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Category: Tudor History news and events

Upcoming books for September 2012

[I’m going to split the upcoming books, exhibitions, and events into two posts this month since there are SO many this time!]

Some of these are already out since they were August (or earlier) releases that I just found out about. These first four are already out in both the US and UK and I believe all are available as print and ebooks. (I’ll be linking to the print version, but if you click through you can also see the Kindle versions listed.) I have or will have copies of several of these that I hope to review in the next few months. Of course I have to finally finish writing the three reviews I already have in the queue first!

First up is The Sultan’s Organ: The Diary of Thomas Dallam 1599, put into modern spelling by John Mole. I’ve wanted to learn more about the Tudors’ interactions with cultures beyond Europe and the New World and this looks to be an interesting insight. You can also learn more about the book at the author’s website.

Next up is Henry VIII: His Life and Legacy by Kristin A. Sinclair which is meant to be an introduction to Henry VIII and his successors.

Next is Blood Will Tell: A Medical Explanation for the Tyranny of Henry VIII by Kyra Cornelius Kramer. This work further expands on the theory of Henry VIII having a Kell positive blood type and the possibility he had McLeod syndrome. I will have a guest post on the topic from the author soon!

And finally in the “already out” category – The Merry Wives of Henry VIII: A Tudor Spoof Collection by Ann Nonny and launched by the Anne Boleyn Files (you can learn more about the book here at the site).

And now to the books released in either the US or UK (or both) in September:

Nancy Bilyeau’s debut novel The Crown will be coming out in paperback in the US on September 4 and February 21, 2013 in the UK. Her follow-up The Chalice will be coming next year as well!

Peter Ackroyd is working on an epic History of England series and the second volume, focussing on the Tudors, is out on September 13 in the UK. (The US market seems to be lagging way behind on this series… if I’m reading it right, the print edition of the first volume isn’t even due out until October of this year).

Next is Sarah Gristwood’s Blood Sisters: The Hidden Lives of the Women Behind the Wars of the Roses – technically not Tudor, but of course many women important to the Tudor dynasty are covered! It is also out on September 13 in the UK and will be out next February in the US.

Susan Brigden has a work on Thomas Wyatt coming out on September 20 in both the US and UK entitled Thomas Wyatt: The Heart’s Forest.

And finally…

Tarnya Cooper, the Chief Curator and 16th Century Curator for the National Portrait Gallery in London, has a new book called Citizen Portrait: Portrait Painting and the Urban Elite of Tudor and Jacobean England and Wales out on September 30 in the UK and November 27 in the US.

Sunday Short Takes

The last few days have been abuzz with the start of an archaeological dig at a carpark in Leicester in search of the remains of Richard III. In the back of my mind I recalled a previous news article related to the topic and it turns out it was a news article that I linked to back in 2007 (the original news link is no longer active, but this 2012 dig appears to be the one archaeologists were hoping to do back then). There was also a story in 2008 about Richard III’s possible coffin, although I don’t know if further research has been done on that. I’m hoping to be in the area next year so I really hope they find something!

This whole thing reminds me of research I did in to trying to find the modern location of Jasper Tudor’s burial. He was laid to rest at Keynsham Abbey, but the abbey was dissolved in 1539 and now the A4 runs over part of the site. Depending on where within the building Jasper was buried, there is a chance he’s under the Keynsham By-Pass!

Here are just a few of the articles about the dig from the past few days:

* Richard III’s remains: Leicester car park dug up (BBC)

* Is this the lost grave of King Richard III? Archaeologists dig under council car park for monarch killed in Battle of Bosworth (Daily Mail)

* Is Richard III ‘buried under council car park’? (The Telegraph – this one has an informative interview with one of the archaeologists)

Another story that got a lot of coverage last week was the announcement that the BBC will be developing Hilary Mantel’s “Wolf Hall” into a six part mini-series. Like the story above, this rang some bells for me, and sure enough, I posted about it last year (although it doesn’t appear that HBO is involved now).

* Wolf Hall adaptation planned for BBC Two (BBC)

* BBC turns best-selling Henry VIII novel and Booker Prize winner ‘Wolf Hall’ into a mini-series (Mail Online)

And here are a few other interesting things that caught my eye over the past week:

* Rare Elizabethan sundial presented to Oxford University

* Henry VIII

Sunday Short Takes

Lots of interesting links this week!

* Hilary Mantel discusses Thomas Cromwell’s past, presence and future – The Wolf Hall author tells the Edinburgh book festival of her plans for the conclusion of her Tudor trilogy

* Sudeley Castle: the curious life and death of Katherine Parr – Sudeley Castle commemorates 500 years since the birth of Katherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII’s wives.

