Tag: owen emmerson

Book and Writing Update

~ Helene Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Hello everyone! It’s been a really busy few weeks. Those who follow me on Instagram may have seen that I have just completed a full draft of my third book, which is about Anne Boleyn, though not a biography – you’ll have to wait to find out more!

My second book, ‘Tudor Executions: From Nobility to the Block’ is out in just under 2 months, on 30th July 2024, which is very exciting. I’ve had some wonderful early reviews so far, along with a fantastic endorsement by the brilliant Dr Owen Emmerson. I nearly fell off the sofa when I first read the endorsement and Dr Emmerson’s kind words, so massive thanks to him.

If you visit my blog fairly often, you might have noticed in the last few days that there is a new drop-down under the ‘My Books’ tab where each of my books is listed. Book three will be added once the title is revealed! This is where you can find the blurb, a link to my publisher website to buy it, and links to any places where I’ve written a blog post, or any podcast interviews I’ve conducted in relation to the book.

Also, if you followed me on Instagram and Facebook at the beginning of last month, you might have seen the daily posts where I introduced the subjects of the eleven chapters of ‘Tudor Executions’. I did get some lovely comments off the back of those, and some interesting discussions.

I am also contracted for books 4 and 5, again both to be published by Pen and Sword, and both still within the Tudor period. I’ll be starting on book 4 when book 3 is submitted which is very exciting, then straight on to book 5.

I have been struggling a little with writer’s block writing book 3 on Anne Boleyn, which I didn’t expect, because this one is so important to me, a culmination of 15 years research, and I’m still learning new things today and no doubt will continue to do so over the coming years as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what people think about my work on Anne Boleyn when it’s published in 2025. But I am also a little nervous, as people get very vocal about Anne, and she can be quite divisive. I have seen some quite cruel comments, and have been on the receiving end of a few, about common misconceptions about Anne Boleyn and how Wikipedia says it so it must be true, or it’s on ‘The Tudors’ so it must be true (I even once had someone cite Tumblr to me as a source). Please, look at the contemporary sources, as they are so fascinating and can really add to our understanding! That was a mini rant that I’m done with now.

But, seriously, thank you to everyone who has bought my first book, pre-ordered my second, or subscribes to my website, follows me on social media, posts reviews, or shares my posts or contributes to polite debate and discussion. Hearing the lovely comments or seeing a great review really does make my day.

Book Review – ‘Becoming Anne: Connections, Culture, Court’ by Owen Emmerson & Kate McCaffrey

~ Helene Harrison ~ 2 Comments

A brilliant study of Anne Boleyn’s early years at Blickling, Hever, Mechelen, and in France, up to her debut at the English court. Been a while since the exhibition which this book was designed to go alongside, but I’m really glad I’ve read it now. It’s a lot of information but still easy to read and engaging.

It is sometimes difficult to write about Anne Boleyn and try and bring a new angle to it. But there is not generally a lot written about Anne’s early years on the continent – it’s said she came back to England with a sort-of exoticism which captured Henry VIII and that she may have developed reformist religious ideas while there, but not much more is said in many books. This book is different; it only focuses on the period before Anne appears at the English court, and on the people that she was around during this pivotal period like Louise of Savoy, Claude of France, and Marguerite of Angouleme.

There is work from various historians brought together, like Elizabeth Norton, Tracy Borman, Claire Ridgway, and Lauren Mackay, as well as Emmerson’s and McCaffrey’s views. There are also a lot of primary sources used including Anne Boleyn’s letter to her father from 1513, the accounts of George Wyatt, and George Cavendish, and excerpts from the Letters and Papers which can be accessed on British History Online.

Emmerson and McCaffrey have done an inspired job of bringing together the existing research with new insights. It’s a brilliant book to add to my collection, and one I’ll return to in order to better understand Anne’s earlier years and the influences that shaped her into the famous English queen we know today.

