Yesterday, historian Amy Licence shared the following on her Facebook page:
“So, the papers have published their lists of “History Book of the Year” and the Telegraph has 19 out of 21, the Independent has 8 out of 10 and the Times 8 out of 9 written by men.”
When I consider the Tudor history world of historians and authors and the books on my bookcase here, those proportions seem completely out of whack. Amy’s response to this news was to start the hashtag #Historybooksbywomen on Twitter to celebrate the work of female historians and writers, and I think it’s an excellent idea. If you are on Twitter or Instagram, then please do use the hashtag to share your favourite female historian, book recommendations, etc. and leave a comment below this post as well.
I have commented on Twitter but will here as well. Antonia Fraser, Mary M. Luke, Margaret George, Irene Mahoney, I could go on. All of these ladies wrote about the Tudors and they are on my bookshelf and I would highly recommend any one of them. Wonderfully written and wonderful reads.
I would love to visit the Alhambra and see the Spain that Katherine lived and grew up in. So many books have been written about her living in England and married to Henry VIII but I know nothing of her life in Spain as a young girl or her Mother who is so famous also. As I read all the books on this period of time and the young girls sent off to other kingdoms to marry men they have never met and know so little about I wonder how a mother could send a daughter off and will likely never see her again, the Daughters of Duty as you call them is such a true label they must have been frightened and so sad to leave their family and all they know of life. The heartbreak of it all makes me sad.
I would like to visit the Anne of Cleves house that was turned into a museum. Also, Hever Castle (of course) to see where one queen lived post-Henry and where another grew up pre-Henry. Being raised as a princess (and potentially future queen), being sent overseas as one man’s wife and then marrying the brother also must have had quite an impact on Katharine of Aragon. You have to admire her determination in not giving up on her marriage to Henry.
Bettany Hughes has to be my standout contribution to Non-Fiction Histories written by women. Her work is always extremely thorough and in depth, from Helen of Troy to Socrates.
I love books by Alison Weir and Norah Lofts and Antonia Fraser, the latters one on Mary Queen Of Scots was brilliant, all the work these ladies put in is outstanding, the places they visit and the hours spent pouring over archives and documents and portraits etc is incredible, it can take them several years to write a biography and involves intensive research, I absolutely love biography’s on our old kings and queens so much more rewarding than reading fiction at times, and what they uncover does go to show that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.