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. 🙂
Category: Tudor History news and events
Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for April 2019
Books
Last month I mentioned that I didn’t have anything on my tracking sheet for March, so of course right after I posted the March round-up I found out that the Mary Queen of Scots Colouring Book by Roland Hui and Dmitry Yakhovsky was out the first week in March in both the Uk and US. So here it is, better late than never. 🙂
In new April releases, two of Henry VIII’s queens get new biographies! First up is Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King’s Beloved Sister by Heather R. Darsie which is out mid-month in the UK and will be out in the US in the summer.
And next is a new biography of Henry’s fifth wife by Conor Byrne titled Katherine Howard: Henry VIII’s Slandered Queen that is out April 23 in the UK and in September in the US.
And finally, The Afterlife of King James IV: Otherworld Legends of the Scottish King will be out on April 26 in the UK and the US.
New Exhibit
This one actually opened back in March, but I missed it!
The Many Faces of Tudor England opened at The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth (England) on March 18 and will run through the of the year. Admission to the exhibit is including with the admission to the museum. About the exhibit from the website:
Tudor England – As you never expected it!
Just who crewed the Mary Rose?
Discover a whole new view of Henry VIII’s navy with our exciting exhibition, using the latest scientific and genealogical research to show us who really crewed the Mary Rose.
You’ll never look at Tudor England the same way again!
Continuing Exhibitions
Elizabethan Treasures – Miniatures by Hilliard & Oliver opened at the National Portrait Gallery London on February 21, 2019 and runs through May 19, 2019.
“We are Bess” re-opened at Hardwick Hall on February 16 and runs to June 2 this year. The exhibition is also be available online – something I always appreciate for those of us who can’t easily visit in person.
Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for March 2019
I somehow don’t have any new books for March in my tracking info, so this month will just be a reminder of some on-going exhibitions. I really wish I could see the miniatures exhibit at the NPG. I just might have to console myself with the catalogue!
Exhibitions
Elizabethan Treasures – Miniatures by Hilliard & Oliver opened at the National Portrait Gallery London on February 21, 2019 and runs through May 19, 2019.
From the website:
Described as ‘a thing apart from all other painting or drawing’, the portrait miniatures of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods are some of the greatest works of art to be produced in the British Isles. Hilliard and Oliver were compared by their contemporaries to Michelangelo and Raphael, and gained international fame and admiration.
This will be the first major UK exhibition of these miniatures for a generation. It will explore what these intimate images reveal about identity, society and visual culture in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
“We are Bess” re-opened at Hardwick Hall on February 16 and runs to June 2 this year. The exhibition is also be available online – something I always appreciate for those of us who can’t easily visit in person.
Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for February 2019
Books
A few books that were released in the UK last year will be released in the US this month.
Among The Wolves of Court: Thomas and George Boleyn by Lauren Mackay will be out at the end of February in the US.
And Kate Hubbard’s Devices and Desires: Bess of Hardwick and the Building of Elizabethan England will also be released in the US at the end of the month.
In new releases, Suzannah Lipscomb’s latest work,
Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for January 2019
Happy New Year! Best wishes to everyone for a great 2019!
Books
I totally missed this one last year – Elizabeth I of England through Valois Eyes by Estelle Paranque was released in October in the US and in December in the UK. This is another work in the Queenship and Power series that has been running for a while now.
Tracy Borman’s Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him is now out in the US after a release last fall in the UK.
Margaret Tudor: The Life of Henry VIII’s Sister by Melanie Clegg came out back in September in the UK and will be out in early January in the US.
And finally – Michael Bayus has produced an audiobook entitled Project Grey Noise about Jane Grey finding herself in the 21st century and trying to set the record straight on her history. I could have sworn that I had blogged about and/or linked to an earlier version of this project *somewhere* on this site but I can’t find it to save my life! Regardless, you can learn more about it and purchase the audiobook through the website ProjectGreyNoise.com or clicking on the cover image below!
Exhibition Ending This Month
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is hosting an exhibition organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London entitled Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits from Holbein to Warhol which opened on October 7, 2018 and runs through January 27, 2019. (I still haven’t had a chance to get over to Houston to see this, but I might be able to over the MLK weekend – we’ll see!)
Events
Peterborough Cathedral’s annual Katharine of Aragon Festival will be held this year from the 25th through the 27th of January. You can learn more and get tickets at their website!
Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for December 2018
Books
Somehow I only have one book for December so, as usual, that probably means I’m missing a lot of stuff!
The one book I have on my tracking sheet is an academic work Michelle L. Beer entitled Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain: Catherine of Aragon and Margaret Tudor, 1503-1533 which comes out on December 20 in both the US and UK.
Event
The Tudor Society Open Weekend 2018
The Tudor Society will have an open weekend for non-members from December 7 to 9 where you can register and explore the site as if you were a member. Click the link above for more information!
Continuing Exhibitions
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is hosting an exhibition organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London entitled Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits from Holbein to Warhol which opened on October 7, 2018 and runs through January 27, 2019.
Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for November 2018
Books
A couple of previously-released books have a US edition coming this month, starting with The Mythology of the ‘Princes in the Tower’ by the late John Ashdown-Hill. It was released over the summer in the UK and is out on November 1 in the US.
Next up, Kate Williams’ The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots: Elizabeth I and Her Greatest Rival (US title) will be released on November 13 after it was released in September in the UK.
And there are a few new releases this out this month as well!
Tracy Borman has a new work out entitled Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him which will be out November 1 in the UK and early in 2019 in the US.
And finally, Devices and Desires: Bess of Hardwick and the Building of Elizabethan England by Kate Hubbard will also be out on November 1 in the UK and will out in February 2019 in the US.
Additional Items
The Anne Boleyn Files 2019 Calendar is now available for purchase! You can order it from the website here and below is a video of the pages for each month.
Continuing Exhibitions
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is hosting an exhibition organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London entitled Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits from Holbein to Warhol which opened on October 7, 2018 and runs through January 27, 2019. (And I’m thrilled that finally something is coming to my neck of the woods – I’m only about 2.5 hours from Houston so I expect to get a chance to go see it over the holidays!)
‘We are Bess’ opened at Hardwick Hall on October 3 and runs through November 4, then will re-open from February 16 to June 2 next year. The exhibition will also be available online – something I always appreciate for those of us who can’t easily visit in person.
Sunday Short Takes
I should have posted some of these last week, but better late than never I guess!
* Remains of real Wolf Hall discovered by archaeologists – The Tudor home of the Seymour family, setting of Hilary Mantel
Upcoming Books, Events, and Exhibitions for October 2018
Happy October! Now I wish it would start feeling like fall here in central Texas.
Books
A couple of books that have previously had UK released will have US releases this month.
Nicola Clark’s Gender, Family, and Politics: The Howard Women, 1485-1558 was released over the summer in the UK and will be out on October 9 in the US.
And Diarmaid MacCulloch’s Thomas Cromwell: A Revolutionary Life (US title) will be released in the US at the end of October.
And there are some new releases this month too!
Suzannah Lipscomb has written a book on Witchcraft for the Ladybird Expert Series which is out October 4 in the UK and US. Just in time for Halloween!
And if you want to get a head start on Christmas, you can read how to do it Tudor style in this new work by Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke, also out in early October.
And finally, Sarah-Beth Watkins examines the life of Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife in a new work due out October 26 in both the UK and US.
Events
The 2018 BBC History Weekends will be in Winchester on October 5-7 and York from October 19-21. Click on either of the banners to go to the page for that event to see the line-up and book tickets. (One of these days I’m going to actually make it over there for one of these events…)
New Exhibitions
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is hosting an exhibition organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London entitled Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits from Holbein to Warhol which opens on October 7, 2018 and runs through January 27, 2019. (And I’m thrilled that finally something is coming to my neck of the woods – I’m only about 2.5 hours from Houston so I expect to get a chance to go see it over the holidays!)
‘We are Bess’ opens at Hardwick Hall on October 3 and runs through November 4, then will re-open from February 16 to June 2 next year. The exhibition will also be available online – something I always appreciate for those of us who can’t easily visit in person.
A bit about the exhibition from the press release:
In the late sixteenth century, Bess became the second richest woman in the country after Elizabeth I. Along the way she experienced great loss and hardship – two children and four husbands died, at times she had massive debts and lawsuits against her, while her last, broken marriage became a national scandal.
Throughout history Bess has been portrayed as greedy, overbearing, and controlling, a view that derives largely from comments made by the disinherited family of her third husband and those of her estranged fourth husband.
