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4:19 am
April 9, 2011
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Hello everybody,
I've just discovered this awesome site, and thought I should sign up. I have been a fan of the Tudor period since studying in Year 8 History. It was the only part of compulsory history that I found myself getting caught up with and wanting to know more. I've always been fascinated with the wives of Henry VIII and his children. But after Year 8 there was no more studying of the Tudor period.
I often find myself wanting to watch the latest Hollywood movie about English royalty especially if it's during the Tudor or Stuart period.
Confession time: I am here because I saw The Other Boleyn Girl which inspired me to find a copy of the book it was based on and I've just finished reading it. That book has re-ignited my fascination with the period. And throw in the fact that one of the TV channels is repeating The Tudors series which I never saw first time around and you could say I have almost developed an obsession with the family.
I am contemplating purchasing some historical books (probably the ones by Alison Weir as they sound very accessible for me) to help me get up to speed on fact vs fiction, as I intend to read the other Gregory for a good read and which will most likely make me want to read and discover what really happened.
More than likely I'll be more of a reader on the boards than a poster jsut because my knowledge isn't that great on the period. So I'll be more questioner than contributor I s'pose LOL
Cheers
Bill1978
8:24 am
November 18, 2010
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Welcome Bill.
I hope you enjoy your time here. People who ask questions are always welcome since they can make us look at our opinions and help us change them if they are not based on fact.
It's always bunnies.
8:33 am
March 26, 2011
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Hi Bill1978,
Welcome to the forum! The same thing happened when I was at school, but we stopped learning about the Tudor period in year 7 in the UK 🙁 (They definitely should cover the topic again later on in school)
I was recommended The Other Boleyn girl by my Literature teacher. It is a very entertaining novel and an interesting story about sibling rivalry. At the same time I was watching 'The Tudors' and I had a bit of knowledge from school and really felt I had to discover more about the period in order to more firmly separate fact from fiction, and also because I found the era fascinating.
I would definitely recommend reading some historical books, most are surprisingly accessible, and David Starkey and Alison Weir's books on the six wives are a good place to start. I would also recommend 'The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn' by Eric Ives. That should help get you up to speed on fact vs fiction after 'The Other Boleyn Girl'.
This forum is a great place to ask questions, and I'm sure you will soon be contributing as well 
9:16 am
June 7, 2010
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Welcome Bill1978. What's life like in Australia? Never been there, but maybe someday!
The AB forum is a great place, with great people (if I do say so). There are some great non-fiction Tudor books out there. I highly recommend David Starkey's Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII and Virtuous Prince (which is brillant and about Henry VIII's younger years.) The best Anne Boleyn book is Eric Ives's The Life and Death of Ann Boleyn. These books are accessible, even though they are written by leading academics. Starkey is a great writer and breaks down complex arguments for the reader to understand.
I am not a fan of Alison Weir. You have to be cautious about her use of sources. However, if you want to read some of her books, I would recommend Lady in the Tower: the fall of Anne Boleyn and The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Although, Antonia Fraser does a much better job of Henry's wives (The Six Wives of Henry VIII).
I guess this is a good start, since there are so many great Tudor books out there. I believe Claire complied a list somewhere on the Anne Boleyn Files. I cannot recall at this time.
Best of luck with your reading. I look forward to your posts. Please feel free to ask away. There are some really knowledgable people on this fourm. They've been a great help to me.
Bye for now!
"By daily proof you shall find me to be to you both loving and kind" Anne Boleyn
11:44 am
January 9, 2010
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Hi Bill, welcome to the AB Files!
The Tudors really are a family to obsess over, aren't they? 
When I was at school I really got into the novels of Jean Plaidy. She wrote a whole bunch about the Tudors (amongst other kings and queens), so if you like Phillipa Gregory you should check her work out. Plaidy tends to stick to the facts more whilst still managing to weave a real page-turning story. Another novel I would recommend is 'Wolf Hall' by Hillary Mantel. It's about Thomas Cromwell and is so fabulously written it feels like you're really there!
I think Alison Weir is a great place to start if you're new-ish to Tudor history, her works are very easy to read and accessible but I would have to agree with Duchess and say that both Starkey and Ives are far superior. Ives' 'The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn' is pretty much my bible on Anne!
There's some great books on the Tudors out there and once you start reading about them it gets very difficult to stop
12:13 pm
February 24, 2010
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Hi, Bill1978, and welcome to the forum…
You have come to the right place to find anwers to your questions. Before you know it, you'll be posting comments with the rest of us. All of us come here to learn. Enjoy.
