRose for the link for the tour!

I don’t even TRY to make an attempt to keep up with all the book and movie reviews on Tudor topics since there are way too many, but here’s an exception. Open Letters Monthly, an arts and literature review site, is doing “A Year With the Tudors” with Steve Donoghue, and you can see the first three installments here:

January – Henry VIII: Court, Church, and Conflict By David Loades

February – Edward VI: The Lost King of England by Chris Skidmore

March – Henry VIII

The first up is the next fictional work from Alison Weir, this time about Elizabeth I in the years before she became Queen. Personally, I find that to be the most intriguing part of Elizabeth’s life, so I’m looking forward to this. I really enjoyed “Innocent Traitor”, so my hopes are high! Below are the pre-order links to my affiliate stores at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. It will be out on April 29 in the US and April 3 in the UK.

The next is one that Foose brought to my attention. I haven’t been able to really find out much about it, but below are the Amazon links. The book is another on Catherine Parr by Susan James, but I don’t know if it is an update to her previous work (from the late 1990s) or something new. It has been published, but neither store has it in stock yet. The Amazon.uk link mentions that it is being published to coincide with this year’s celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s succession to the throne.

Foose, a regular commenter over on the Q&A blog, has requested an open thread to discuss the new book on Blanche Parry and I am more than happy to oblige. Here is a link to a website for the book. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to read it myself one of these days, but given the size of the pile next to my bed it isn’t likely to be anytime soon…

USA Today has published an excerpt of Chapter One from Julia Fox’s “Jane Boleyn” on their website, for those of you who are interested.

As reminder, the book is about Jane Parker, Lady Rochford, who was married to George Boleyn, brother of Anne.

A few more books of interest will be coming out shortly…

First up, another book on Katherine Swynford, ancestor of the Tudors through the Beaufort line. It will be out in October in the US and appears to already be out in the UK.

And next is a book on George Boleyn’s infamous wife Jane, Lady Rochford. For some reason two versions are showing up at Amazon.uk, so I’ve linked to both below. One is available for purchase now and another is due out in . The US version is due in December.

Thanks to Kate for mentioning the book on Jane!