{"id":16385,"date":"2015-03-11T13:27:10","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T02:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/?p=16385"},"modified":"2015-03-11T13:27:10","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T02:27:10","slug":"20-questions-with-david-baldwin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/2015\/03\/11\/20-questions-with-david-baldwin\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Questions with David Baldwin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>1. When did you realise that you wanted to become an historian?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always been interested in History \u2013 as a very small child I was fascinated by knights in armour.<\/p>\n

2. What sparked your interest in Tudor England?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I specialize mainly in the fifteenth century, but think it\u2019s equally important to know what went before and what came after. History doesn\u2019t begin and end on particular dates.<\/p>\n

3. Tell us about your latest book, Henry VIII\u2019s Last Love<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the story of Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk who some contemporaries thought would become Henry VIII\u2019s seventh wife. She avoided involvement in the Lady Jane Grey conspiracy (she was Jane\u2019s step-grandmother), but Queen Mary\u2019s agents still pursued her across Europe for several years. She is little-known nowadays, but has been described by a recent writer as \u2018one of the most remarkable women of her time\u2019.<\/p>\n

4. What was the greatest challenge you faced when writing this book?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actually, the same as with all subjects of this era \u2013 analysing the inevitably limited evidence to present a true picture of what he\/she was really like. In Katherine\u2019s case her often outspoken letters to William Cecil give us a real insight into the person behind the pen.<\/p>\n

5. You have written about many fascinating historical figures over the years, do you have a favourite?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been studying Richard III for more than half a century. My fascination with him never palls.<\/strong><\/p>\n

6. I recently read that in 1986, you suggested that the remains of Richard III would be found on the site of the Grey Friars Church in Leicester. Is this true?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1986 I published an article in the Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society in <\/em>which I dismissed the popular notion that the King\u2019s remains had been disinterred and thrown into the river at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and concluded that they could still be found on the site of the Grey Friary \u2018at some time in the twenty- first century\u2019.<\/p>\n

7. Name two items on your bucket list.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t got one!<\/p>\n

8. What are your favourite holiday destinations?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wales and Scotland \u2013 for their \u2018Book Towns\u2019 and their upland walks.<\/p>\n

9. Describe a day in your life when you are writing. Do you follow any rituals?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I always get up at 6 am and write for two hours before breakfast. Then, I\u2019ve got some more words under my belt whatever the rest of the day holds.<\/p>\n

10. What does your writing space look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our spare bedroom has been converted into a study, and houses my collection of reference books, amassed over some forty years.<\/p>\n

11. Do you use social media?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I joined Facebook just over a year ago and have found it useful both for communication and as a source of information. But it is possible to waste so much time on these things!<\/p>\n

12. What are a few of the books on your TBR list?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m looking forward to reading Michael Hicks\u2019s view of The Family of Richard III, <\/em>Alison\u2019s Weir\u2019s forthcoming life of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, and Philippa Gregory\u2019s next novel.<\/p>\n

13. What is something most people don\u2019t know about you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was a chartered company secretary for many years – I didn\u2019t go to university to formally qualify as a historian until I was 34.<\/p>\n

14. Paperback or e-books?<\/strong><\/p>\n

E-books are easy to pack and have a significant share of the market \u2013 but for me there is nothing like a real book.<\/p>\n

15. Pet peeves?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Inconsiderate drivers and cold callers.<\/p>\n

16. What women in history do you most admire?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A particular favourite is Elizabeth Woodville, the subject of my first book. If she has one thing in common with Richard III it is that they have both had a very bad \u2018press\u2019.\u00a0 But she won the admiration of at least some of her contemporaries, and although not groomed for queenship she never let Edward IV down.<\/p>\n

17. Are you currently working on any new books?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have several possible projects under discussion. An updated edition of my biography of Richard III will be issued as soon as possible after the re-interment, and my Pitkin Richard III. The Leicester Connection <\/em>is being similarly revised.<\/p>\n

18. Do you have a favourite quote?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This, from one of my favourite novels, John Buchan\u2019s The Blanket of the Dark<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u2018You remember Chief Justice Crew\u2019s famous question: \u2018Where is Bohun, where is Mowbray, Where is Mortimer? Nay, which is more and most of all, where is Plantagenet? Gone in name, but not perhaps in blood. Somewhere those high strains are in the commonalty of England, for it is the commonalty that endures\u2019.<\/p>\n

The discovery of several individuals who share Richard III\u2019s DNA is testimony to the truth of this.<\/p>\n

19. What three new skills would you like to learn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would like to improve my cooking, learn to dance, and be able to play a musical instrument \u2013 although I\u2019m not very musical!<\/p>\n

20. What do you think is the secret to a happy life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Being content with what you have.<\/p>\n

Henry VIII\u2019s Last Love<\/em><\/strong> by David Baldwin (published by Amberley, 2015) is available to buy from all good bookstores, as well as online at the Amberley website, Amazon and The Book Depository.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>THE AUTHOR <\/strong><\/p>\n

David Baldwin is a historian who has taught at the Universities of Leicester and Nottingham for many years. He is the critically acclaimed author of The Lost Prince <\/em>(‘A fascinating new theory\u2019 THE DAILY MAIL<\/em>), Elizabeth Woodville <\/em>(\u2018Inspirational\u2026 brings her alive for the general reader\u2019 PHILIPPA GREGORY), Richard III <\/em>(‘A believably complex Richard, neither wholly villain nor hero’ PHILIPPA GREGORY), Robin Hood <\/em>(‘Excellent\u2026 a pleasure to read\u2019 BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE) <\/em>and co-wrote the bestseller The Women of the Cousins War. <\/em>He lives in Leicester.<\/p>\n

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018A gripping biography of the woman who might have been Henry VIII\u2019s seventh wife… David Baldwin is a brilliant historical detective.\u2019 PHILIPPA GREGORY (author of The White Queen<\/em>).<\/p>\n

\u2018A vivid and fascinating account\u2026 brings Katherine Willoughby deservedly to the forefront of the Tudor age.\u2019 ALISON WEIR.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. When did you realise that you wanted to become an historian? I\u2019ve always been interested in History \u2013 as a very small child I was fascinated by knights in armour. 2. What sparked your interest in Tudor England? I specialize mainly in the fifteenth century, but think it\u2019s equally important to know what went […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9],"tags":[4439,4442,4471,4440,4441,31],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16385"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16385"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16394,"href":"https:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16385\/revisions\/16394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthetudortrail.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}