My kingdom for a horse

I promised jemima I'd compose a list of good historical reading from the 1400s and 1500s. I've already raved about The Sunne in Splendour which is perhaps the best novel on Richard III out there. For general overview of Tudor times, I recommend Lara Eakins' site, Tudor History. Lara's site is a must-visit for anyone interested in Tudors because she has compiled all of the information in one place and I was pleased to find some portraits there that I hadn't seen before (BTW, a highlight of my trip to Spain was finding the portrait of Mary I in the Prado).

For those of you wondering, I appreciate both good writing and accuracy. If a book isn't accurate, then no matter how good the writing is, I won't like it. I'm rather anal on this point. Which surprises me in that I liked "Anne of the Thousand Days," a movie starring Richard Burton and Genevive Bujold (yes, that Genevive Bujold), which had several major inaccuracies.

Without further ado, here is the list:

• The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers: A Novel by Margaret George. I also recommend Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by the same author. I own the latter and could not put it down. The writing can be clumsy, but unlike many historical writers, Margaret George doesn't leave the reader high and dry when it comes ot explaining the intricate and complex dynastic rivalries and the ties that bind. She does a terrific job of moving the action along, of incorporating smoothly history with her own - often sympathetic - interpretation of those events.
  
  
• The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. I have my issues with Alison Weir, but not in this book. I picked this one up when I was in England and it's possibly the best biography of the three children of Henry VIII. What I like is that this book isn't so much of this happened and than that happened, but focuses on the interactions between the siblings. The initial focus is on Edward and Mary, then focuses on the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth. I also recommend The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Weir. I took this book out of the library so many times, I finally ended up purchasing my own copy. This book is a good example of Weir spinning her rather outlandish theories and her bias isn't that far below the surface, but in terms of historical accuracies and readability, this is one of the better biographies.
  
  
• The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser is not the most readable book out there. Fraser has a way of just giving facts in a dry manner - a massive info dump of dates and names, so to speak. Fraser's Mary Queen of Scots is pretty much the most exhaustive biography of Mary Stewart and The Warrior Queens is compelling, covering from Boadecia (who fought against the Romans) to more modern figures like Margaret Thatcher. Fraser is not a good 'entry level' author but if you're someone who already has a good grounding in the time period and the personalities, then I'd recommend Fraser over Weir as Fraser doesn't go out of her way to create new theories, but instead provides validation for the mostly commonly accepted ones.
  
  
• Mistress Anne by Carolly Erickson is the best biography of Anne Boleyn out there, hands down. Anne is probably my favorite of the Six Wives and so I hungrily devour anything out there about her. I wish Erickson was still writing biographies, as her knowledge about this time is unparalleled. I also enjoyed Bloody Mary by Erickson and I also own a copy of this book since I felt it was the fairest and most sympathetic look at a very unhappy woman who was singleminded on her desire to bring England back into the fold of the Catholic Church. Erickson is similar to Fraser in that she relates facts and doesn't necessarily tell a story. "Mistress Anne," however, is more accessible than "Bloody Mary," but both are noteworthy and should be considered accurate and fair.
  
  
• I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Jean Plaidy. I selected The Lady in the Tower as an example of Plaidy's work, but this author has written literally hundreds of novels about royals - from all time periods and all dynastics. From the fires of the Spanish Inquisition to the 'morality' of Victoria's court, Plaidy covers it all and very accurately too, but without sacrificing good storytelling. I think it's a mark of a good historical writer that you can take what's in Plaidy's books as pretty much fact. Plaidy's books are not easy to find - most of them are out of print and royal buffs usually hoard their copies, but you can usually find them in libraries or order them from other libraries.
  
  

I do not recommend using Shakespeare as a basis for learning about Tudor times. Shakespeare was a product of his times and his writing reflects that. "Henry VIII" and "Richard III" form a cornerstone of popular propaganda and while "Richard III" makes for good drama, it should be remembered that Elizabeth I was the reigning monarch while Shakespeare was writing, and incidentally, the last of the Tudor monarchs. I also do not consider the Anne Boleyn novels by Robin Maxwell to be either accurate or quality writing (that's $11 I will never get back!) and the buzz about "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Phillipa Gregory makes me decidedly unhappy as the historical inaccuracies (ie Mary Boleyn being married at 14, being the older sister etc) are blatant and unexcusable.