What do you think?
Rate this book
In Bed with the Tudors: the Sex Lives of a Dynasty from Elizabeth of York to Elizabeth I
Illegitimate children, adulterous queens, impotent kings, and a whole dynasty resting on their shoulders. Sex and childbirth were quite literally a matter of life or death for the Tudors - Elizabeth of York died in childbirth, two of Henry VIII's queens were beheaded for infidelity, and Elizabeth I's elective virginity signaled the demise of a dynasty.
Amy Licence guides the reader through the births of Elizabeth of York's two sons, Arthur and Henry, Catherine of Aragon's subsequent marriages to both of these men, Henry VIII's other five wives and his mistresses, and the sex lives of his daughters.
This book details the experiences of all these women, from fertility, conception and pregnancy through to the delivery chamber, on to maternal and infant mortality. Each woman's story is a blend of specific personal circumstances, set against their historical moment. For some the joys were brief; for others it was a question that ultimately determined their fates.
Amy Licence guides the reader through the births of Elizabeth of York's two sons, Arthur and Henry, Catherine of Aragon's subsequent marriages to both of these men, Henry VIII's other five wives and his mistresses, and the sex lives of his daughters.
This book details the experiences of all these women, from fertility, conception and pregnancy through to the delivery chamber, on to maternal and infant mortality. Each woman's story is a blend of specific personal circumstances, set against their historical moment. For some the joys were brief; for others it was a question that ultimately determined their fates.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published August 19, 2012
85 people are currently reading
1612 people want to read
About the author
Amy Licence
43 books325 followersMedieval and Tudor historian, with a particular interest in women's lives and experiences, also dabble in Modernism. I write fiction and non-fiction, also journalism for The Guardian, BBC History website, The New Statesman, The Huffington Post, The English Review and The London Magazine. I appeared in TV documentaries "The Real White Queen and her Rivals" and "The Private Lives of the Tudors." Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
July 25, 2015
At first this book was really good. The information given about what Tudor women went through with childbirth, the medicine available, the rituals and so on, were very interesting.
However this is told via the story of the Tudor dynasty itself and there are so many factual errors here it is quite shocking this book made it to print. Saying Anne Boleyn was the daughter of the Duke of Norfolk, that Jane Dormer was a maid to Elizabeth; these errors are minor but easily checkable. Not to mention the errors made that contradict themselves pages later or even in the same paragraph!
This in turn casts doubt on the accuracy of the information on the books main focus, childbirth itself and turns what could have been an informative read into a highly frustrating one. Avoid.
However this is told via the story of the Tudor dynasty itself and there are so many factual errors here it is quite shocking this book made it to print. Saying Anne Boleyn was the daughter of the Duke of Norfolk, that Jane Dormer was a maid to Elizabeth; these errors are minor but easily checkable. Not to mention the errors made that contradict themselves pages later or even in the same paragraph!
This in turn casts doubt on the accuracy of the information on the books main focus, childbirth itself and turns what could have been an informative read into a highly frustrating one. Avoid.
November 19, 2021
A very interesting read. In spite of the title, it's a 'closed door' read and not prurient. The focus is mainly on the pregnancy and birthing experiences of the queens and royal mistresses of the Tudors, from Henry VIII's mother through to Mary Queen of Scots, during highly male-dominated and religious times. There are also some comments and comparisons with the birthing experiences of others in the noble classes and also the poor.
The combination of lack of understanding of basic sanitation and medical principles, along with widely held superstitions and religious beliefs, meant that the horrors of pregnancy or births gone wrong affected even the mightiest in the land. Naturally, pregnant queens had the best treatment available, with much preparation and support as well as plenty of nutritious food. But still, things went wrong sometimes, and like all other women of the times, the Tudor queens were affected by events such as infertility, phantom pregnancy, miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, death of an infant, or their own death following childbirth.
Some of these events had enormous historical impact of course, the biggest being Henry VIII's well-known desperate desire for a male heir leading to a break from the Catholic church, the destruction of the English monasteries and the beginnings of the Anglican church.
