#tudor

Thanks to Amberley Publishing for gifting me a copy of this for review.

I enjoyed this book on Mary Queen of Scots. It’s different to other books I’ve read on her, it feels a lot more readable because it’s broken down a complex life into smaller and more digestible sections. It’s also well-written and engaging, though some parts feel more detailed than others. Perhaps that is just down to how the book is structured.

This is a really interestingly structured book. It is chronological, but it’s broken down by precise dates, and seems to largely be structured based on letters to and from Mary as to what she knew at what time. This means that we don’t necessarily get the whole picture of what was going on because it is from Mary’s point of view and so much was kept from her or smuggled into the places she was being kept. For example, many of the rebellions and plots using her name are only covered in a minimal way like the Northern Rising and the Throckmorton Plot.

Mary Queen of Scots is a fascinating person, and I got to know quite a bit about her time in England when I was working on my first book ‘Elizabethan Rebellions’, though I didn’t know all that much about her early years in Scotland and France, and then back in Scotland. It was interesting to find out more about her time in France and her relationship with her first husband, Francis II of France, and her mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici. Her time in Scotland and her second marriage was a really complex period and I may need to re-read those sections.

It is difficult to track down precise sources because, although the bibliography is extensive, there aren’t references within the text to point you to where direct quotes have come from, which letters and archives, which would have been hugely beneficial.

I spoke to Tony Riches about his latest novel, Bess: Tudor Gentlewoman.

How did Tony choose the figures he focused on in his Elizabethan trilogy?

What drew Tony to Bess Throckmorton and her story specifically?

Aimee Fleming wrote a piece for my blog and Substack to promote her book on Tudor Princes and Princesses, the children of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

On This Day (16 Jul) in 1546, Reformist preacher and poet Anne Askew was executed by burning, following her earlier conviction of heresy.

In Jun 1546, Anne was arraigned at the City of London's #Guildhall, where she faced charges of heresy, specifically related to her beliefs regarding the Eucharist, in which she challenged the traditional beliefs of transubstantiation. Anne had confessed her guilt, therefore excluding the need for a trial; she was subsequently convicted and condemned to death by burning.

Following her conviction, Anne was transferred to the Tower of London, where she underwent an 'examination', specifically related to Queen Katherine Parr and the ladies of her household. After initial questioning, Anne was placed on 'the rack', a medieval torture device, where she became the only recorded woman to undergo torture at the Tower, prior to her transfer back to Newgate Prison.

On 16 Jul 1546, Anne was taken from nearby Newgate to #Smithfield Marketplace, where a pyre had been erected. Anne had to be carried to the marketplace in a chair, still being unable to walk due to the injuries sustained during her 'examination', including limb dislocations. Once at the pyre, Anne was dragged out of the chair, and tied to a stake erected on the pyre, a chain wrapped around her waist to hold her up. She was accompanied by three men, who had also been convicted: John Lascelles, Nicholas Berenian and John Adams.

Bags of gunpowder were placed around the necks of the condemned, with the intent of speeding up their deaths. The condemned were given one last opportunity to recant their statements, but they all refused; the fire was then lit, a large crowd having gathered there to witness the executions.