In her ambitious new book, Game of Queens, Sarah Gristwood explores the lives of twelve remarkable women, all pivotal figures in sixteenth century European politics. Through their stories Gristwood describes the complex and significant networks of female power running through Renaissance Europe that have often been overlooked by history. We are able to understand the […]
The Crown: Netflix’s Royal Affair
‘Prepare to be welcomed into the coveted world of power and privilege….the leaders of an empire await,’ states the blurb on Netflix about The Crown. Whether or not you subscribe to the streaming service you will doubtless be aware of the eagerly anticipated new series about the reign of Elizabeth II from Peter Morgan, (of […]
1666: Plague, War and Hellfire by Rebecca Rideal
It is unsurprising that there seems to be a new appetite for the Stuart period, given the seventeenth century brought us some of the best and most enduring drama ever written, a regicide, a civil war, a republic, a restoration and, in the aftermath of all this, one of the most dramatically eventful and devastating […]
Are the Stuarts the New Tudors?
It’s quite possible that we have reached peak Tudor. Henry VIII’s stinking, gangrenous leg has been endlessly speculated upon, every layer of Elizabeth I’s petticoats has been lifted and thoroughly searched and Anne Boleyn’s execution has been read, learned and inwardly digested from all possible angles. There are even novels that speculate upon what might […]
The Girl in the Glass Tower by Elizabeth Fremantle
The Girl in the Glass Tower is the fourth novel from acclaimed historical fiction author Elizabeth Fremantle and continues her exploration of, in her words, ‘the invisibility of early modern women’s lives’ with perhaps her most challenging character. Lady Arbella Stuart was the great-granddaughter of Henry VIII’s sister Margaret Tudor and niece to Mary Queen […]
Lewd Strumpets!
Towards the end of Elizabeth I’s long reign rumours ran rife about the promiscuous behaviour of the ‘flouting wenches’(1) in the royal household where affairs, illegitimate births and shot-gun marriages abounded. The Queen, concerned that her own reputation would suffer by association and beset by deep anxieties about her position, meted out stringent punishments for […]
Tragedy in Minature
This tiny portrait by the Tudor court miniaturist Levina Teerlinc appears to be a charming image of a mother and child, a memento or a keepsake perhaps; but behind it lies a highly political tragedy, inextricably linked to the struggle for the Tudor succession. The mother and child are lady Katherine Grey and her son […]
More Glass than Wall
Hardwick is approached from below; the road winds round through the valley with a tantalising vista opening up, offering a glimpse of golden stone looming above, and then disappearing once more as you climb. Still invisible on the long drive through parkland scattered with sheep, Hardwick only reappears when you are almost upon her (she, […]