The book is well-researched and full of fascinating detail. The pregnant woman went into 'confinement' which might last up to a month before the delivery. Then there was the 'lying-in' period after the birth, before the new mother was 'churched' by a priest and allowed into the world once more. Babies were given to a wet-nurse so the royal lady could resume her duties, and also become pregnant again as soon as possible to better ensure the line of succession.
The room of confinement (for a queen) was specially prepared with food and wine, covered windows (no light allowed), religious artefacts for comfort and prayer, herbal remedies (some very odd indeed), and luxurious cradle and linens ready for the new prince or princess. No men were allowed in the room - only a group of supportive women and midwives.
I found the book easy to read and very interesting and enlightening.
The combination of lack of understanding of basic sanitation and medical principles, along with widely held superstitions and religious beliefs, meant that the horrors of pregnancy or births gone wrong affected even the mightiest in the land. Naturally, pregnant queens had the best treatment available, with much preparation and support as well as plenty of nutritious food. But still, things went wrong sometimes, and like all other women of the times, the Tudor queens were affected by events such as infertility, phantom pregnancy, miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, death of an infant, or their own death following childbirth.
Some of these events had enormous historical impact of course, the biggest being Henry VIII's well-known desperate desire for a male heir leading to a break from the Catholic church, the destruction of the English monasteries and the beginnings of the Anglican church.
The book is well-researched and full of fascinating detail. The pregnant woman went into 'confinement' which might last up to a month before the delivery. Then there was the 'lying-in' period after the birth, before the new mother was 'churched' by a priest and allowed into the world once more. Babies were given to a wet-nurse so the royal lady could resume her duties, and also become pregnant again as soon as possible to better ensure the line of succession.
The room of confinement (for a queen) was specially prepared with food and wine, covered windows (no light allowed), religious artefacts for comfort and prayer, herbal remedies (some very odd indeed), and luxurious cradle and linens ready for the new prince or princess. No men were allowed in the room - only a group of supportive women and midwives.
I found the book easy to read and very interesting and enlightening.
November 22, 2021
A big fan of Tudor history, especially the Six Wives of Henry VIII, I have read many books on the subject and did not intend to read anymore. However, this one caught my eye due to the 'in bed with' slant.
The part of the book I enjoyed was the focus on sexual relations and pregnancy in the era, for example, miscarriages, conception and contraception, which would not have been explored in such detail in an ordinary Royal Tudor history book.
My main problem with the book is the repetition; it is told in chronological order, so we hear about what Elizabeth of York's childbirth experience would have been like - excellent and very interesting. However, we then find Catherine of Aragon pregnant, and we hear about her birth experiences, but, funnily enough, they are not that dissimilar to that of her mother-in-law previously described. Anne Boelyn then becomes pregnant...you get the idea.
I also have to note that I was not a fan of the audiobook narrator in which she seems to hesitate just before a long word or foreign name comes up, quite offputting.
Overall an interesting book but nothing special. 2.5 stars.
The part of the book I enjoyed was the focus on sexual relations and pregnancy in the era, for example, miscarriages, conception and contraception, which would not have been explored in such detail in an ordinary Royal Tudor history book.
My main problem with the book is the repetition; it is told in chronological order, so we hear about what Elizabeth of York's childbirth experience would have been like - excellent and very interesting. However, we then find Catherine of Aragon pregnant, and we hear about her birth experiences, but, funnily enough, they are not that dissimilar to that of her mother-in-law previously described. Anne Boelyn then becomes pregnant...you get the idea.
I also have to note that I was not a fan of the audiobook narrator in which she seems to hesitate just before a long word or foreign name comes up, quite offputting.
Overall an interesting book but nothing special. 2.5 stars.
May 20, 2018
Review - As intriguing as the subject matter is, I don't think there is really enough on it in the small areas she looks at. What is there is excellent information, but I would have preferred to see more on the illegitimate children, or possibility of. For example, Henry and Catherine Carey, and Henry Fitzroy. The writing is clear and easy to understand, and I particularly enjoyed the sections on Elizabeth of York and the legacy. The legacy section just sums everything up nicely, while I am less familiar with Elizabeth of York, so it was a nice and clear introduction for me.