* Lambert Simnel, a counterfeit king – Once upon a time a good-looking Oxford youth, the son of a carpenter, was taken away from his home city and crowned King of England by an archbishop

Upcoming books

Time for another round-up of upcoming books (no events or exhibitions this month) – only two this time since a couple of books I originally had down for coming out in August have been moved back.

First up on August 7 in the UK and the US, Susan Ronald’s Heretic Queen: Queen Elizabeth I and the Wars of Religion

And second is The Watchers: A Secret History of the Reign of Elizabeth I by Stephen Alford, which is out August 30 in the UK but not until November 13 in the US.

Sunday Short Takes

* Chance to get involved in Woking Palace history dig – A free ‘Dig for a Day’ scheme will be run at the monument in Carters Lane, Old Woking, with heritage teams on site from September 13 until the end of the month and the weekends open to let the community try their hand at archaeology. (Sounds like fun!)

* Wolsey’s Gate in Ipswich covered in graffiti – A piece of Tudor Ipswich, built by Henry VIII’s chancellor, has been covered in graffiti. (I will never understand people who vandalize…)

And finally, on a lighter note, the Olympic Torch and the Hampton Court maze –

Sunday Short Takes

Since a lot of stuff piled up while I was traveling for work (and then recovering from a cold I brought back with me) there will be a lot of links today!

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There were several articles about the discovery of medieval underwear in an Austrian castle last week. The items are of interest since they show that these types of undergarments are older than had been generally thought.

* Discovered in a castle vault, the scraps of lace that show lingerie was all the rage 500 years ago – From The Daily Mail

* Medieval lingerie – From History Extra

* Medieval lingerie from Lengberg Castle, East-Tyrol – From Universit

Upcoming books, events, and exhibitions

Time for another monthly round-up of upcoming events! Feels like I was just doing the last one…

Books

* David Loades’ Mary Rose, which came out in May in the UK, is still listed as due in July in the US. No specific date is listed on Amazon though. The US Kindle edition is available now.

* Maria Hayward is coming out with another great inventory work that she has edited, and this time it is actually relatively reasonably priced! (I still would like to find a copy of some of her other works like Dress at the Court of King Henry VIII for under $100!). This one is The Great Wardrobe Accounts of Henry VII and Henry VIII and is due out on July 19 in both the US and UK.

Events

Eastbury Manor House (which I mentioned back in March) will be having a Tudor Games day on July 7 as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

On Saturday 7th July 10.00 -16.00 Eastbury Manor House welcomes you to join us in a day of Tudor sports and pastimes as part of the celebration of the Cultural Olympiad.

There will be birds of prey to stroke, archery to watch and try, craft activities and some small Tudor games inside the house. A family ticket only costs

Sunday Short Takes

* The remains of The Curtain have been found in London – here are several articles about the find:

Shakespeare’s Curtain theatre unearthed in east London

Is this a digger I see before me? ‘Wooden O’ stage of ‘lost’ Curtain theatre where Shakespeare premiered Henry V unearthed near Thames

Shakespeare’s Curtain Theatre remains found (with video)

Does the rediscovery of Shakespeare’s Curtain theatre matter? Absolutely

* Mary Rose sailors ate diet of salt beef and biscuits, bone analysis shows

* Thomas Cromwell letter to Henry VIII before Anne of Cleves marriage discovered

* Woking Palace attacked by arsonists for a second time – During the Tudor period, Woking Palace was an important residence. Henry VIII spent considerable sums of money on Woking during his reign.

* Fort on St Catherine’s Island, Tenby, could reopen as visitor attraction – Once owned by Henry VII’s uncle Jasper, Earl of Pembroke, the island was sold by Tenby Corporation to the War Office in the 1860s to house a fort.

* Alice Simpson’s artist book The Dancing Chancellor about Sir Christopher Hatton is complete and now for sale. I’ve been exchanging emails with the artist for years and it is wonderful to see the final product. It’s gorgeous!

And finally, a humorous video for your enjoyment:

Upcoming books, events, and exhibitions

Sorry that I’m a little late on the June round-up, I’ve been really busy and things got away from me!

Several books that have already been out in one place are now out in others, including Catherine Fletcher’s Our Man in Rome which is published as The Divorce of Henry VIII: The Untold Story from Inside the Vatican in the US and will be out June 19. I have a review copy of the book but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet (I’m still working on another review book!). Also, Patrick Williams’ Catherine of Aragon: A Life has been out for a while in the US and is now out in the UK.

