Posted By Claire on September 3, 2010
Just a quick post to let you all know that the Man Booker Prize winning “Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mantel is now available in the USA in paperback, published by Picador (Macmillan). It’s great timing for those of you who are reading it this month as part of the Book Club that Alyssa is running on our forum – see Book Club. This novel also won the National Book Critics Circle Award For Fiction and is a New York Times Bestseller.
To celebrate the release in paperback, Picador Macmillan have got a page on their website – http://us.macmillan.com/wolfhall where you can:-
- Read an excerpt of Wolf Hall – click here to read the excerpt.
- Enjoy videos of Hilary Mantel talking about Wolf Hall and discussing Henry VIII with David Starkey – see Video Page
- Download a Reading Group Guide – click here for the PDF which includes discussion questions, a useful timeline and details on the book and author.
You can also find out more about Hilary Mantel on her special Facebook page.
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Category: Books, News
Tags: Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
Posted By Claire on September 2, 2010
The Chancel, St Peter ad Vincula - Anne's tile is the one with the basket of roses on
In my previous article, “Anne Boleyn’s Remains – The Exhumation of Anne Boleyn”, I wrote about the restoration of St Peter ad Vincula Chapel in 1876 and the exhumation of the bodies in the chancel, including that of Anne Boleyn. But did the skeleton found actually belong to Anne Boleyn? Alison Weir1 thinks not.
No, it’s not Anne Boleyn
In her book, “The Lady in the Tower”, Alison Weir discusses the findings of the Victorians and the records of Dr Mouat, the doctor who examined the remains found in November 1876, and argues that the Victorians made a mistake. Dr Mouat2 gave the skeleton’s age as between 25 and 30 years of age and described the woman as having a “square, full chin”, but Alison Weir points out that not only does this description not tally with the widely accepted birthdate of 1501 (and therefore an age of 35), it also does not match Anne Boleyn’s appearance. Alison Weir writes:-
“It is just possible that the bones thought to be Anne Boleyn’s – the diminutive slender female with a square jaw – actually belonged to Katherine Howard, miniatures of whom by Holbein show her with what could be a jutting square jaw.”3
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Category: Anne Boleyn Execution, Anne Boleyn Myths, Anne Boleyn Places, Myths and Legends
Tags: Anne Boleyn's grave, Anne Boleyn's resting place, burial, legends, remains, Salle Church, St Peter ad Vincula
On this day in history, 1st September 1532, Anne Boleyn was created Marquis of Pembroke to fit her for what Eric Ives calls “the European Stage”. Anne Boleyn was not yet queen, to Henry and Anne’s annoyance, so it was essential for Anne to be given status in readiness for her impending meeting with Francis
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I decided to write this article because there is so much false information out there about the restoration work at St Peter ad Vincula Chapel in the 19th century, the exhumation of Anne Boleyn and various other Tudor remains, and Anne Boleyn’s resting place.
I recently purchased a copy of the 1877 “Notices of the Historic
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Enjoy the company of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn this Bank Holiday Weekend (28th-30th August) at Hampton Court Palace at their special “Sport for the King with Anne Boleyn” weekend of activities. The Hampton Court Palace website has this to say about the weekend:-
“Love is in the air as Queen Anne prepares for a summer’s
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sexualize, sexualise
vb
1. to make or become sexual or sexually aware
2. to give or acquire sexual associations
sexualization , sexualisation n1
This post has been inspired by my good friends at the History Police Facebook Group2 (thanks, Lauren!) and a discussion thread on that page regarding the sexualization of historical characters, characters such as Elizabeth Woodville and Anne
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There has been controversy for 25 years over the exact location of the Battle of Bosworth, the battle which saw the death of Richard III, the crowning of a new king, Henry VII, and the founding of a new dynasty, the House of Tudor. The controversy over the battle’s location was due to the conflicting
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On the 22nd August 1485 Henry Tudors 5,000 Lancastrian soldiers met Richard III’s army of 8,000 at Bosworth in rural Leicestershire. Henry Tudor had been in exile in France during the reign of Edward IV but was now determined to depose Richard III and claim the throne for himself.
On 1st August 1485 Henry Tudor sailed
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On this day in history, the 22nd August 1485, the Battle of Bosworth (or Battle of Bosworth Field) took place in Leicestershire, England. The battle took place during the Wars of the Roses, a civil war between the Houses of York and Lancaster, and is famous for being the battle which gave birth to the
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Part of what fascinates me about Anne Boleyn is the mystery that surrounds her. We do not even know, definitively, what she looked like and can only go on contemporary descriptions and portraiture. The problem with portraits of Anne Boleyn is that they are all so different and none are thought to be contemporary, but,
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