As usual, my first post concerns the best books I have read in 2023 - just my personal opinion. 2023 has undoubtedly been the year of Anne Boleyn. I've never known so many books published in one year concerning Anne and the Boleyn family. I'm always very dubious when a new book about Anne is published, because the market is already saturated with books on her. Very few have a fresh look at the evidence available about Anne. But this year, out of all the books, there were 3 gems. So my top 3 books all carry the same weighting - I can't choose between them!
1. John of Gaunt by Kathryn Warner.
John of Gaunt is such a fascinating personality. He could never have known that his son by Blanche of Lancaster would become Henry IV or that the children he had by his third marriage to his mistress Katherine Swynford would go on to produce the Tudor dynasty. Gaunt himself chased the crown of Castile when he married his second wife, Constanza, daughter of Pedro the Cruel. He also had to navigate the stormy reign of his nephew, Richard II. I like how th chapters have quirky titles that link to Gaunt. As usual, Kathryn Warner's research is meticulous.
1. Hunting the Falcon by John Guy and Julia Fox.
Absolutely fabulous book on Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII's quest to marry. Sources are checked and either validated or refuted. It's a cliche but once I started reading this book, I literally couldn't put it down. A fabulous read.
1. Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth 1st by Tracey Borman
A refreshing and informative book on Anne and Elizabeth, particularly the subtle ways in which Elizabeth kept her mother's legacy and achievements very much alive at court. It's well known that Elizabeth promoted her Boleyn relatives at court, and the 'Chequers ring' with the portraits of Elizabeth and Anne enclosed. But Borman delves a lot deeper to uncover subtle uses of her mother's device of the falcon or sphere, for example. Borman also delves into Anne's care and hopes for her daughter.
4. Yet another Anne Boleyn book! The Final Year of Anne Boleyn, by Natalie Grueninger
This book does exactly what it says, with excellent research into Anne's final year. Despite what we might think we know, 1536 was not a year of total misery for Anne. The year started well with Anne pregnant, and what she felt was an advantage to her, the death of Katherine of Aragon. But disaster soon followed, with her husband suffering a serious accident and Anne miscarrying a son. And yet there were many reports of Anne and Henry being merry on their progress, and that her arrest and execution were not inevitable. Lots of super detail in this book.
5. Palace Lives by Michael Jones and Scott Hastie
I did a separate blog about this book last year. It's about the palace at KIngs Langley, built by Edward Ist's Queen, Eleanor of Castile, and later the favourite residence of her sone Edward and his favourite companion, Piers Gaveston. Research is still being carried out there, and who knows, the tomb of Piers may yet be found - we can only hope!
6. The Granddaughters of Edward III, by Kathryn Warner.
Focus on Edward III tends to be on the males in the family. But the story of his granddaughters is well worth telling. I never knew one became a most revered Queen of Portugal, still remembered with much affection today, and another became Queen of Castile. And of course there's the story of Elizabeth of Lancaster.
7. Katherine by Anya Seton
OK, not a new book, and a definite classic. But after reading John of Gaunt, I re-read Katherine, and what a remarkable work of historical fiction it is. We know so very little about Katherine Swynford's life, but Seton does a fabulous job in her telling of it. Vivid characters such as Blanche of Lancaster and Chaucer add to the appeal of this book.
8. Oh no - it's Anne Boleyn again! This time, it's Sandra Vasoli's Anne Boleyn's Letter from the Tower.
This book has been around for a couple of years, and I bought the recently updated version. As well as examining the content of the letter itself, Vasoli traces the history of the letter, it's origins and how it came to be in the National Archives, even surviving a fire at Kew.
9. Hans Holbein, His life and works in 500 images, by Rosalind Ormiston
Exactly as described in the title.
10. Arthur, Prince of Wales, by Gareth Streeter
Gives an account of Arthur's preparation to inherit his father's throne. He was a symbol of the marriage of Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York, and literally from birth was groomed for that role. He was a symbol of hope for the end of civil war. He received a superb education, and ruled a mini court at Ludlow successfully with support. A fine marriage was made for him. As we know, Arthur never became king, but with the tutoring he had, he would surely have made a better king than his brother.
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