TheTudor Book Shop Blog

Available as: Hardcover

Amazon Blurb: When Henry VII landed in a secluded bay in a far corner of Wales, it seemed inconceivable that this outsider could ever be king of England. Yet he and his descendants became some of England’s most unforgettable rulers, and gave their name to an age. The story of the Tudor monarchs is as astounding as it was unexpected, but it was not the only one unfolding between 1485 and 1603.

In cities, towns, and villages, families and communities lived their lives through times of great upheaval. In this comprehensive new history, Lucy Wooding lets their voices speak, exploring not just how monarchs ruled but also how men and women thought, wrote, lived, and died. We see a monarchy under strain, religion in crisis, a population contending with war, rebellion, plague, and poverty. Remarkable in its range and depth, Tudor England explores the many tensions of these turbulent years and presents a markedly different picture from the one we thought we knew.

Available as: Hardcover and Kindle

Amazon Blurb: The Wolsey’s of Suffolk date to Anglo-Saxon times. The earliest notice of a Wolsey as inhabitant of Ipswich is Thomas Wolsey’s father, Robert. He was a successful small businessman and married a Joan Daundy. Thomas was probably born in 1471 in an Inn and was almost certainly baptised in St Mary at the Elms church, Ipswich.

Wolsey graduated from university and then his climb to power was extremely fast. He entered the Royal Household as the chaplain to King Henry VII. When King Henry VIII ascended to the throne Wolsey became his Almoner, which gave him access to the King’s Council. Henry was very impressed with Wolsey’s work. Thomas gained many important clerical positions. In 1515 Wolsey became Lord Chancellor of England. Thomas Wolsey’s most famous peace treaty was signed between Henry VIII and Francis I of France at the glorious Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520.

Henry had not produced a male heir. A woman called Anne Boleyn came on the scene. Henry began to think that she could mother him a son. The king asked Wolsey to seek a divorce from his first wife. He tried his outmost, as always, but the Pope kept delaying the matter. Wolsey failed and fell out of favour with Henry. He was charged with treason and escorted to the Tower of London. On his way, Thomas became very frail and sadly, on 29th November 1530 he died at Leicester Abbey.

Available as: Kindle

Amazon Blurb: When one deadly plot is foiled, another begins. England, 1583. Tom Walsingham is back in London, being groomed for intelligence work by his spymaster cousin, Sir Francis. An anonymous informer has started sending letters from the French ambassador’s residence, claiming to have bribed the man’s secretary to pass on information.The informer has discovered messages between the French and Mary, Queen of Scots, which could harm the English Queen Elizabeth.

When someone who works for the French Ambassador is killed in suspicious circumstances, Sir Francis sends Tom to investigate the matter – and to uncover the identity of the informer. Tom must find a way into the French Ambassador’s good graces and make friends within his retinue without giving himself away. And as the news from Scotland grow more and more alarming, it becomes imperative that Tom unveils the identity of the secret informer and exposes the intrigues at play.

Can Tom unravel the mystery and protect the Queen? Will he unmask the killer? Or could he find himself the target of a deadly plot…?

This book is a sequel to the first in the series:

Available as: Hardcover

Amazon Blurb: A fascinating new look at the artistic legacy of the Tudors, revealing the dynasty’s influence on the arts in Renaissance England and beyond

Ruling successively from 1485 through 1603, the five Tudor monarchs changed England indelibly, using the visual arts to both legitimize and glorify their tumultuous rule—from Henry VII’s bloody rise to power, through Henry VIII’s breach with the Roman Catholic Church, to the reign of the “virgin queen” Elizabeth I. With incisive scholarship and sumptuous new photography, the book explores the politics and personalities of the Tudors, and how they used art in their diplomacy at home and abroad.

Tudor courts were truly cosmopolitan, attracting artists and artisans from across Europe, including Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/8–1543), Jean Clouet (ca. 1485–1540), and Benedetto da Rovezzano (1474–1552). At the same time, the Tudors nurtured local talent such as Isaac Oliver (ca. 1565–1617) and Nicholas Hilliard (ca. 1547–1619) and gave rise to a distinctly English aesthetic that now defines the visual legacy of the dynasty. This book reveals the true history behind a family that has long captured the public imagination, bringing to life the extravagant and politically precarious world of the Tudors through the exquisite paintings, lush textiles, gleaming metalwork, and countless luxury objects that adorned their spectacular courts.

Available as: Paperback

Amazon Blurb: Most of the women and men who practiced magic in Tudor England were not hanged or burned as witches, despite being active members of their communities. These everyday magicians responded to common human problems such as the vagaries of money, love, property, and influence, and they were essential to the smooth functioning of English society. This illuminating book tells their stories through the legal texts in which they are named and the magic books that record their practices.

