The Forgotten Tudor Women: Anne Seymour, Jane Dudley & Elisabeth Parr

by Sylvia Barbara Soberton

Anne Seymour, Jane Dudley and Elisabeth Parr all have their own unique stories to tell. Born into the most turbulent period of England’s history, these women’s lives interplayed with the great dramas of the Tudor age, and their stories deserve to be told independently of their husbands. Anne Seymour served all of Henry VIII’s six wives and brushed with treason more than once, but she died in her bed as a wealthy old matriarch. Jane Dudley was a wife and mother who fought for her family until her last breath. Elisabeth Parr, sister-in-law of Queen Katherine Parr, married for love and became Elizabeth I’s favourite lady-in-waiting. The Tudor age was a hazardous time for ambitious courtly life exposed them to “pride, envy, indignation, scorning and derision”, executions were part of everyday life, death in childbirth was a real possibility and plagues sweeping regularly through the country could wipe out entire generations of families. Yet Anne, Jane and Elisabeth lived through all this and left their indelible marks on history. It’s high time for these women’s stories to be heard.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period, Biography, Historical, Royalty, British Literature

307 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 26, 2018

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is gem of a book and I'm going to recommend it for people interested in the Tudor period. Henry VIII had six wives but they are so famous that they overshadow other, no less interesting, Tudor women. Anne Seymour, Jane Dudley and Elisabeth Parr were ladies-in-waiting to Henry's queens and led extraordinary lives. Their husbands were important politicians during the reigns of Henry VIII and his children. There's a saying that behind every successful man there's a woman and it's true in this case - Anne, Jane & Elisabeth were ambitious, courageous and outspoken women who exerted influence on their husbands and thus on political and religious sphere of the Tudor court. This author's writing style is clear and flowing, and I enjoyed every page of this wonderful book. There are also a lot of footnotes and a rich bibliography. Highly recommended for casual readers and students.

[Jean Piziak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very factual. Most of the book was about Anne Seymour who was married to Edward Seymour, brother of Queen Jane Seymour. Edward was Lord Protector to King Edward VI, the son of King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. Edward became increasingly ambitious and was executed for his influence on the King. Edward's main accuser was John Dudley, husband of Jane Dudley, who was the subject of a chapter in this book. John Dudley was executed too for his role in attempting to put Lady Jane Grey on the throne. Elizabeth Paar was married to William Paar, the brother of Queen Katharine Paar, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII. Elizabeth became a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. Ann and Jane were very ambitious and tried to promote their sons to important positions in the Court of England. Anne's son, Edward, made a poor choice in the selection of his first wife and was sent to the Tower of London. He survived but his wife died of heartbreak. Jane's son who married Lady Jane Grey was executed for treason along with his wife, Jane. Silvia Soberton did extensive research in writing this book. It was somewhat dry but I did learn many facts about the reign of King Edward VI.

[gillian a gillard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Women of influence

Well written, not too studious gives a good likeness in words and deeds of some very underestimated women. What turbulent times they had to contend with. Very informative and enjoyable

[Helen Carolan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear. Hoping for more information on these women whom I've seen briefly mentioned in other books about the Tudor period. Sadly they've been forgotten in this book too. Very little trace of them to be found. Disappointing.

[historic_chronicles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this. I believe I'm falling in love with Soberton's writing and becoming a lifelong fan.

This book felt like a natural progression as the women featured this time were mostly prominent during the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I.

I enjoyed the tales of these women thoroughly, however I did wish there was more about Elisabeth Parr as she was not featured as heavily as her counterparts. I am aware, though, that records documenting women in this period can be scarce and it didn't detract from Soberton's work.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because I'm a fan of this period in history, I was intrigued. But I think the author struggled to synthesize the stories of these three women into a compelling narrative—though she obviously tried. After slogging through many lengthy quotes, I realized that what this book most reminded me of was a scholarly paper in which the writer assembled every quote she could find, then stitched them together to create some context.

To my mind, Alison Weir is the master of writing about the Tudor period. When she has a rich trove of historical sources, she creates nonfiction that flows like a story. When she has scant sources, she pivots to historical fiction to create a story from what she can deduce.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting a slim volume with just a few facts gleamed from a primary source or two, and instead was bowled over by the sheer volume of both facts and analysis on these lesser known Tudor players. The book covers the reign of Henry VIII pretty quickly - but that's just table setting, my friends. The real meat of the matter was the power struggles going on in the oft ignored reign of Edward VI, and then the many marriages that gave Elizabeth the Virgin so many headaches.

Excellent analysis of the Tudor period from an angle that has been long overdue for closer inspection.

[Pam Shelton-Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

These women were naturally heavily affected by the better-known lives of the men around them, but this author has been able to bring them to life using contemporary sources. Fortunately, letters and other documents exist for these ladies, particularly for Anne Seymour, so we have a good picture of how they reacted to the events in their lives. This was well written and easy to read and I enjoyed this book very much.

[Anne Marie Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women of Tudor World, behind scenes

As always, Sylvia Barbara Soberto, colorfully draws the back drown of women, through Tudor Period. With deep go to focus to.players that wives who desperate tried to make nice with Tudor Angers. And make no mistakes the men ruled the world, the women had to find ways work.around a very difficult dance of politics and dance.

[Gertrudis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forgotten indeed

Good book if you want to know about other persons involved during the Tudor time. However, these women for forgotten in this book. Their stories were still told in regards with the men in their lives.

[Anne Strachan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the first in the series. More research and some attempt at a narrative. Little analysis and context for those new to this period and characters. But some useful quotes and biographical information not found in other books.

[Bea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

Well written and interesting, I enjoyed this book very much. It's a bit of a who is who and many different characters are discussed.

[Marilyn Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

[Becky Conat Mansel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, well researched

[Rosie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magnificent read

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My main quibble with this book, which I did enjoy and which seemed amply sourced for the most part, is that it might be more correctly described as a biography of Anne Seymour, with a little bit about Elisabeth Parr and virtually nothing about Jane Dudley, possibly due to the amount of material available, which I imagine is probably proportional to their coverage in the book. A better candidate for the third subject would have been Lady Katherine Grey, sister of Lady Jane and wife of Anne's eldest son, who was dealt with in some detail.

However, I would still recommend it, especially since for the most part Anne has tended to be portrayed as a bit player (and a nasty, spiteful one) in the story of Katherine Parr and Anne's brother-in-law Thomas, and this book gives a much more rounded version of her as an educated, cultured woman who was devoted to her family, as well as dealing with her life both beforehand and (long) afterward. I never knew, for instance, that she served all six of Henry's queens, was friends with Katherine Parr before Henry's death, married again and outlived her first husband by 35 years.