On the Tudor Trail

Episode 238 – The Life of Catherine Carey with Dr Wendy J. Dunn

Guest Bio Wendy J. Dunn is an award-winning Australian writer fascinated by Tudor history – so much so she was not surprised to discover a family connection to the Tudors, not long after the publication of her first Anne Boleyn novel, which narrated the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the elder. Her family tree reveals the intriguing fact that one of her ancestral families – possibly over three generations – had purchased land from both the Boleyn and Wyatt families to … [Read More...]

These Bloody Days: The Fall of Anne Boleyn

Announcement Time! Introducing ‘These Bloody Days: The Fall of Anne Boleyn’. I’m thrilled to share that the brilliant Dr Owen Emmerson and I have teamed up to bring you a week-long online event exploring Anne Boleyn’s downfall, beginning on Monday 13 May, 2024. Through a series of 6 pre-recorded lectures and one live Zoom discussion, we’ll delve deep into one of the most brutal and shocking events of Henry VIII’s reign. By sifting through the many myths and misconceptions still … [Read More...]

Episode 237 – Young Elizabeth with Dr Nicola Tallis

Guest Bio Dr Nicola Tallis is an independent author and historian, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She has worked as a curator, researcher, and lecturer, and specialises in the use of jewels in late medieval and Tudor England. Nicola has spoken at many prestigious events and venues including the Emirates Festival of Literature, the Tower of London, Hampton Court, and the National Archives. She has made numerous television and radio appearances, including on BBC’s Who Do You … [Read More...]

Episode 236 – Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley: An Enduring Love with Corina Apostu

Guest Bio Corina Apostu is a history blogger and independent researcher of Elizabethan history with a focus on Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley. She graduated with an MA in Medieval and Early Modern Studies from the University of Kent in 2021. She currently runs the blog Exploring Elizabethan History on Wordpress. https://exploringelizabethanhistory.wordpress.com/ Corina's Tudor Takeaways The Virgin Queen series Elizabeth I (HBO miniseries) Natalie Grueninger speaks … [Read More...]

Episode 235 – Henry VIII’s Lost Tapestry with Amina Wright and Sutherland Forsyth

Guest Bios Amina Wright is Senior Curator at the Faith Museum and Sutherland Forsyth is Associate Director of Heritage & Engagement at the Auckland Project. Learn more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z5WF2KiVpw Just Giving Page https://justgiving.com/campaign/tapestry *Please note that since this episode was recorded, a wave of generosity has taken the campaign over its initial £1m target. However supporters are still encouraged to donate to support the tapestry's … [Read More...]

Episode 234 – The Conjuror’s Apprentice with G. J. Williams

Guest Bio G.J. Williams is Welsh but raised in England. She grew up in Somerset where history, story-telling and adventure were the stuff of life. She wrote as a child but then a career in academia followed by international consulting meant that it was some years before the love of crafting a tale came back to the forefront of life. G.J. Williams now lives between London and Somerset and is often found writing on the train journey next to a grumpy cat and a cup of tea. The tap of the … [Read More...]

Episode 233 – Marguerite de Navarre: The Visionary Queen with Dr Theresa Brock

Guest Bio Theresa Brock is Assistant Professor of French Studies at Smith College. Her research interrogates identity and hermeneutics in the early modern era, drawing out parallels between the early modern and the modern. Her first book, The Visionary Queen: Justice, Reform, and the Labyrinth in Marguerite de Navarre, appeared in October 2023 with the University of Delaware Press. Her second book project explores how factors of identity, such as gender, sexuality, social class, disability, … [Read More...]

Episode 232 – The Devonshire Manuscript & Women Writers in Tudor England

Guest Bio Rebecca Quoss-Moore is an associate professor of early modern British literature at the University of Central Oklahoma. Their research focuses on gender in early modern literature and on demasculinizing literary historiographies—that is, on considering how we got to our current ideas about early modern culture and on working to restore women's places in the history of the period's literature. She has published work on early fictionalizations of Anne Boleyn, in The Palgrave Handbook … [Read More...]

Episode 231 – Women of the Wars of the Roses with Lacey Bonar Hull

Guest Bio Lacey Bonar Hull is a doctoral candidate and graduate instructor from the United States. She is currently finishing her dissertation and will receive her PhD in 2024 in Medieval History. Lacey is passionate about making the past exciting and accessible to a general public, which has inspired her to offer virtual courses on medieval history topics to interested individuals through the online platform Medieval History Academy. Current courses focus on the mystery of the disappearance … [Read More...]

Stokesay Castle: A Hidden Medieval Gem

A guest post by Lottie Westfield A hidden medieval gem, Stokesay castle is one of the earliest examples of a fortified manor house in England. Located in a serene Shropshire valley, Stokesay castle was built in the 1280s by wealthy wool merchant Lawrence de Ludlow. Although its interior strongrooms and exterior walls and moat (later torn down in the 1640s) give the superficial impression of strength, the castle was never intended for real military use. Full of atmosphere and evocative of … [Read More...]

Episode 230 – The Reign and Life of Elizabeth I with Professor Carole Levin

Guest Bio Carole Levin is Willa Cather Professor of History Emerita at the University of Nebraska. She specializes in early modern English history. She is the author or editor of twenty books, most recently The Reign and Life of Queen Elizabeth I: Politics, Culture, and Society (2022). She has held fellowships at the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Newberry Library, where she was also the Historical Consultant for the Queen Elizabeth exhibit. She was a Fulbright Scholar at the University … [Read More...]

Episode 229 – Holbein at the Tudor Court with Kate Heard

Guest Bio Kate Heard is the Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings, Royal Collection Trust. The Royal Collection is among the largest and most important art collections in the world, and one of the last great European royal collections to remain intact. It comprises almost all aspects of the fine and decorative arts, and is held in trust by the Sovereign for his successors and the nation, and is not owned by The King as a private … [Read More...]