New Tudor Books!

It has been a little while since I have updated you on recent and upcoming Tudor book releases so here are some titles to keep you busy over the next little while…

The Favoured Queen: A Novel of Henry VIII's Third Wife

The Favoured Queen: A Novel of Henry VIII’s Third Wife by Carolly Erickson is due out on the 27th September, 2011.

The Synopsis reads:

From The New York Times bestselling author of The Last Wife of Henry VIII comes a powerful and moving novel about Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, who married him only days after the execution of Anne Boleyn and ultimately lost her own life in giving him the son he badly needed to guarantee the Tudor succession

Born into an ambitious noble family, young Jane Seymour is sent to Court as a Maid of Honor to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s aging queen. She is devoted to her mistress and watches with empathy as the calculating Anne Boleyn contrives to supplant her as queen. Anne’s single-minded intriguing threatens all who stand in her way; she does not hesitate to arrange the murder of a woman who knows a secret so dark that, if revealed, would make it impossible for the king to marry Anne.

VIII by H M Castor

VIII by H.M Castor is due out on October 1st, 2011. Although it’s aimed at teenagers, I am currently reading it and enjoying it very much!

Synopsis:

VIII is the story of Hal: a young, handsome, gifted warrior, who believes he has been chosen to lead his people. But he is plagued by the ghosts of his family’s violent past and, once he rises to power, he turns to murder and rapacious cruelty. He is Henry VIII. The Tudors have always captured the popular imagination, but in VIII, Henry is presented fresh for a new generation. H M Castor does for Henry what Hilary Mantel did for Thomas Cromwell – VIII is Wolf Hall for the teen and crossover market. The contemporary, original writing style will have broad appeal and VIII brings the tension of a psychological thriller and the eeriness of a ghost story to historical fiction.

Bessie Blount: The Story of Henry VIII’s Longtime Mistress by Elizabeth Norton will be released by Amberley Publishing on 28 Oct 2011.

Synopsis reads:

Beautiful, young, exuberant, the amazing life of Elizabeth Blount, Henry VIII’s mistress and mother to his first son who came tantalizingly close to succeeding him as King Henry IX. The earliest known, and longest lasting mistress of Henry VIII, Bessie Blount was the king’s first love. More beautiful than Anne Boleyn or any of Henry’s other wives or concubines, Bessie’s beauty and other charms ensured that she turned heads, winning a place at court as one of Catherine of Aragon’s ladies. Within months she was partnering the king in dancing and she rose to be the woman with the most influence over Henry, much to Catherine of Aragon’s despair. The affair lasted five years (longer than most of Henry’s marriages) and in 1519 she bore Henry VIII a son, Henry Fitzroy. As a mark of his importance Cardinal Wolsey was appointed his guardian and godfather. Supplanted soon after by Mary Boleyn, Bessie’s importance rests on the vital proof it gave Henry VIII that he could father a healthy son and through Henry Fitzroy, Bessie remained a prominent figure at court. In the country at large, for proving that the king was capable of fathering a son Bessie prompted the saying ‘Bless’ee, Bessie Blount’ and her position of mother of such an important child made her an object of interest to many of her contemporaries. Sidelined by historians until now, Bessie and the son she had by the king are one of the great ‘what ifs’ of English history. If Jane Seymour had not produced a male heir and Bessie’s son had not died young aged 17, in all likelihood Henry Fitzroy could have followed his father as King Henry IX and Bessie propelled to the status of mother of the king.

Catherine of Aragon: A Life by Patrick Williams will be released by Amberley Publishing on 28 Oct 2011.

Product Description:

The tragic story of Henry VIII’s first unfortunate wife. Catherine of Aragon was a central figure in one of the most dramatic and formative events of Tudor history – England’s breach with Rome after a thousand years of fidelity. She lived through traumatic and revolutionary times and her personal drama was played out against dramas of global significance. The heroic and dignified first wife of Henry VIII who was cast aside for reasons of dynastic ambition, but who resolutely and unbendingly stuck to her principles and her dignity at enormous cost to herself. Catherine’s story tells so much about the exercise of power, and about being married to a lover who became – slowly but perceptibly – a tyrant in public life and a monster in his private affairs. Professor Patrick Williams has been immersed in Spanish history for over thirty years and his monumental new biography – the first to make full use of the Spanish Royal Archives – is the result, and presents a very different portrait of Catherine.

The Queen's Agent: Francis Walsingham at the Court of Elizabeth I

The Queen’s Agent: Francis Walsingham at the Court of Elizabeth I by John Cooper due out on 6 October 2011.

