Best Books of 2022

 Here are my best reads of 2022.  Not all my choices were published in 2022 and they are in no particular order.

1.  So High  Blood - The Life of Margaret, Countess of Lennox, by Morgan Ring.  This is a superb biography of the woman best remembered to history as the mother of Henry, Lord Darnley.  She led a fascinating but ultimately tragic life, losing her 2 sons, her beloved husband - a genuine love match - and her granddaughter, Arabella.   

2.  John of Gaunt, by Kathryn Warner.  As usual, with her previous books, this is an extremely well researched biography of one of history’s most prominent  and powerful Dukes.

3.  The Forgotten Tudor Women - Margaret Douglas, Mary Howard and Mary Shelton, by S B Soberton    A real gem of a book that I stumbled on accidentally.  The three women’s lives are intertwined, particularly in their service of Anne Boleyn and their appreciation of ‘courtly love’, all contributing to the Devonshire manuscript.

4.  The Forgotten Tudor Women - Anne Seymour, Jane Dudley and Elizabeth Parr, again by S B Soberton.  Particularly enjoyed the story of Anne Seymour, although not enough of her early life is known.

5.  Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England, again by Kathryn Warner.  Previously blogged about this book.

6.  Crown and Sceptre by Tracy Borman  A concise but packed with research on British monarchs.

7.  Henry VIII in 100 Objects by Paul Kendall - objects range from portraits, palaces, tombs and documents, packed with fabulous photographs and descriptions and explanations.

8.  ‘‘Twas the Night before Tudor Christmas’ by Laura Loney.  Bought for me as a gift, this is a mixture of fun and facts, based around a Tudor Christmas.  There are explanations of Tudor Christmas traditions, craft projects, recipes and explanations of Tudor games.  Loved it!

9.  Matilda by Catherine Hanley - having read The White Ship by Charles Spencer, I wanted to read more on Matilda.   Undoubtedly confined by the expectations of women in the 12th Century, Matilda proved herself a formidable stateswoman and strong leader.  If only she had defeated Stephen of Blois and taken up her rightful position as ruler of England.  We still would have had Henry II and the Angevin dynasty ruling England, but we’ll never know how great a ruler she would have made.

10. Portraits of Shakespeare by Katherine Duncan Jones.  So much discussion and debate about Shakespeare and the authorship of his plays - and even if he ever existed.  Really colourful book looks at representations of William Shakespeare in monuments, sketches and portraits.