Tudor indulgences

[bibliogramma]

There are a few times and places in history that I freely confess an obsession with. Tudor England is one of those. This year I indulged myself with a fair bit of fiction set in that era.


Philippa Gregory, The Constant Princess
Philippa Gregory, The Queen’s Fool
Philippa Gregory, The Virgin’s Lover

Gregory is pretty much always a good read, although I disagree with her protrayal of Elizabeth in a number of points. I particularly enjoyed The Queen's Fool despite its serious points of inaccuracy with respect to Jewish law, simply because I liked the main character and the simple fact of looking at the Tudor era through Jewish eyes.


Alison Weir, The Lady Elizabeth
Alison Weir, Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey

I've read several of Weir's histories, and very much enjoyed her novels, especially Innocent Traitor; Jane Grey is often overlooked in Tudor fiction.


Jean Plaidy, Queen of this Realm

I read a lot of Plaidy's novels as a young girl. Re-reading this one, I found it rather light compared to more recently written historical fiction, but still a fun read.


C. W. Gortner, The Tudor Secret

I quite enjoyed this book by a relatively new writer of historical fiction. While Gortner takes considerable liberties in imagining what might have been happening behind the scenes at the time of Edward VI's illness, the main character is quite likable and the story is intriguing.


Margaret George, I, Elizabeth
Margaret George, The Autobiography of Henry VIII

Both novels are written as autobiographies and have something of the unreliable narrator about them, which makes them fun to read if you already know the various historical interpretations that have been proposed for many of the actions of these two great monarchs and the people around them. Very well written, highly enjoyable.