Richard Grey was the younger of Elizabeth Woodville’s two sons by her first husband, Sir John Grey, who died at the second battle of St. Albans on February 17, 1461. Richard’s birth date is unknown, although his older brother, Thomas Grey, was probably born around 1455, according to the inquisition postmortem of his uncle Richard […]
Richard Grey, Elizabeth Woodville’s Second Son Read More »
One of the fascinating things about doing historical research is seeing how people’s paths cross. The William Boleyn who was appointed to a commission with Anthony Woodville in November 1482 was the grandfather of none other than Anne Boleyn: Nov. 12. Commission to the king’s kinsman Anthony, earl Ryvers, Henry Heydon, Westminster. William Boleyn, Richard
A Woodville Meets a Boleyn Read More »
While doing some research for a blog post last night, I looked up the entry for Thomas Grey, first Marquess of Dorset, in W. E. Hampton’s Memorials of the Wars of the Roses. This book, put out by the Richard III Society in 1979, contains descriptions of memorials and tombs connected to various Wars of
Dorset the Evil Guardian? Read More »
A while back, to satisfy a question I had, I had someone transcribe Jasper Tudor’s will for me. (There’s an abstract of it in Testamenta Vetusta, but I wanted the whole thing.) Jasper died on December 21, 1495, at around age sixty-four. Jasper starts his will, dated December 15, 1495, and given at his manor
Jasper Tudor’s Will Read More »
Those of you who have seen the first season of “The Tudors” will recall William Compton as the handsome young courtier who has an affair with the even more handsome young composer Thomas Tallis. As nice as the two young men look together, this affair appears to be entirely the producers’ invention: Compton was much
I’ve been in a nonfiction mood lately, so I’ve been reading Alison Weir’s Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley, a title that pretty much says it all. Weir is quite sympathetic toward Mary, not at all toward Lord Darnley, which seems to be the general attitude of most of Mary’s biographers.
Mary, Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley Read More »
This hasn’t been a very productive year, reading-wise–more than anything, I’ve been reading bits and pieces of nonfiction, mostly for research. So I’m pleased to say that I actually read a novel from front to back: Jean Plaidy’s The Thistle and the Rose, about Margaret Tudor, who married James IV of Scotland. This novel, told
The Thistle and the Rose by Jean Plaidy Read More »
Responding to increasing reader complaints about an oversaturated market, top publishers in the United States and the United Kingdom have entered into a ground-breaking agreement: not to publish any fiction about the Tudors until at least 2018. A senior editor at Penguin, who preferred not to be identified, explained, “Readers—and editors—have simply had too much
US, UK Publishers Declare Tudor Moratorium Read More »
As everyone knows, Jane Boleyn, bitterly jealous of her husband George’s close relationship with his sister Anne Boleyn, gave evidence that led to the executions of both for adultery. Not satisfied with that, Jane went on to serve Catherine Howard, where for twisted reasons she aided and abetted the queen’s adultery with Thomas Culpepper, leading
Review: Jane Boleyn by Julia Fox Read More »
A while back, I did an article for the Historical Novel Society’s Solander magazine on the Laurien Gardner series of novels about Henry VIII’s wives. (To date, three have been published.) I’ve been given permission to reprint the article on my website, so take a look here. Speaking of the Tudors, after a prolonged absence
Talking ‘Bout Those Tudors Read More »