General Subject/s? - History / Sex / Gender / Procreation / Children / Tudors / 16th Century / Henry VIII / Anne Boleyn / Elizabeth I / Elizabeth of York / Jane Seymour / Katherine Howard / Katherine Parr / Katherine of Aragon
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 18/20
General Subject/s? - History / Sex / Gender / Procreation / Children / Tudors / 16th Century / Henry VIII / Anne Boleyn / Elizabeth I / Elizabeth of York / Jane Seymour / Katherine Howard / Katherine Parr / Katherine of Aragon
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 18/20
July 28, 2024
I was unbelievably disappointed by this book. I stopped reading when I was at about page 70 and skimmed over the parts I still had to read in order to "finish it". First, as many other reviews on here will tell you, the title is utterly misleading. The book is mainly about the female royals of the Tudor dynasty and about the way they were treated, being a woman, but more so a wife and mother at court. This, of course, is not uninteresting in any way, but this book does not manage to bring it in such a way, that you feel like you are reading it from a new and dazzling perspective. You could definitely give it a read if you don't know anything (or a lot) about the women of the Tudor dynasty, just don't expect anything mindblowing - as the title may mislead you to do.
March 15, 2019
Despite the interesting title, this book was more of a history of pregnancy and childbirth in Tudor England interspersed with stories of the Tudor monarchs and their consorts. Unfortunately, the author gets some very basic historical details wrong (mixing up Elizabeth I's French suitors!!) and so I have to question the amount of research that went into this book. I really did enjoy reading the details of the ritual of childbirth, but I'm not sure I trust this book to be fully accurate in those details either.
February 19, 2017
"On a summer Sunday at the star of June 1533, Londoners in all their finery converged on Westminster Palace...Her audience saw a tall, lithe, pale-skinned, raven-haired woman in her early thirties, with enchanting dark eyes, not traditional beautiful but unusual and captivating. She was splendidly dressed in a robe of purple velvet lined with ermine, over a kirtle of crimson and on her loose dark hair, sat a gold circlet set with pearls and other precious stones." Who writes history like this? Amy Licence does, that who. This is the third book that I've read by this author and I have enjoyed each one. Beautifully detailed, almost as though she is an attending correspondent, Licence reports what life was like with an eye to delightfully interesting details. Amy Licence has a wonderful understanding of life for a woman and gives credible information about the horrors of childbirth for a woman during Tudor times. Her exquisite descriptions make history come alive, allowing the reader to be transported to the 14th and 15th centuries to get a technicolor experience of the life and times of English royalty.
March 24, 2016
Disappointing, though decently researched for the most part. The writing is full of "may have"s which are probably intended to provide richer context, but mostly cloud the actual facts. There are also a lot of "would have been"s which I assume are intended to highlight statements that veer closer to speculation than solid fact, but end up conveying a strange distance and a lack of confidence on the author's part. These are particularly common in the early chapters, which feature frequent tangents to stretch out the available facts.
This meandering is prominent throughout the whole book; effective in some cases, but often frustrating. There are times when someone is mid-labour and Licence strays into a pages long discussion about beds or a book from a hundred years after the birth in question. It can be quite difficult to keep track of the date as a result. The chapters themselves follow chronological order, but the contents of each chapter tend to weeble wobble all around the timeline.
The chapters on Elizabeth of York and Catherine d'Aragon in particular suffer from a lack of source materials. Between the two they had the most pregnancies and the chapters are clearly the product of a lot of research, but there just doesn't seem to have been as much recorded detail. This makes sense, given that Elizabeth provided an heir right off the bat while her son's increasing desire for an heir and his reaction to the lack of one must have created a greater sense of urgency and national interest in later pregnancies.
The later chapters suffer similarly, but from a lack of births to discuss, since Jane Seymour was the last of the women to actually be pregnant. As a result, it's really more a book about the birthing of Henry's various children, with an admirable attempt to overcome the sparse sources and add in his mother's labours too. The end rather runs out of steam with only Mary Tudor's phantom pregnancies and easily dismissed rumours about the existence of Elizabeth's illegitimate offspring to discuss.