Book description:

The definitive book about Francis Walsingham, the first great English spymaster and the man who saved Elizabeth’s regime and England’s independence.

Elizabeth I came to the throne at a time of insecurity and unrest. Rivals threatened her reign; England was a Protestant island, isolated in a sea of Catholic countries. Spain plotted an invasion, but Elizabeth’s Secretary, Francis Walsingham, was prepared to do whatever it took to protect her. He ran a network of agents in England and Europe who provided him with information about invasions or assassination plots. He recruited likely young men and ‘turned’ others. He encourage Elizabeth to make war against the Catholic Irish rebels, with extreme brutality and oversaw the execution of Mary Queen of Scots. The Queen’s Agent is a story of secret agents, cryptic codes and ingenious plots, set in a turbulent period of England’s history. It is also the story of a man devoted to his queen, sacrificing his every waking hour to save the threatened English state.

The Reformation Experience by Eric Ives

The Reformation Experience by Eric Ives will be released on 18 November, 2011.

Synopsis:

There are many sound histories of the Reformation in the old style with its preference for ideas and theologians. This new book by Professor Eric Ives take a new approach and shows how the Reformation came to the individual Christian and what it meant. Ives analyses whether (and why) Reformation teaching was accepted or not, and looks at how it changed lives – with particular reference to the parish church, belief and commitment. The author focuses largely on Britain but does not ignore European experience, and in the second part of the book looks at questions such as: why was there a reformation? How did it happen? What did it achieve? and does it matter?

The Queen's Gamble by Barbara Kyle

The Queen’s Gamble by Barbara Kyle is book 4 in the Thornleigh Series set in Tudor England.

Product Description:

Young Queen Elizabeth I’s path to the throne has been a perilous one, and already she faces a dangerous crisis. French troops have landed in Scotland to quell a rebel Protestant army, and Elizabeth fears once they are entrenched on the border, they will invade England.

Isabel Thornleigh has returned to London from the New World with her Spanish husband, Carlos Valverde, and their young son. Ever the queen’s loyal servant, Isabel is recruited to smuggle money to the Scottish rebels. Yet Elizabeth’s trust only goes so far—Isabel’s son will be the queen’s pampered hostage until she completes her mission. Matters grow worse when Isabel’s husband is engaged as military advisor to the French, putting the couple on opposite sides in a deadly cold war.

Set against a lush, vibrant backdrop peopled with unforgettable characters and historical figures, The Queen’s Gamble is a story of courage, greed, passion, and the high price of loyalty. . .

In A Treacherous Court by Michelle Diener

In a Treacherous Court by Michelle Diener was released in August, 2011.

The Synopsis reads:

An unconventional woman. A deadly enemy. A clash of intrigue, deception, and desire. . 1525: Artist Susanna Horenbout is sent from Belgium to be Henry VIII’s personal illuminator inside the royal palace. But her new homeland greets her with an attempt on her life, and the King’s most lethal courtier, John Parker, is charged with keeping her safe. As further attacks are made, Susanna and Parker realize that she unknowingly carries the key to a bloody plot against the throne. For while Richard de la Pole amasses troops in France for a Yorkist invasion, a traitor prepares to trample the kingdom from within.Who is the mastermind? Why are men vying to kill the woman Parker protects with his life? With a motley gang of urchins, Susanna’s wits, and Parker’s fierce instincts, honed on the streets and in palace chambers, the two slash through deadly layers of deceit in a race against time. For in the court of Henry VIII, secrets are the last to die. . . .Brilliantly revealing a little-known historical figure who lived among the Tudors, Michelle Diener makes a smashing historical fiction debut.

The Boleyns: The Rise and Fall of a Tudor Family by David Loades

And a reminder that David Loades’ new book, The Boleyns: The Rise and Fall of a Tudor Family will be released in three days!

Description:

A magnificent tale of family rivalry and intrigue set against Henry VIII’s court. The fall of Anne Boleyn and her brother George is the classic drama of the Tudor era. The Boleyns had long been an influential English family. Sir Edward Boleyn had been Lord Mayor of London. His grandson, Sir Thomas had inherited wealth and position, and through the sexual adventures of his daughters, Mary and Anne, ascended to the peak of influence at court. The three Boleyn children formed a faction of their own, making many enemies: and when those enemies secured Henry VIII’s ear, they brought down the entire family in blood and disgrace. George, Lord Rochfort, left no children. Mary left a son by her husband, William Carey – Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon. Anne left a daughter, Elizabeth I – so like her in many ways and a sexual politician without rival.