The Queen’s House at the Tower of London. Photo June 2000.
Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for December 2013
Books
I’m struck by how many books I’ve been posting lately are by people that I know through the Tudor web-o-sphere… maybe that’s a sign I need to get off my duff and get writing. 😉
Barb Alexander of the Tudor Tutor website now has a book out of the same title! I just snagged a copy on Kindle, but these links go to the physical book:
A new novel by Ann Turner entitled Heartsease, set in turbulent times at the court of Henry VIII, is out in both the US and UK as of the first of the month:
And Alison Weir’s newest work on Tudor history, about Elizabeth of York, is now out in the US.
Events
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s plays based on Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies open on December 11th and 19th respectively and will run through March 29, 2014. They are both being staged at the Swan Theatre of the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon. Click the links on each title for information on tickets, rehearsal photos, and more.
Continuing exhibitions
* Elizabeth I & Her People opened at the National Portrait Gallery in London on October 10, 2013 and runs through January 5, 2014. Be sure to check out their Events Page for lectures, tours, and other activities associated with the exhibition.
Sunday Short Takes
Another short round-up this week!
* Double Take: Versions and Copies of Tudor Portraits – another fascinating post from the NPG “Making Art in Tudor Britain” research program.
* Tudor Medicine and Gingerbread Houses – Kyra Cornelius Kramer writes about how Tudor medicine is related to all the lovely spices we enjoy in our foods and drinks this time of year.
And finally…
* The Marie Stuart Society (in association with Historic Scotland) has launched an appeal for a statue of Mary Queen of Scots to be erected at her birthplace of Linlithgow Castle. The maquette for the statue design can be seen above.
Picture of the Week #256
Stained glass window of St. Margaret of Scotland in her chapel at Edinburgh Castle. Photo May 2000.
Since tomorrow (or possibly Friday, but most of my sources have the 28th) is the anniversary of the birth of Margaret Tudor, I thought this would be a good opportunity to use this photo of a previous Queen Margaret who began life as an English princess and married a King of Scotland.
Sunday Short Takes
Just a couple of things this week:
* JFK and a neglected Tudor – Alison Weir discusses Elizabeth of York in the second half of this week’s BBC History Extra podcast
* New inventory of manuscript collection reveals unprecedented level of detail for scholars of British history – From the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin (my university!!). I love that there are letters signed by Elizabeth I just on the other side of campus from my office. 🙂
Picture of the Week #255
Imposing entrance to Chirk Castle in Wales, part of Robert Dudley’s holdings granted by Elizabeth I. Photo May 2000.
Sunday Short Takes
Just a few stories this week –
* Toys and games that killed in Tudor England – More interesting stuff from Steven Gunn and Tomasz Gromelski’s research into coroner’s reports.
* Great works: Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VI) by Hans Holbein the Younger, circa 1538
* The Lost Palace of Henry The VIII – An interesting look at Otford Palace
And finally…
* The series Tudor Monastery Farm that I mentioned back in August is now airing on BBC Two. You can watch it online if you have access to iPlayer.
Picture of the Week #254
Entrance to Leeds Castle. Photo May 2003.
Sunday Short Takes
Quite a hodge-podge of things today, including three things that you can help out with!
* Foose noted in the comments a couple of weeks ago that actor Nigel Davenport passed away on October 25th. He was Norfolk in the 1966 “A Man for All Seasons” and Bothwell in the 1971 “Mary Queen of Scots”.
And now on to the things you can help with!
* If you’ve ever downloaded documents from Archive.org please consider sending them a small donation after their scanning facility was damaged by fire last week. The archive has scanned many old books with primary sources and are a valuable resource to Tudor history fans and researchers alike.
* Have an interesting Tudor item you might like to sell? The Channel 4 program Four Rooms wants to hear from you! Click here for more information (PDF).
* The Rediscovering Rycote project that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago is hosting a Wikipedia Editathon on Friday November 15. You don’t need any prior Wikipedia editing experience and you can participate virtually if you aren’t lucky enough to be in Oxford. You can learn more about it here!
Picture of the Week #253
Storm clouds gather over the gardens at the Old Palace at Hatfield. Photo May 2000.
Picture of the Week #252
Flying buttresses on Westminster Abbey. Photo May 2003.
In honor of the 528th anniversary of the coronation of Henry VII!
Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for November 2013
Books
Alison Weir’s newest work on Tudor history is about Elizabeth of York and is out on November 7 in the UK and December 3 in the US.
And another prolific writer of Tudor history books, Professor David Loades, has a work coming out on Thomas Cromwell at the end of the month. It is scheduled to be released on November 28 in both the UK and US.
And finally, a new work on The Field of Cloth of Gold by Glenn Richardson is out on November 30 in the UK and January 7, 2014 in the US.