The book does assume a certain level of knowledge of the Tudor era, particularly with regard to various prominent courtiers. There are references to Wolsey, Cromwell, etc., with little or no context of who they are or why they've been given their roles. Mary Queen of France is referred to by several versions of her name, with no internal consistency. And of course, through no fault of the author's, you'll find the same few names shared between multiple people. If you're interested in the childbirth part moreso than the Tudor part, I'd avail yourself of a brief timeline of the era, or at least some kind of Who's Who of the Tudor Court.
Licence makes a fine effort to provide balance and context for all of these royal births with frequent comparisons to the practices and limitations of women with less spectacular financial and social circumstances. Unfortunately, these do at times become repetitive, most likely due to a lack of diverse sources about the lives of ordinary women of the time. An awful lot of giving birth in porches, with some incidents repeated in multiple chapters. This might be to cater to reading single chapters or chapters out of order.
There is a decided lack of balance in other aspects though. She opens the book with an ode to all the choices modern women have about birthing children, which was astonishingly blinkered. It made me pretty suspicious of any further insights she might offer and I was tempted to give up on the book altogether. Later she attempts to explain some of the practices of folk catholicism and succeeds in sounding as though she is describing a baffling and long extinct alien culture (I'll be honest, I found it hilarious). She definitely tries for balance in discussing the religious reforms of Edward's reign, but ends up coming down more harshly on the proliferation of false relics than the imposition of pretty severe restrictions on religious freedoms.
Overall, I do think an earnest attempt at balance was made, particularly with regard to controversial figures, but the author's biases definitely shine through at times.
It's quite a short book, particularly when you factor in all of the digressions and the occasional repetition. It's an interesting topic that tends to be left by the wayside, but in all honesty, the source material here is just not enough to justify a full book. A wider scope in one way or another might have been of benefit, perhaps reaching back into the War of the Roses. Though again, sources may have been troublesome.
There are some interesting details here and there, particularly the inclusion of various folk remedies. Worth a read if you have a particular interest in either the Tudor women or childbirth throughout history and keep your critical thinking hat on. It's short enough not to take up an age, the chapters can easily be tackled alone and/or out of order if you're familiar with the people and the timeline, and the information it does present tends to be reasonably well-researched. There are some sloppy errors that should have been caught in editing. If you don't have quite the same set of pet peeves as I do, it might even stretch to a 3.5/5.
This meandering is prominent throughout the whole book; effective in some cases, but often frustrating. There are times when someone is mid-labour and Licence strays into a pages long discussion about beds or a book from a hundred years after the birth in question. It can be quite difficult to keep track of the date as a result. The chapters themselves follow chronological order, but the contents of each chapter tend to weeble wobble all around the timeline.
The chapters on Elizabeth of York and Catherine d'Aragon in particular suffer from a lack of source materials. Between the two they had the most pregnancies and the chapters are clearly the product of a lot of research, but there just doesn't seem to have been as much recorded detail. This makes sense, given that Elizabeth provided an heir right off the bat while her son's increasing desire for an heir and his reaction to the lack of one must have created a greater sense of urgency and national interest in later pregnancies.
The later chapters suffer similarly, but from a lack of births to discuss, since Jane Seymour was the last of the women to actually be pregnant. As a result, it's really more a book about the birthing of Henry's various children, with an admirable attempt to overcome the sparse sources and add in his mother's labours too. The end rather runs out of steam with only Mary Tudor's phantom pregnancies and easily dismissed rumours about the existence of Elizabeth's illegitimate offspring to discuss.
The book does assume a certain level of knowledge of the Tudor era, particularly with regard to various prominent courtiers. There are references to Wolsey, Cromwell, etc., with little or no context of who they are or why they've been given their roles. Mary Queen of France is referred to by several versions of her name, with no internal consistency. And of course, through no fault of the author's, you'll find the same few names shared between multiple people. If you're interested in the childbirth part moreso than the Tudor part, I'd avail yourself of a brief timeline of the era, or at least some kind of Who's Who of the Tudor Court.
