We asked nine well-loved authors to each recommend two historical books for Christmas 2022 to give, receive, or treat yourself with. These include many of the most absorbing books, fiction and non-fiction, published recently. We hope these suggestions inspire you. DV Bishop The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola. A winter’s tale full of mystery and […]
The scandalous Seymours
Adultery, incest, treason: there were several great families at the courts of the Tudors who excelled in these practices. The Boleyns and the Howards may spring to mind, but, as Alexandra Walsh explains, the scandalous Seymours were ahead of all the others. In a court bursting with intrigue, skulduggery and scandal, where friends could become […]
The Jane Seymour Conspiracy by Alexandra Walsh
London, 1527, and 19-year-old Jane Seymour arrives at court to take her place with Queen Katherine of Aragon. Discovering a court already beginning to divide into factions between Katherine and Jane’s second cousin, Anne Boleyn, Jane finds herself caught between the old world and the new. Determined to have a son, the king appears to […]
Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England by Carol McGrath
The Tudor period has long gripped our imaginations. Because we have consumed so many costume dramas on TV and film, read so many histories, factual or romanticised, we think we know how this society operated. We know they ‘did’ romance but how did they do sex? In this affectionate, informative and fascinating look at sex […]
Henry VIII, impotence and the thorny question of male heirs
Henry VIII died 475 years ago, on 28 January, 1547. To mark the occasion, we asked the author Carol McGrath to draw upon her new book, Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England, to examine the king’s notoriously turbulent sex life. She focusses on the driving force behind his many marriages: his obsession with fathering a […]
Historia giveaway! Two novels by Joanna Hickson
To celebrate the publication (on 20 January) of The Queen’s Lady by Joanna Hickson, Historia is giving five winners copies of both novels in her Queens of the Tower series to five winners. The first, Lady of the Ravens, came out a year ago. The giveaway is open until 11.59pm on 1 February, 2022. Each of […]
The Queen’s Lady by Joanna Hickson
Raven-haired and fiercely independent, Joan Guildford has always remained true to herself. As lady-in-waiting and confidante to Queen Elizabeth, wife of Henry VII, Joan understands royal patronage is vital if she and her husband, Sir Richard, are to thrive in the volatile atmosphere of court life. But Tudor England is in mourning following the death […]
Joan Vaux – child prodigy and lady-in-waiting to four queens
Joanna Hickson writes about the unusual life of Joan Vaux, child prodigy, second-generation immigrant, champion of the Tower ravens and lady-in-waiting to four queens, who is the subject of her latest novel, The Queen’s Lady. When I was researching the history of Joan Vaux I very quickly realised that her character and life were too […]