Chapters:-

  1. Le Temps Viendra
  2. ‘Fortune Favours the Bold’: The Boleyn Family Origins
  3. ‘Now Thus’: Thomas Boleyn: a Career Courtier
  4. ‘He That Will Thrive, Must First Ask His Wife’: The Boleyn Women
  5. ‘A Good Seed Makes a Good Crop’: The Boleyn Children
  6. ‘A Princely School and a Centre of High Culture’: Anne in Mechelen 1513-1514
  7. ‘You Would Have Never Taken Her for an English Woman’: Anne in France 1514-1521
  8. ‘Perseverance’: Anne’s Debut at the English Court 1522

I am still here! Book Update.

~ Helene Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Hello all!

I feel like I’ve been very quiet recently, but I’ve been beavering away editing my second book and writing my third book, and I’m starting a new job in January at my alma mater, Northumbria University, so I’ve just been quite preoccupied.

Thought I’d just quickly jump on here to give you an update on the writing process and some of the research I’ve been doing.

My first book ‘Elizabethan Rebellions: Conspiracy, Intrigue and Treason’ is currently on sale 30% off over on the Pen and Sword website so if you want to grab one as a Christmas gift, now is the time!

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Elizabethan-Rebellions-Hardback/p/22351

My second book, ‘Tudor Executions: From Nobility to the Block’ is on track for a July 2023 release which is very exciting! It’s all been edited and typeset so I just need to get the indexing done, which is always a time-consuming job, but really worth doing. One of my pet peeves is a history non-fiction book which doesn’t have an index! Makes it harder to find the information you need if you’re just dipping in and out rather than reading cover to cover.

I’ll be updating here and on my social media channels when it becomes available for preorder.

My third book is progressing, which I’m not revealing the title of yet, but those of you who follow me on social media may have guessed by now it is on Anne Boleyn, though not a biography I hasten to add. This one is a real passion project of mine, based on my master’s dissertation which I wrote over a decade ago now. It’s felt like I’m putting lots of pressure on myself to do this one justice because it is just so important to me.

I’ve been doing some very interesting reading, getting more up to date on current thinking and what’s changed over the last decade. Books I’m particularly enjoying and making good use of include:

  • Eric Ives – The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (an oldie but excellent – the Bible for Anne Boleyn lovers!)
  • Tracy Borman – Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History
  • Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey – Becoming Anne: Connections, Culture, Court
  • Owen Emmerson, Kate McCaffrey and Alison Palmer – Catherine and Anne: Queens, Rivals, Mothers
  • Stephanie Russo – The Afterlife of Anne Boleyn: Representations of Anne Boleyn in Fiction and on the Screen

Plus, many more, of course, though the above are the ones I’m focusing on at the moment. I really cannot wait for this book to get out in the world though you’ll have to wait until 2025 I’m afraid! I’m really enjoying working on this and can’t wait to reveal more about it as time goes on, so make sure you’re following me on social media to get the most up to date news.

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Twitter (I’ll never get used to calling it X)

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Book Review – ‘Holbein’s Hidden Gem: Rediscovering Thomas Cromwell’s Lost Book’ by Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey

~ Helene Harrison ~ Leave a comment

When Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey revealed their latest find I was gobsmacked. It seems almost unbelievable to think that Thomas Cromwell’s Book of Hours has just been sat on a shelf in the Wren Library at Trinity College, Cambridge, for so many years without really being examined. As Emmerson and McCaffrey explain in this book, it was one of two donated to the college, and the Book of Hours was thought to be the much less interesting.

The book goes through how the discovery was made, and the trail of evidence that links it to the Sadler family – Ralph Sadler was a close friend and protégé of Cromwell, and it was the wife of his grandson who donated it to the college. It also examines the evidence that the Wren Library book is in fact the one in the portrait of Cromwell and how it links to previous discoveries about Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon’s Books of Hours.

The book is well-written and engaging to read and admits that there are still so many unanswered questions with research ongoing. It’s important to admit what we don’t know, and it’s exciting to think about what may still be discovered. Emmerson and McCaffrey are redefining what we think we know with their new discoveries, and I am so excited to see what they do in the future!

Chapters:

  1. The Theory
  2. The Context: The Books of Hours
  3. The Evidence: Sixteenth Century
  4. The Evidence: Seventeenth Century
  5. Conundrums and Conclusions