2:16 am
October 12, 2010
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Hi Bill!
It's great to see a fellow Australian here (and btw DuchessofBrittany, it is fantastic, you should definitely come visit!!).
I also agree that Ives and Starkey are probably two of the best Tudor historians, but Weir is a good place to start if you're not particularly confident with the period, but you may also have the same problem as me, where you have to order everything online! It seems like we're pretty lacking on material here in Australia!! 
If you have any questions, feel free to start up a topic, I have found that there is no question that I have asked that someone here hasn't been able to answer!! 
-Kim
4:23 pm
April 9, 2011
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Thank you everybody for your very warm welcome, especially since the weather here in Oz has finally decided it is no longer summer, but I'm sure tomorrow it will back to being lovely and warm 😉
Thank you also for your recommendations on what books I should begin with. I think I may start with Wier's books on Henry's Wives and Heirs. I guess you could say I'm a bit obsessive compusive as after checking out information on Amazon, she has written a lot of books on this era and of the people I'm interested in, which would make my collection look nice and tidy if they are all from the same author. This isn't to say I won't purchase another author's book, but there is the part of me that likes to have a complete collection of work that is the same. I will most likely purchace Ives' books on Anne, since it is highly recommended here and over at Amazon. But I'll see how I enjoy the first 2 books and then make the decision to go nuts with book buying after that. My gut feeling is saying thank god for the strong Aussie dollar at the moment.
Bella44 – It's funny you should mention Wolf Hall. I was telling a work colleague about how reading The Other Boleyn Girl has made be a bit obsessive with the Tudor Period and she said she had just finished reading a very interesting book about the period. And what was that book? Yep, Wolf Hall.
DuchessOfBrittany – Life here in Australia is great, especially since I am on holidays for 2 weeks. You really should visit the country, although having flown to USA last year, I understand why people from North America hesitate to travel the distance.
7:11 am
April 11, 2011
Offline
Bill1978 said:
Hello everybody,
I've just discovered this awesome site, and thought I should sign up. I have been a fan of the Tudor period since studying in Year 8 History. It was the only part of compulsory history that I found myself getting caught up with and wanting to know more. I've always been fascinated with the wives of Henry VIII and his children. But after Year 8 there was no more studying of the Tudor period.
I often find myself wanting to watch the latest Hollywood movie about English royalty especially if it's during the Tudor or Stuart period.
Confession time: I am here because I saw The Other Boleyn Girl which inspired me to find a copy of the book it was based on and I've just finished reading it. That book has re-ignited my fascination with the period. And throw in the fact that one of the TV channels is repeating The Tudors series which I never saw first time around and you could say I have almost developed an obsession with the family.
I am contemplating purchasing some historical books (probably the ones by Alison Weir as they sound very accessible for me) to help me get up to speed on fact vs fiction, as I intend to read the other Gregory for a good read and which will most likely make me want to read and discover what really happened.
More than likely I'll be more of a reader on the boards than a poster jsut because my knowledge isn't that great on the period. So I'll be more questioner than contributor I s'pose LOL
Cheers
Bill1978
Hello Bill, Thanks for your welcome. I've already replied but I might have sent it to myself, or you might have two messages! I am so rubbish on computers! Yes, I am very lucky where I live, given my interest in AB.
Cheers.
7:29 am
November 23, 2010
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Welcome Bill, hope you are enjoying yourself here at the AB files. I am like you, more or a reader and questioner than a poster, there is so much you can learn from people on this forum and they are all great and interesting people with a wide variety of knowledge, i learn something knew nearly everyday and its great to hear other peoples opinions on all things Tudor related.
Why not join my page on Facebook – Tudor Dynasty
http://www.facebook.com/pages/.....9213293551
8:34 am
February 16, 2009
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Hi Bill1978,
Welcome to The AB Files! I'm Claire and I run this site and we are a very friendly community so feel free to ask questions. For books, I'd recommend David Starkey or David Loades for the six wives and Eric Ives for Anne Boleyn. For fiction, I love Jean Plaidy.
Anyway, welcome to the site and forum 🙂
Debunking the myths about Anne Boleyn
7:58 am
August 3, 2010
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Hi and welcome, Bill! I look forward to reading your posts. For books, I would also recommend David Starkey for the Six Wives, although I would throw in Alison Weir as well. For Anne Boleyn, my preference would definitely be Eric Ives–The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn is incredible. My own copy is overrun with annotations and sticky notes 🙂 In regard to fiction, I also like Jean Plaidy, as well as Robin Maxwell.
Again, welcome!
"Grumble all you like, this is how it's going to be"
