10th March 2016 – Wolsey: The Life of King Henry VIII’s Cardinal (Paperback ) by John Matusiak
(c) The History Press
‘Cardinal Wolsey is a controversial figure: a butcher’s son, a man of letters and the Church, a divisive political expert, a man of principle – yet, to some, an arrogant upstart. As Lord Chancellor to the incorrigible Henry VIII he achieved much both at home and abroad, but his failure to achieve the mighty monarch’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon saw him brought to his knees. John Matusiak explores the pragmatic cardinal’s life and career to uncover a man of contradictions and extremes whose meteoric rise was marked by an equally inexorable descent into desperation, as he attempted in vain to satisfy the tempestuous master whose ambition ultimately broke him. Far from being another familiar portrait of an overweight and overweening spider or cautionary tale of pride preceding a fall, this is the gripping story of how consummate talent, noble intentions and an eagle eye for the main chance can contrive with the vagaries of power politics to raise an individual to unheard of heights before finally consuming him.’
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15 March 2016 – Isabella of France: The Rebel Queen by Kathryn Warner
(c) Amberley Publishing
‘Isabella of France (c. 1295-1358), who married Edward II in January 1308, is one of the most notorious women in English history. In 1325/26, sent to her homeland to negotiate a peace settlement between her husband and her brother Charles IV, Isabella refused to return to England. She began a relationship with her husband’s deadliest enemy, the English baron Roger Mortimer, and with her son, the king’s heir, under their control, the pair led an invasion of England which ultimately resulted in Edward II’s forced abdication in January 1327 in favour of his and Isabella’s son. Isabella and Mortimer ruled England during Edward III’s minority, until he overthrew them in October 1330. A rebel against her own husband and king, regent for her son, Isabella was a powerful, capable, intelligent woman who forced the first ever abdication of a king in England and changed the course of English history. The Rebel Queen examines Isabella’s life with particular focus on her revolutionary actions in the 1320s, corrects the many myths about her, and provides a vivid account of this most fascinating and influential of women.’
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4 April 2016 – Insurrection: Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and the Pilgrimage of Grace by Susan Loughlin
(c) The History Press
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31 May 2016 – Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen (Six Tudor Queens) by Alison Weir
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2nd June – Six Queens: The Wives of Henry VIII by Suzannah Lipscomb
‘Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived’: so goes the famous mnemonic by which we recall the varied destinies of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr.
The stories of these six consorts of the second Tudor king – their fates the brutal corollary of the stark dynastic imperatives of the royal succession – have assumed mythic status in the annals of English history. Only three of these women would give Henry a child that survived infancy: two girls (Mary and Elizabeth) and one boy (Edward). All three would inherit the crown worn by their mighty father, but the Tudor dynasty would not outlive their deaths.
Suzannah Lipscomb’s crisply authoritative and insightful accounts of the lives of these six queens are embellished by beautiful images of the principal players in this most compelling of royal dramas.’
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19th July 2016 – Henry VII: Destiny’s King by Terry Breverton
(c) Amberley
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1st September 2016 – Tudor Monarchs: Lives in Letters by Andrea Clarke
(c) The British Library Publishing Division
‘The Tudor period (1485-1603) was one of the most tumultuous and transformative eras in English history. It was period of drama and intrigue, as well as great triumphs and progress, such as Henry VIII’s Reformation and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. It saw the emergence of an English national identity and the beginnings of a British Empire. Four hundred years after the Tudor era ended with the death of Elizabeth I, this extraordinary period still fascinates and captures the public imagination like no other. The Tudor kings and queens – pious and conservative Henry VII, the tyrannical Henry VIII and his six wives, ‘Bloody Mary’, Edward the boy-King, and the virgin queen Elizabeth – remain the most well-known and fascinating English dynasty.The Tudor period is also the first in English history to be so thoroughly documented in manuscripts, letters and documents, of which the British Library holds an incredibly rich and important collection. This book contains the most significant examples, paired with concise commentaries, to illustrate the lives and personalities of the five Tudor monarchs, as well as the most important events of their reigns.’
Further details – Amazon.co.uk
