Q & A with Anna Whitelock

What sparked your interest in Tudor history?

A good teacher at school and numerous visits to Tudor stately homes as a child.

What makes Mary I such a fascinating subject? Was she more than just Bloody Mary?

Yes! Mary was the first crowned queen of England and Elizabeth’s feisty sister who had an amazing life but has been so overshadowed by Elizabeth and her father Henry VIII. Yes she burnt protestants but she also established that women could rule as kings and set important precedents for female rule and most particularly for that of her sister.

Apart from Mary Tudor, who are your other favourite Tudor personalities and why?

I think all the Tudors were formidable personalities who are amazing figures to study. I think Elizabeth would have to be another favourite – ruthless, determined and courageous like her older sister- but also an amazingly attractive woman who knew how to work as a woman in a man’s world!

Your biography on Mary Tudor has been described as “thorough in its research”, “compelling” and “impressive”. David Starkey described it as, “An impressive and powerful debut”. What do you think sets it apart from other biographies written about the life of Mary Tudor?

I wanted to make the latest research accessible to a popular reader. I wanted to take the reader to the sources as far as was possible and enable them to read them as they were written. I was also keen to play with the form of biography and so have wrote the narrative in short, focused dramatic chapters which are intended to bring to life different episodes just as scenes in a film.

In your research into the court of Mary I, have you come across any activities, customs or traditions that you’ve found particularly interesting or peculiar?

I think what was particularly interesting about the court of Mary I was that in many ways they had to make things up as far as customs and traditions as they went along, at least as far as they related to the gender and dignity of the monarch. So when on the eve of a monarch’s coronation fifteen knights of the bath would be created in a ceremony which involved the men plunging naked into a wooden bath in the chapel of the Tower of London and then re-emerging to kiss the monarch’s shoulder. This would not do for a queen and so the Lord Steward, the Earl of Arundel had to deputise in Mary’s place.

Could you share with us a little about the process you undertook when researching your book?

The book was based largely on the research I had done for my PhD. This involved trips to the British Library, the National Archives and various other local record offices. Having got the material I then set out writing an outline of the book which was then bought by a publisher and then I wrote the book itself.

Have you visited places connected to the Tudors? If so, do you have a favourite Tudor location?

I love Westminster Abbey where Mary and Elizabeth can be found buried in the same tomb – Elizabeth was moved there three years after her death. I also love the Tower of London and Hampton Court. Framlingham Castle in Suffolk is a rather underrated Tudor location. It was there that Mary mustered her forces in July 1553 ready to fight for the throne and it was there she secured the crown of England.

Are you currently writing any books?

I am currently writing a book called The Queen’s Bed which explores the bed, bedchamber and body of Elizabeth I. It considers issues of intimacy, trust, rumour, slander and conspiracy. The royal bed was the very centre of the court and it has yet to be the central part of any study of the reign of Elizabeth.

What advice would you offer people thinking about writing a book set in Tudor England?

Read lots, visit as many historic sites as you can and make sure you read the primary sources and don’t rely on secondary interpretation.

Do you have a favourite Mary Tudor quote or moment?

According to the French ambassador when Mary was two and a half and taking part in a ceremony which celebrated her betrothal to the French dauphin she said to the french envoy ‘Are you the dauphin of France? If you are I wish to kiss you.’

Anna Whitelock

To learn more about Anna visit her official website here.