Licence makes a fine effort to provide balance and context for all of these royal births with frequent comparisons to the practices and limitations of women with less spectacular financial and social circumstances. Unfortunately, these do at times become repetitive, most likely due to a lack of diverse sources about the lives of ordinary women of the time. An awful lot of giving birth in porches, with some incidents repeated in multiple chapters. This might be to cater to reading single chapters or chapters out of order.
There is a decided lack of balance in other aspects though. She opens the book with an ode to all the choices modern women have about birthing children, which was astonishingly blinkered. It made me pretty suspicious of any further insights she might offer and I was tempted to give up on the book altogether. Later she attempts to explain some of the practices of folk catholicism and succeeds in sounding as though she is describing a baffling and long extinct alien culture (I'll be honest, I found it hilarious). She definitely tries for balance in discussing the religious reforms of Edward's reign, but ends up coming down more harshly on the proliferation of false relics than the imposition of pretty severe restrictions on religious freedoms.
Overall, I do think an earnest attempt at balance was made, particularly with regard to controversial figures, but the author's biases definitely shine through at times.
It's quite a short book, particularly when you factor in all of the digressions and the occasional repetition. It's an interesting topic that tends to be left by the wayside, but in all honesty, the source material here is just not enough to justify a full book. A wider scope in one way or another might have been of benefit, perhaps reaching back into the War of the Roses. Though again, sources may have been troublesome.
There are some interesting details here and there, particularly the inclusion of various folk remedies. Worth a read if you have a particular interest in either the Tudor women or childbirth throughout history and keep your critical thinking hat on. It's short enough not to take up an age, the chapters can easily be tackled alone and/or out of order if you're familiar with the people and the timeline, and the information it does present tends to be reasonably well-researched. There are some sloppy errors that should have been caught in editing. If you don't have quite the same set of pet peeves as I do, it might even stretch to a 3.5/5.
August 25, 2022
This book was at once far better than expected, and worse. Better because it was the kind of Barnes & Noble clearance bin book with a vaguely licentious title that leads me to expect a National Enquirer type of thing, but I am a Tudor freak so I bought it, and read it. It is well written, and intensely interesting. I have a feeling that it was originally titled "A Study of Childbirth, Post Partum Illness and Death, and Sexual Mores in the Time of the Tudors", and some fast thinking publisher switched it up because it really isn't licentious at all and has a lot of fascinating information on childbearing, the rituals used to ameliorate the pains and dangers of childbearing, the types of birth control used, etc. It was a five star book easy except for 2 glaring historical errors. In the first one, rather a throw away line, the author refers to Anne Boleyn as the Duke of Norfolk's daughter. WHAAAAT?!? Have you lost your mind? EVERYBODY (even HBO) knows that the Duke of Norfolk was Anne's uncle, and her father was Thomas Boleyn who was NOT the Duke of Norfolk. And then - then! At the end of the book there is practically a whole chapter on Henry VIII's will excluding his two illegitimate daughters Mary and Elizabeth and settling the succession, after Edward and his heirs, on the children of his younger sister Mary. This made me doubt my own sanity and reality. I flew to Google in case some new will of Henry's has been discovered but no. No no no. His last Will & Testament left the throne to his son Edward and his heirs, followed by his daughter Mary Tudor and her heirs, and then to Elizabeth Tudor and her heirs. That was what I thought I knew, and I am right. There was even a paragraph of baffled musing over why the English people rallied to Mary over Lady Jane Grey when that wasn't Henry's will, and the answer to that mystery, Ms License, is that it WAS Henry's will and his people were furious at the disregarding of it. And I object on Mary Tudor's behalf to the line "and Mary suddenly found herself queen." NO SHE DID NOT. She fled North (not East, Ms Liciense. East England was not the hotbed of Catholic insurrection. The North was) and raised an army and marched at the head of it like her grandmother Isabella of Spain and won her throne fair and square! So there! Found herself queen my eye. Anyway. I weary of mentally editing these books. But I still recommend this one because of all the reasons cited in the beginning of this review.
February 7, 2017
Having watched the Six Wives documentary recently led me to want to find out more about this era of Britain.
This book was a little heavy on the names, places, dates and who was connected to who and when and what for, (just writing that confused me!) that information overload took away some of the enjoyment for me.
