Tag: Tony Riches

Book Review – ‘Raleigh: Tudor Adventurer’ by Tony Riches

~ Helene Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Thanks to Tony Riches and Preseli Press for a copy of this book to review.

I enjoyed this book about a man I didn’t really know a lot about. I knew that he’d travelled to the New World, written ‘A History of the World’ and been imprisoned in the Tower of London twice, once for marrying one of the queen’s ladies. But those are the popular things, so it was intriguing to read his story in a fictional sense, and get a sense of the man, though obviously fiction has to be taken with a pinch of salt to allow for some historical licence.

The book is obviously well-researched and doesn’t fall into some of the myths and legends surrounding Raleigh, like the fact that he laid his cloak over a puddle, so Elizabeth I didn’t get her feet wet. I kept waiting for that to come up and it didn’t, which demonstrated to me that Riches was taking his subject and research seriously.

The story mixes time at court with Elizabeth I, Francis Walsingham, Robert Cecil, and Robert Devereux Earl of Essex, with a life of travelling to the New World and the Azores, and then the comfortable home life with his wife and children. The book, being part of the Elizabethan trilogy, only really takes us up to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, so doesn’t cover Raleigh’s second imprisonment in the Tower writing ‘The History of the World’, or his *spoiler* execution. It would have been interesting to see how Riches tackled this, but maybe for another time as he obviously can’t include everything, or the book would be a mile long!

The sense I got was that Riches wanted to portray some of the lesser-known aspects of Raleigh’s life, and how each decision he made impacted others. For example, his adventuring always seemed to be to the detriment of his family after his marriage. He was drawn to the court and the queen but at the same time wanted to keep away from the intriguing after his first spell in the Tower. Raleigh seems to have been a man who wanted so many things at once, but couldn’t seem to grasp them all.

I haven’t read any complete trilogies by Tony Riches at this point, just odd books, but I have really enjoyed the ones I’ve read and look forward to investing in the others in the future.

Book Review – ‘Essex: Tudor Rebel’ by Tony Riches

~ Helene Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Thank you to Tony Riches for giving me a copy of this book to review.

I really enjoy Tony Riches’ writing. He has a way of bringing the world of the Tudor court to life that makes these historical figures who lived over 400 years ago seem very real in the present. Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, is an intriguing character with plenty of history. All I really knew about him was the end of his life – the rebellion that resulted in his execution, from my own research. This book opened my eyes to some of the events of his earlier life.

I’ve been researching Elizabethan rebellions, so it was interesting to find out more about this figure who was central to a rebellion in 1601 against Elizabeth I. The story follows him from his childhood, and the death of his father, to his death by execution. It explores scandal, romance, and treason. We really get to see the changeable attitude of the Queen and how fortunes could change on just one roll of the die.

It features a wide range of real historical characters along Essex, like Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, William Cecil Lord Burghley, Robert Cecil, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Philip Sidney. These characters come together to create a richly detailed storyline with plenty going on which keeps the story moving. I was really intrigued by the supporting character of Lettice Knollys, Essex’s mother, who herself was the granddaughter of Mary Boleyn. Her relationships with her children and partners were particularly interesting.

What is particularly interesting for me in this story is to see the development of Essex from a boy who loses his father at a young age and has to step suddenly and unexpectedly into his shoes, to the Queen’s favourite at court, to an attainted rebel who ends on the scaffold. The story is full of ups and downs and makes you want to keep reading.

If you don’t know much about key characters in Tudor history, then I would really recommend reading books by Tony Riches because he introduces them without too much fuss, but with enough detail to bring them to life, and makes you want to find out more about them. I can’t wait to fill in the gaps and read the ones I haven’t read yet.

Book Review – ‘Mary: Tudor Princess’ by Tony Riches

~ Helene Harrison ~ 2 Comments

Would you dare to defy King Henry VIII? Mary Tudor watches her elder brother become King of England and wonders what the future holds for her. Henry plans to use her marriage to build a powerful alliance against his enemies…. Will she risk his anger by marrying for love? Will Mary’s loyalty to Henry be tested by the ambitious Boleyn family? Based on actual events of courage, passion and adventure in the turbulent and dangerous world of the Tudor court. [Description from Amazon UK]

Brandon Trilogy #1

Thank you to Tony Riches for the chance to read this novel.

This has been on my to-read for quite a while now, so I was thrilled when Tony Riches got in touch and offered me a copy for review. It’s taken me a while to get around to actually writing the review because I’ve been so busy, but finally here it is. To summarise: I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next in the series.

Henry VIII’s sister, Mary, has always fascinated me, as she went from a political marriage to Louis XII of France to a love match with Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. It was interesting to see the two marriages explored and contrasted with each other. Riches portrays Mary’s marriage to Louis XII as one of respect and affection, whereas other depictions (notably in TV show, ‘The Tudors’) show Mary’s first marriage as an unhappy one. I like to think that she at least found some affection in her marriage, and I liked Riches portrayal of the marriage as such.

Riches’ style of writing is easy to read, but really seems to get to the heart of the period at the same time. He incorporates sights, sounds and smells with the characters that bring the Tudor court to life. The relationships between the different characters were different to how I had imagined them, but that heightened my enjoyment of the book because it wasn’t what I was expecting but I thoroughly liked a different point of view nevertheless.

Mary’s relationship with Brandon’s children from his earlier marriage I didn’t expect, and I want to know more, so if anyone can recommend a book about Charles Brandon and his children I would love to know about it.

Charles Brandon has also been a source of fascination to me as he seems to be the one constant in Henry VIII’s life, and he managed to survive the reign where so many others didn’t, so I am greatly looking forward to reading the second book in the series – ‘Brandon: Tudor Knight’. I will definitely be giving it a go, and the third in the series, ‘Katherine: Tudor Duchess’, about Brandon’s final wife, Katherine Willoughby. Reviews to follow in due course. This book was an eye-opener on a person who interests me, but I didn’t know all that much about, well worth a read for any Tudorstorians out there.

Talking Tudors Podcast with Natalie Grueninger

~ Helene Harrison ~ 1 Comment

Talking Tudors Podcast Logo

‘Talking Tudors’ is a podcast by Natalie Grueninger, author of ‘Discovering Tudor London’ and co-author of ‘In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn’ and ‘In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII’ with Sarah Morris. Along with Kathryn Holeman Natalie has also released two Tudor colouring books – ‘Colouring Tudor History’ and ‘Colouring Tudor History: Queens and Consorts’. 

Natalie interviews guests about their particular interests and the Tudors in general. Each episode ends with “10 To Go” and a “Tudor Takeaway”, and at the beginning often starts with a piece of Tudor-inspired music. 

The first 21 episodes guests and topics are listed below (everything live up to this date 8th February 2019). 

Continue reading “Talking Tudors Podcast with Natalie Grueninger” →