Now, for the exhibition,
Sunday Short Takes
Hey, look – a Sunday Short Takes! It’s not like there has been a lack of Tudor news lately, but I have been lacking in time to sit down a write up a post about them.
A lot of the big news of late has been archaeology related and this first story managed to run it’s whole course before I had a chance to write about it.
Upcoming Books, Events, and Exhibitions for September 2018
Books
Quite a few new releases this month!
First up, Matthew Lewis has a biography of Richard III coming out on September 15 in the UK and US:
Next up, Rival Queens: The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots by Kate Williams will be out September 20 in the UK and later this fall in the US under the title The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots: Elizabeth I and Her Greatest Rival:
Diarmaid MacCulloch’s newest work, Thomas Cromwell: A Life is out September 27 in the UK and October 30 in the US with the slightly different title Thomas Cromwell: A Revolutionary Life:
Lauren Mackay takes a look at the male part of the Boleyn family in her newest work Among The Wolves of Court: Thomas and George Boleyn which is out in the UK at the end of the month and February 2019 in the US:
And finally for this month, Margaret Tudor: The Life of Henry VIII’s Sister by Melanie Clegg will be released September 30 in the UK and early in 2019 in the US.
Events
The 2018 BBC History Weekends will be in Winchester on October 5-7 and York from October 19-21. I know tickets sometimes run out for these, so I’m posting them a month ahead of schedule. Click on either of the banners to go to the page for that event to see the line-up and book tickets! (One of these days I’m going to actually make it over there for one of these events…)
Continuing Exhibitions
Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for August 2018
Books
I knew some things got past me in recent months, so here are a couple of those books:
Imagining Shakespeare’s Wife: The Afterlife of Anne Hathaway by Katherine West Scheil came out in the UK back in late June, but the US version will be released at the end of August:
And the most recent work of the late John Ashdown-Hill, The Mythology of the ‘Princes in the Tower’ was released in July in the UK and will be out in November in the US.
And in other new releases Gender, Family, and Politics: The Howard Women, 1485-1558 by Nicola Clark is coming out on August 9 in the UK and October 9 in the US.
Continuing Exhibitions
Sunday Short Takes
Yes, really, a Sunday Short Takes!! I finally had a confluence of enough stuff to post and time to actually post it.
First up – a couple of competitions are back this year!
* Tudor Ghost Story Competition at On the Tudor Trail
* Tudor Calendar Competition from The Anne Boleyn Files
Next – a few other things!
* Talking Tudors – Natalie at On the Tudor Trail has started a podcast!
* Tudor shipwreck discovered by local group on Kent beach
* Royal Mail will release stamps featuring Hampton Court Palace
And finally…
The first trailer for the Mary Queen of Scots movie starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie has been released:
(Thankfully I’m pretty good at disconnecting my amateur historian brain when watching historical fiction on TV or the big screen.)
No monthly round-up for July
I’m sure I’m missing stuff, but I don’t have anything new on my tracking spreadsheet for July! If there are some new book releases for July that I find that I’ve missed, I’ll put it into the August round-up.
Upcoming Books, Events and Exhibitions for June 2018
Books
A couple of books that have already been released in the UK are now out in the US:
First up – Melita Thomas’ The King’s Pearl: Henry VIII and His Daughter Mary came out last fall in the UK and is now out in the US:
And La Reine Blanche: Mary Tudor A Life in Letters by Sarah Bryson is also now out in the US after a release earlier this year in the UK:
And in new releases – Claire Ridgway of The Anne Boleyn Files has teamed up with artist Dmitry Yakhovsky to create The Life of Anne Boleyn Colouring Book! You can order it from both the UK and US Amazon stores now:
Events
Henry – A Tudor Musical will run from June 13 to 16 at the Cecil Hepworth Playhouse in Walton on Thames (just west of Hampton Court Palace). You can learn more about the musical play and books tickets at the website of the Molesey Musical Theatre. And here is a synopsis with more information (PDF).
Exhibitions
Upcoming Books, Events and Exhibitions for May 2018
Time for the round-up for the merry month of May!
Books
Four Queens and a Countess: Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Lady Jane Grey and Bess of Hardwick by Jill Armitage will be out in the US on May 1 after a release last year in the UK.