In legal terms, their magic fell into the category of sin or petty crime, the sort that appeared in the lower courts and most often in church courts. Despite their relatively lowly status, scripts for the sorts of magic they practiced were recorded in contemporary manuscripts. Juxtaposing and contextualizing the legal and magic manuscript records creates an unusually rich field to explore the social aspects of magic practice.

Expertly constructed for both classroom use and independent study, this book presents in modern English the legal documents and magic texts relevant to ordinary forms of magic practiced in Tudor England. These are accompanied by scholarly introductions often providing original perspectives on the subjects. Topics covered include: the London cunning man Robert Allen; magic to identify thieves; love magic; magic for hunting, fishing and gambling, and magic for healing and protection.

Available as: Paperback and Kindle

Amazon Blurb: When twenty-year-old history student, Beth Wickers starts her second year of university, she has no idea that her whole world is about to be turned upside down.

Beth’s favourite lecturer gives Beth a box of books on Tudor history to borrow, and nestled among them is an ornate cypher ring with the letters ‘AB’ inscribed onto it.

When Beth tries the ring on, the unimaginable happens.

It carries her back through time to Hever Castle in 1521. And she is no longer in her professor’s office, but in the bedroom of none other than Lady Anne Boleyn.

Beth quickly becomes enchanted by Tudor England and is captivated by Anne. But she knows she can’t leave her loved ones behind forever.

Tormented by the knowledge of what will happen to Anne in the future, can Beth stop herself from intervening and rewriting history? Can she use the cypher ring to return home?

Or will Tudor life be too hard to leave behind…?

Available as: Hardcover and Kindle

Amazon Blurb: Lincolnshire, 1537. Amid England’s religious turmoil, fifteen-year-old Anne Askew is forced to take her dead sister’s place in an arranged marriage. The witty, well-educated gentleman’s daughter is determined to free herself from her abusive husband, harsh in-laws, and the cruel strictures of her married life. But this is the England of Henry VIII, where religion and politics are dangerously entangled. A young woman of Anne’s fierce independence, Reformist faith, uncanny command of plainspoken scripture, and—not least—connections to Queen Katheryn Parr’s court cannot long escape official notice, or censure.

In a deft blend of history and imagination, award-winning novelist Rilla Askew brings to life a young woman who defied the conventions of her time, ultimately braving torture and the fire of martyrdom for her convictions. A rich evocation of Reformation England, from the fenlands of Lincolnshire to the teeming religious underground of London to the court of Henry VIII, this gripping tale of defiance is as pertinent today as it was in the sixteenth century.

While skillfully portraying a significant historical figure—one of the first female writers known to have composed in the English language—Prize for the Fire renders the inner life of Anne Askew with a depth and immediacy that transcends time.

Available as: Hardcover

Amazon Blurb: The forty-four-year reign of Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and the last Tudor monarch, was considered a golden age. It saw the emergence of the great playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, while the exploits of Sir Francis Drake and other ‘sea-dogs’ helped establish England’s position among the great maritime powers.

This book looks at Elizabeth’s life through some of the many artefacts, buildings, documents and institutions that survive to this day. From the execution of her mother, Ann Boleyn, when she was just two-and-a-half-years-old, to her imprisonment on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels, Elizabeth’s early life was a turbulent one, but her accession to the throne ushered in a period of stability.

During her reign, England’s wealth and prestige grew through her patronage of seafaring privateers such as Drake, John Hawkins and Walter Raleigh. She encouraged the exploration and colonialization of North America, marking the birth of the British Empire and the establishment of British trade routes. Elizabeth was responsible for expanding the English Navy, its defeat of the Spanish Armada being considered one of England’s greatest military victories.

In this magnificently illustrated book we see her birthplace at Greenwich Palace, her childhood homes, her prison in the Tower of London, the palaces she lived in, ruins of stately homes she visited, such as Gorhambury House, Kenilworth House, Upnor Castle and the Elizabethan town walls at Berwick, the many fortifications built during her reign to defend her realm, through to her final resting place in Westminster Abbey.

Also found in this fascinating volume are books that she presented to her father and step-mother, Katherine Parr, with the binding embroidered by Elizabeth, her clothes, letters she wrote in her own hand, her coronation chair, her coat of arms asserting her title as Governor of the Church of England and her signature signing the death warrant of her cousin, the 4th Duke of Norfolk. This book is not just a journey back in time to the reign of Elizabeth I, but also a tour across the country to visit the sites which still evoke that golden era of the Virgin Queen.