Continuing exhibitions
* Wrapping up this month: The National Museum of Scotland’s exhibition on Mary Queen of Scots closes on November 17.
* Elizabeth I & Her People opened at the National Portrait Gallery in London on October 10, 2013 and runs through January 5, 2014. Be sure to check out their Events Page for lectures, tours, and other activities associated with the exhibition.
Sunday Short Takes
Lots of stories this week since I got totally sidetracked on something last weekend and never got around to writing a post!
* Bodleian Libraries’ archives reveal ‘lost’ Rycote mansion – The “lost” history of a Tudor mansion that hosted six English kings and queens, including Henry VIII, has been restored in a new online archive.
You can see the online archive here: Rediscovering Rycote. There are some great resources at the site, including a nice palaeography tutorial. Yes, my quest to get better at reading Tudor handwriting still continues…
* And more from the Elizabeth I and Her People exhibition at the NPG:
Elizabeth I and Her People – Slideshow from BBC History Extra. And the first part of this week’s History Extra podcast includes a discussion of the exhibition with Dr. Tarnya Cooper.
The National Portrait Gallery’s You Tube channel has several videos related to the exhibition. I’ve embedded one below, but be sure to check out the others at the channel.
Picture of the Week #251
From atop Raglan Castle. Photo May 2003.
Picture of the Week #250
Beaumaris Castle and Town. Photo May 2000.
Sunday Short Takes
A couple of interesting articles about the Sir Walter Ralegh portrait on display at the new Elizabeth I & Her People exhibition at the NPG:
* Sir Walter Raleigh’s crescent moon compliment to Elizabeth I revealed
Picture of the Week #249
Anne Boleyn wax figure. Photo June 2000.
That’s Henry’s hand on her shoulder, which was out of the frame in last week’s photo.
As I mentioned in the comments last week, when the wax museum closed they sold off the waxworks at auction if I understand correctly. I wonder if someone has this pair somewhere?
Sunday Short Takes
With the opening of the Cheapside Hoard exhibit at the Museum of London, there have been a few articles with more information on the fantastic collection of jewels:
* Mystery of the Cheapside Hoard – Includes a video and slideshow featuring some of the jewels
* A Priceless Treasure (And The Crime Behind It) Finally Exposed
The conservation of The Mary Rose enters its next stage:
* Drying times ahead for Henry VIII’s Mary Rose warship
More Richard III-related archaeological discoveries:
* Richard III’s lost chapel ‘has been found’
And speaking of Richard III…
* The mysteries of the Princes in the Tower – Leanda de Lisle is featured in the first half of the October 3rd History Extra podcast discussing the fate of the Princes
Picture of the Week #248
Wax Figure of Henry VIII. Photo June 2000
This was at Brading – The Experience waxworks museum on the Isle of Wight, the same place as the one of Elizabeth I that posted in Picture of the Week #116. I poked around to see what had become of the site since the museum closed and it looks like the newer parts were demolished last year for a housing development and the historic building is being repurposed.
Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for October 2013
Oh boy are there a bunch of reasons that I wish I was going to England in October (which sadly I am not)!
Books
Leanda de Lisle’s latest work on the Tudors will be out on October 8 in the US. It’s titled Tudor: The Family Story in the UK and Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England’s Most Notorious Royal Family in the US.
Susan Higginbotham has written her first non-fiction book, The Woodvilles: The Wars of the Roses and England’s Most Infamous Family, which is out October 1 in the UK and will be out in January in the US.
Terry Breverton has a new biography of Richard III coming out at the end of October in both the US and UK:
And a couple of things from previous months that I missed:
An academic work entitled Reading and Writing during the Dissolution: Monks, Friars, and Nuns 1530-1558 by Mary Erler that came out in August (which you can learn more about here and here)
And just this week, Claire Ridgway of The Anne Boleyn Files has released The Anne Boleyn Collection II: Anne Boleyn and the Boleyn Family which you can get on Kindle and in paperback (the links go to the paperback edition):
Events
BBC History Magazine’s next History Weekend is on October 25-27 in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. There are lots of Tudor-related talks, and plenty of other topics for those of you who branch out from the 16th century! And for those of you who can’t attend (like me – sob), in the past they have put some of the talks up as podcasts, so check out the BBC History Extra podcasts if you haven’t already!
New exhibitions
* Elizabeth I & Her People opens at the National Portrait Gallery in London on October 10, 2013 and runs through January 5, 2014. Be sure to check out their Events Page for lectures, tours, and other activities associated with the exhibition.
* The Museum of London has a new exhibition on the Cheapside Hoard, a collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewels that were found in a cellar in 1912. The exhibition opens October 11, 2013 and runs through April 27, 2014.