And there are some new books for May:
In more academic fare, Juana I: Legitimacy and Conflict in Sixteenth-Century Castile by Gillian B. Fleming, part of the Queenship and Power series, was released in April in the US and will be out on May 17 in the UK.
Natalie Grueninger and Kathryn Holeman have teamed up again for more Tudor coloring book fun! You can order Colouring History – Tudor Queens and Consorts from Amazon US and through ColouringTudorHistory.com
Events
I have a couple of upcoming Tudor history stage productions coming up, one for May and one for June:
First up, Put Out the Lights by Joanna Carrick will run from May 8 to 27 at The Avenue Theatre in Ipswich. Tickets can be purchased at the Red Rose Chain website.
About the play:
1538. Ipswich is a place of dark secrets and divided loyalties. A preacher is dragged from his pulpit, arrested for protestant heresy, while Cromwell sends agents to dismantle the Town
Sunday Short Takes
Long overdue! Some of these date back over a month, but in my defense, most of February was a blur so it feels like we just went from January straight to March.
* The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries to open on 11th June – A date has been announced for the opening of Westminster Abbey’s new galleries up in the medieval Triforium. I can’t wait to visit this (someday)!
* Blanche Parry’s life at the side of Queen Elizabeth I – Blanche Parry is one of history’s most influential Welsh women, yet few know the name and only a handful know her story.
Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for March 2018
Books
Just one book coming out in the US this month that has already been released in the UK – Nicola Tallis’ Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester, which will be out on March 6.
And a few new books are due out this month as well, starting with Helen Castor’s Elizabeth I: A Study in Insecurity, part of the Penguin Monarchs series. It will be out in April as a hardcover in the US although you can get the Kindle edition now.
Next up is a look at Henry VIII’s cross-channel rival, Francis I: The Maker of Modern France by Leonie Frieda. It is out March 8 in the UK and in April in the US:
Another work is out in the Queenship and Power series of academic works – Elizabeth I in Writing: Language, Power and Representation in Early Modern England, edited by Donatella Montini and Iolanda Plescia. It is due out on March 21 is both the UK and US.
And finally, Derek Wilson’s most recent Tudor work, The Queen and the Heretic: How two women changed the religion of England about Queen Katherine Parr and Anne Askew will be out later in March is the UK and possibly the US (I found conflicting publication info).
Exhibitions
The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC is hosting an exhibition on Michel Sittow that opened on January 28, 2018 and runs to May 13, 2018. Sittow is probably most associated for fans of Tudor history with the portrait of what has long been identified as a young Catherine of Aragon. We had a discussion on the Q&A blog about the portrait being re-identified as Mary Tudor (Brandon) and it seems that the exhibition is now using that identification as well (although calling her “Mary Rose Tudor”). You can find out more about the exhibition here.
Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for February 2018
How is is almost February already? (Yes, I probably say – or at least think – this every new year)
Books
Here’s one I missed from late last year – Four Queens and a Countess: Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Lady Jane Grey and Bess of Hardwick by Jill Armitage was released back in December in the UK and will be out in hardback in the US in May.
And the one February release I have on my spreadsheet is Sarah Bryson’s La Reine Blanche: Mary Tudor A Life in Letters. I love books of letters of Tudor figures, so I’m really looking forward to this one! It is due out mid-February in the UK and in June in the US.
Exhibitions
The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC is hosting an exhibition on Michel Sittow from January 28, 2018 to May 13, 2018. Sittow is probably most associated for fans of Tudor history with the portrait of what has long been identified as a young Catherine of Aragon. We had a discussion on the Q&A blog about the portrait being re-identified as Mary Tudor (Brandon) and it seems that the exhibition is now using that identification as well (although calling her “Mary Rose Tudor”). You can find out more about the exhibition here.
Sunday Short Takes
Welcome to 2018! I have some stuff from the end of 2017 – and a few new things – that didn’t get posted in my very lazy break from work.
* Westminster Abbey’s attics yield a treasure trove of stained glass
* Hull’s Henry VIII blockhouse dig ‘bit of a gem’
* She opened her own doors: ASU history professor retires from pioneering career – Article about historian Retha Warnicke upon her retirement from Arizona State University
And finally – the program on Lady Jane Grey that I mentioned back in August is now scheduled to air on BBC 4 on January 9, 10, and 11.
More info: Episode 1, Episode 2, and Episode 3 and a trailer –