David Loades’ Mary Rose about Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk, came out a few weeks early and is now out in the UK. It is due in July in the US.

Next up is Tudor Survivor: The Life and Times of William Paulet by Margaret Scard. I thought I had posted about this when the hardback came out but I didn’t see it, so here are links for the paperback:

Several more volumes of the “Queenship and Power” series are out soon:

A Monarchy of Letters: Royal Correspondence and English Diplomacy in the Reign of Elizabeth I by Rayne Allinson

Mary I: Gender, Power and Ceremony in the Reign of England’s First Queen by Sarah Duncan

And finally The Last Plantagenet Consorts: Gender, Genre, and Historiography, 1440-1627 by Kavita Mudan Finn:

In the fiction arena…

Alison Weir’s A Dangerous Inheritance about Katherine Grey is out on June 21 in the UK and will be out in October in the US.

And Susan Higginbotham’s Her Highness, The Traitor about Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland and Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk is out in the US and will be out at the end of the month in the UK.

Exhibitions

Double Take: Versions and Copies of Tudor Portraits will run at the National Portrait Gallery, London from June 26 to September 9.

From the website:

This display brings together five pairs of near identical portraits in order to explore how and why multiple versions and copies of portraits were made in the sixteenth century. Portraits of prominent Tudor sitters from the Gallery

Sunday Short Takes

Sorry I didn’t get around to doing one of these last weekend (which was the long Memorial Day holiday here in the US).

* The June issue of BBC History magazine is out and features a cover article about Elizabeth I by Anna Whitelock titled “Saving the Virgin Queen”. I decided to subscribe to the digital edition on my iPad but I’m still a month behind on reading the issues!

* Tudor Gresham Ship wreck moves to National Diving Centre – The wreck of an Elizabethan merchant ship has been transported to a new home in Leicestershire after being raised from a Portsmouth lake.

And finally, the article (well, one version of it at least – there were many re-workings of it in various news outlets) that lit up Twitter last week:

* ‘Tudor era’ is misleading myth, says Oxford historian

One observation I had, especially after @NasimT pointed to an earlier article by the same historian, is that it is odd how some topics suddenly become “news”. In my profession (astronomy/astrophysics for those who don’t already know) I’ve seen this same phenomenon happen as well. A reporter stumbles across something that they think will cause a buzz (even years-old research), will write a story, and all of a sudden it is everywhere! My other observation was that I could see the point Prof. Davies is making, but I don’t know that it would be “misleading” to call it the Tudor Era. We call the era before them “The Wars of the Roses” even though the participants didn’t call it that and the name came along centuries later. As Suzannah Lipscomb (@sixteenthCgirl) pointed out on Twitter, the Plantagenets didn’t call their era by their name either, so why make a point about the Tudors? I also haven’t seen an alternative label offered. We already note the individual reigns when we’re speaking more specifically, and often books about the whole era include the dates 1485-1603 in their titles or subtitles. Oh well, it was an interesting article and got a lot of people talking, which I guess was the point! 🙂

And one final off-topic note, while I’m thinking about it – if you’re in an area that the Transit of Venus on June 5/6 is visible please make an effort to see it! I’ll be hosting one part of the public outreach viewing at UT. Any central Texas readers, please stop by! (More info here)

Sunday Short Takes

* Historical Reconstruction: Anne Boleyn ‘The Moost Happi’ Portrait Medal – A restored copy of the only surviving undisputed contemporary portrait of Anne Boleyn. (And the copies are for sale!)

* Rare church artefact to be restored – Depicting the royal coat of arms during Edward VI’s seven-year reign from 1547-1553, it is thought to be the oldest of just three in existence.

* e-Petition:Campaign for Statue of Henry VII in Pembroke – Just a note, you do not have live in the UK to sign

* Gun Removal From The Mary Rose Museum

Upcoming books and exhibitions

Just a couple of books to mention this time –

Claire Ridgway of The Anne Boleyn Files has released her second book, The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown. US and UK Amazon Kindle editions linked below:

And probably one of the most eagerly-anticipated historical fiction books this year, Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel is out on May 8 and May 10 in the US and UK respectively.

And here are a couple of videos of Hilary Mantel speaking about the book and Anne Boleyn:

Exhibitions

Royal Devotion: Monarchy and the Book of Common Prayer

This exhibit will be at the Lambeth Palace Library from May 1 to July 14. Below are a couple of recent news articles:

* Royalty