It certainly read more like a dissertation for Uni than anything else, but many a fact and question answered stayed with me at certain points.
Overall, a bit heavy going for a reader like myself, more suited to someone who is perhaps majoring in this subject or has real in-depth knowledge who wants to find out even more.
A satisfactory 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 as the author has a wealth of knowledge on this subject.
This book was a little heavy on the names, places, dates and who was connected to who and when and what for, (just writing that confused me!) that information overload took away some of the enjoyment for me.
It certainly read more like a dissertation for Uni than anything else, but many a fact and question answered stayed with me at certain points.
Overall, a bit heavy going for a reader like myself, more suited to someone who is perhaps majoring in this subject or has real in-depth knowledge who wants to find out even more.
A satisfactory 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 as the author has a wealth of knowledge on this subject.
August 10, 2017
Interesting, but some strange mistakes.
An interesting book and generally well written, but odd mistakes as mentioned in other reviews. To me the most extraordinary is her writing that Elizabeth's last foreign suitor, Alencon, became King of France in 1589. In fact, he died in 1584. His brother, King Henry iii of France, died in 1589 and was succeeded by Henry of Navarre, the first Bourbon king. She's supposedly a historian. Surely she should know this or could have checked on Wikipedia!
An interesting book and generally well written, but odd mistakes as mentioned in other reviews. To me the most extraordinary is her writing that Elizabeth's last foreign suitor, Alencon, became King of France in 1589. In fact, he died in 1584. His brother, King Henry iii of France, died in 1589 and was succeeded by Henry of Navarre, the first Bourbon king. She's supposedly a historian. Surely she should know this or could have checked on Wikipedia!
March 15, 2018
...
I was disappointed by this book. There are several inaccuracies regarding who is who in the book naming someone the wife or daughter of the wrong person. It was also very repetitive and kept stating the same information over and over. It was hard to get through because of this.
I was disappointed by this book. There are several inaccuracies regarding who is who in the book naming someone the wife or daughter of the wrong person. It was also very repetitive and kept stating the same information over and over. It was hard to get through because of this.
abandoned
September 12, 2013Sadly full of historical errors and written from a place of unchecked upper- or middle- class privilege as far as referencing modern childbirth and -rearing.
to-read-maybe
March 12, 2015I will read this to feel good about my twenty-first century lifestyle and the fact that I don't currently fear death in childbirth
December 6, 2016
Some interesting stories, but way too many historical inaccuracies
October 14, 2021
at ‘In Bed with The Tudors: The Sex Lives of a Dynasty from Elizabeth of York to Elizabeth I’ by Amy Licence @thetudorpearl - tracing the Tudor history, but from an angle of a human body. The monarchs were divine, yes, but they were also people. To me, personally, it’s one of the most fascinating ways to look at history.
⚔️
It’s the anatomical frailty that heats up the drama and makes the twists in the historical narrative. This volume takes the reader through the journey of royal Tudor women, whilst giving a magnificent and well-researched insight into everyday life that would surround them.
👸🏻
This book places these ladies and their male counterparts (mainly guys called Henry) into the context of their own times, with its restrictions, trials and tribulations. While reading this book, making comparisons to modern facilities, with its advancements is inevitable: makes you glad we don’t have working time machines...
👩🏻⚕️
⚔️
It’s the anatomical frailty that heats up the drama and makes the twists in the historical narrative. This volume takes the reader through the journey of royal Tudor women, whilst giving a magnificent and well-researched insight into everyday life that would surround them.
👸🏻
This book places these ladies and their male counterparts (mainly guys called Henry) into the context of their own times, with its restrictions, trials and tribulations. While reading this book, making comparisons to modern facilities, with its advancements is inevitable: makes you glad we don’t have working time machines...
👩🏻⚕️
May 28, 2018
Calling this the "sex lives" of the Tudors is a misnomer - its really an examination of what pregnancy and birth was like in the 16th century hung on the frame of the six wives of of Henry VIII. We read a lot of about the experiences of many other women as well, from peasants to princesses, but, again, focusing on what the state of obstetrics was in that time period.
Licence has a lot of quotes and facts about pregnant Tudor women - she just doesn't explain very often where they came from. Court records? Wills? Journals? Account books? Come on, Amy, show your work.
A pretty good examination of the time period and subject, but could have used some more depth on how we know things and more details on what we don't know and what that says about "drawing the bed curtains" on certain subjects.
August 15, 2022
This fresh take on discussions of sex at this time is interesting and engaging. I particularly enjoyed the discussion of how changing religious practices affected practices related to pregnancy and delivery. I found the writing itself to be unnecessarily repetitive at times and lacking in momentum. As someone with no prior knowledge of the Tudors, I at times felt overwhelmed by the long, contextless lists of dates and names, and questioned why they had been included. I wish the author had also brought in more information about the other classes. The mentions that were made of lower ranking social classes only whet and did not satisfy my appetite for information about practices relevant to them.
July 3, 2020
Captivating and easy to read, Licence's In Bed with the Tudors delves into a lot more than the title suggests. What I found most interesting about this thematic history was the detail spent on the sixteenth-century scientific view of the female body with a focus on menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth.
The book suffered from a couple historical inaccuracies, but I would chalk that up to typos and poor editing as opposed to an unlearned author, as Licence has clearly done her research.
I listened to the audiobook so I'm not sure if the original text had a 'further reading' list or bibliography but I would be very interested in reading some of these primary sources.
The book suffered from a couple historical inaccuracies, but I would chalk that up to typos and poor editing as opposed to an unlearned author, as Licence has clearly done her research.
I listened to the audiobook so I'm not sure if the original text had a 'further reading' list or bibliography but I would be very interested in reading some of these primary sources.
December 15, 2020
Not as lurid as the title suggests,it doesn't generalise but covers all of Henry the eighths marriages and the repercussions of not having a valid mail heir.the women of the Tudor period or for that,matter any part of history seemed to get sidelined,but not in this book. The dangers of childbirth from conception to delivery is starkly laid out.it was only a matter of privalige that got a few of the women a better form of midwifery even though quite a lot of it was black magic and psycho babble.an interesting read from the female perspective.
August 3, 2022
Great read if you are into the historical lives of royalty. This book offers a great insight to what really happened with Henry VIII and his six wives, and the circumstances on how he got each one and the stories of how he disposed of them. It was enlightening to me and corrected some of the information I thought I had straight when it came to Henry and his wives - which was a lot!
Very informative and quite good.
Very informative and quite good.
September 13, 2020
Result of sex would be a better title
This is a book about Tudor times childbirth experience. A mention of two of sex is mentioned but no titillating sex stories here. The book tends to be repetitive on things like herb lore. An interesting book though. Love Tudor times then give it a go.
This is a book about Tudor times childbirth experience. A mention of two of sex is mentioned but no titillating sex stories here. The book tends to be repetitive on things like herb lore. An interesting book though. Love Tudor times then give it a go.
April 29, 2021
3,5 STARS
A very interesting book!
The only thing I was a little disappointed of, was that it said so little about Elizabeth I.
It would have been the perfect opportunity to talk about spinsters in the Tudor era.
But oh well, can't have everything!
A very interesting book!
The only thing I was a little disappointed of, was that it said so little about Elizabeth I.
It would have been the perfect opportunity to talk about spinsters in the Tudor era.
But oh well, can't have everything!
Read
April 10, 2022If you're looking for extensive detail on what Elizabeth Plantagenet and Henry (VII) Tudor's wedding must have looked like, this book is for you.
If you're looking for the actual sexy stuff? No idea...I got bored before we even got to the bedroom!
If you're looking for the actual sexy stuff? No idea...I got bored before we even got to the bedroom!
September 8, 2022
With the use of royal women's lives this book give us what women in Tudor era did to ensure sexual health, whatever to conceive not conceive or to avoid stds in religious, superstitious and medical ways. Interesting but ultimately not very informative and too restricted on Royal women.
July 7, 2017
No what I thought.
April 7, 2023
Everything you wanted to no or NOT about the sex lifes of
The Tudors and childbirth a wonderful read well
Written and informative
The Tudors and childbirth a wonderful read well
Written and informative
March 9, 2024
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews