Reading Through the Ages discussion

Tudor Britain is without a shadow of doubt the most popular time period for historical novels. Quite a few of us will no doubt have some Tudor books sitting on our shelves waiting to be read. So please do.

If you have no idea where to start, then please check out the bookshelf (link: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...)

Share what you are reading and recommend books down below.

Alison Weir has a good fictional series of Henry's 6 wives, a book for each wife, from their perspective, we have 3 more to come. (she also has some great non-fiction. )

Laura wrote: "Alison Weir has a good fictional series of Henry's 6 wives, a book for each wife, from their perspective, we have 3 more to come. (she also has some great non-fiction. )"

I bet this one will be a favourite pick

I enjoyed Tudor Rose, by Margaret Campbell Barnes. It’s about Henry VIII’s mother, Elizabeth of York, who was married to Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch of England.

Yes! I love reading about the Tudors. I read Alison Weir's first book in the Six Wives series and have the Anne Boleyn book, so I hope to get to it with this category/challenge. :-)

If only The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel would come out in 2019! That would be my ultimate Tudor pick. I love Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies so much. I've read them lots of times.

Sounds like I need to give Alison Weir a try!

Victoria wrote: "If only The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel would come out in 2019! That would be my ultimate Tudor pick. I love Wolf Hall and [book:Bring Up the ..."

I also love Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies and I can't wait for the next installment!

I have wolf hall on my Kindle, I've out of reading it as I prefer a physical book, and don't want to double buy, this challenge will push me to read it. x

Laura wrote: "I have wolf hall on my Kindle, I've out of reading it as I prefer a physical book, and don't want to double buy, this challenge will push me to read it. x"

It is actually quite good to read that one on the kindle as it is so heavy... but maybe that's just me. When a book is heading to the 700 pages, I am never quite sure how to read it.

I have been sucked into the Matthew Shardlake series! 😬😍

Candace wrote: "I have been sucked into the Matthew Shardlake series! 😬😍"

That certainly fits the prompt. And I cannot tell you how happy it makes me for Shardlake to keep spreading.

I assume Shakespeare counts as within the Tudor area, even though he lived past it? I was thinking of reading Imagining Shakespeare's Wife: The Afterlife of Anne Hathaway.

It's time to tackle Wolf Hall!

Melanie wrote: "Candace wrote: "I have been sucked into the Matthew Shardlake series! 😬😍"

That certainly fits the prompt. And I cannot tell you how happy it makes me for Shardlake to keep spreading."

I have just reread the first six books and have started the new one, Tombland. They are just wonderful.

I'll be reading The Grove of Eagles.

Sharon wrote: "I'll be reading The Grove of Eagles."


Oh, a Winston Graham, good choice.

I'm reading the latest in the Shardlake series, Tombland. I had pre-ordered it, but didn't start reading until I reread the first six books.

Linda - that is awesome!!! I’m half way through Dark Fire and don’t think I can wait long to get to the third. They’re just so good!!!

I've just finished The Heretics by Rory Clements which I thoroughly enjoyed. I don't normally start in the middle of a series but it didn't seem to matter with this one. I may read more of the series, although this RTTA idea has really widened my view about what to read next in historical fiction, so it may have to wait a while!

Candace and Linda, I read the Shardlake series back when there were only about four of them. I thought they were great! I shall look for your reviews on the later ones to see what you think of them.

Sue wrote: "I've just finished The Heretics by Rory Clements which I thoroughly enjoyed. I don't normally start in the middle of a series but it didn't seem to matter with this..."

they sound right up my street

Clearly I’m reading the Shardlake books. 😀

Thanks to this thread, I’ve begun the Matthew Shardlake series and I am loving the first book. I like the fact that Sansom is an historian and the writing is superb!

Regina wrote: "Thanks to this thread, I’ve begun the Matthew Shardlake series and I am loving the first book. I like the fact that Sansom is an historian and the writing is superb!"

so glad to hear that I love these books.

Ahhh so much Shardlake love! He is so so good. Sovereign is still my favourite of the series so far, and I think it can be read as a stand-alone if you don’t want to commit to lots of chunksters. 😀

Also so happy to see lots of Wolf Hall activity. I might be tempted to re read it...

love the shardlake series I'm due for the second book... I am too hoping to get to the Anne Boleyn book from six wives series soon. I've just ordered the Jane seymour book too - if anyone fancies buddy reading with me?

Laura wrote: "love the shardlake series I'm due for the second book... I am too hoping to get to the Anne Boleyn book from six wives series soon. I've just ordered the Jane seymour book too - if anyone fancies b..."

I might make a special buddy read request section, what do you think?

Melanie wrote: "Laura wrote: "love the shardlake series I'm due for the second book... I am too hoping to get to the Anne Boleyn book from six wives series soon. I've just ordered the Jane seymour book too - if an..."

I like this idea Mel :)

I finished the first Shardlake book last night. I had a few minor quibbles, but wound up giving it 4 stars. I will definitely be continuing the series.

yes Mel, that would be awesome. x

Heidi wrote: "It's time to tackle Wolf Hall!"

YES! Please let us know how you get on. It's my absolute favourite book.

I've just made a video of recommendations and potential books to read for this prompt: https://youtu.be/bJOcqdMucHw

I think I've pretty much decided that my pick for this prompt is going to be the enormous The Man on a Donkey by H.F.M. Prescott and if anyone is interested in buddy reading this, let me know.

I was also contemplating doing a bit of a Wolf Hall 'book club' on my channel, perhaps in April, if anyone is interested.

Victoria wrote: "I've just made a video of recommendations and potential books to read for this prompt: https://youtu.be/bJOcqdMucHw

I think I've pretty much decided that my pick for this prompt is going to be the..."

This looks like a good one and I like a good chunkster! I haven't made my final decision here yet. I still have my fingers crossed for The Mirror and the Light.

Victoria wrote: "I've just made a video of recommendations and potential books to read for this prompt: https://youtu.be/bJOcqdMucHw

I think I've pretty much decided that my pick for this prompt is going to be the..."

I think a Wolf Hall bookclub would be excellent - it's a book I would like to read, but am a bit scared of!

Victoria wrote: "I've just made a video of recommendations and potential books to read for this prompt: https://youtu.be/bJOcqdMucHw

I think I've pretty much decided that my pick for this prompt is going to be the..."

Victoria wrote: "I've just made a video of recommendations and potential books to read for this prompt: https://youtu.be/bJOcqdMucHw

I think I've pretty much decided that my pick for this prompt is going to be the..."

Count me in if you do a Wolf Hall read along!

I love the Matthee Shardlake books...waiting for the new one to be released. Have you tried the Shakespeare as spy and mystery-solver series by Benet Brandreth? The first one - The Spy of Venice was quite entertaining. There is a second one- not released here in the US yet.

Eve wrote: "I love the Matthee Shardlake books...waiting for the new one to be released. Have you tried the Shakespeare as spy and mystery-solver series by Benet Brandreth? The first one - The Spy of Venice wa..."

Not even heard of that one, shall check it out

Think I am finally going to tackle Dissolution too, after hearing so many great things about the Shardlake series.

Shaun wrote: "Think I am finally going to tackle Dissolution too, after hearing so many great things about the Shardlake series."

We have worn you down...

I have Dissolution on hold at the library for this one. I'm excited to give the series a go.

Would THE PHANTOM TREE by Nicola Cornick fit for the Tudor Britain prompt? Would it also fit for either Alternative History or Time Travel too?

“Browsing an antiques shop in Wiltshire, Alison Bannister stumbles across a delicate old portrait—identified as the doomed Tudor queen, Anne Boleyn. Except Alison knows better. The subject is Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr, who was taken to Wolf Hall in 1557 and presumed dead after going missing as a child. And Alison knows this because she, too, lived at Wolf Hall and knew Mary...more than four hundred years ago.

The painting of Mary is more than just a beautiful object for Alison—it holds the key to her past life, the unlocking of the mystery surrounding Mary’s disappearance and how Alison can get back to her own time. To when she and Mary were childhood enemies yet shared a pact that now, finally, must be fulfilled, no matter the cost.

Bestselling author of House of Shadows Nicola Cornick offers a provocative alternate history of rivals, secrets and danger, set in a time when a woman’s destiny was determined by the politics of men and luck of birth. A spellbinding tale for fans of Kate Morton, Philippa Gregory and Barbara Erskine.”

MARGARET THE FIRST by Danielle Dutton is another book I will add to my reading list. Margaret Cavendish lived in England in the 17th century from 1623-1673. The book has a beautiful cover and is less than 180 pages. Here is the info

Margaret the First dramatizes the life of Margaret Cavendish, the shy, gifted, and wildly unconventional 17th-century Duchess. The eccentric Margaret wrote and published volumes of poems, philosophy, feminist plays, and utopian science fiction at a time when “being a writer” was not an option open to women. As one of the Queen’s attendants and the daughter of prominent Royalists, she was exiled to France when King Charles I was overthrown. As the English Civil War raged on, Margaret met and married William Cavendish, who encouraged her writing and her desire for a career. After the War, her work earned her both fame and infamy in England: at the dawn of daily newspapers, she was “Mad Madge,” an original tabloid celebrity. Yet Margaret was also the first woman to be invited to the Royal Society of London—a mainstay of the Scientific Revolution—and the last for another two hundred years.

Margaret the First is very much a contemporary novel set in the past. Written with lucid precision and sharp cuts through narrative time, it is a gorgeous and wholly new approach to imagining the life of a historical woman.

hello!! i just wondered if anyone had read any tudor historical fiction that had main queer characters (especially any queer/bi/lesbian women main characters)?

Bonnie wrote: "Would THE PHANTOM TREE by Nicola Cornick fit for the Tudor Britain prompt? Would it also fit for either Alternative History or Time Travel too?

“Browsing an antiques shop in Wiltshire, Alison Ban..."

Yes this would fit and would also tick two categories, I read that last year and quite liked it.

Bonnie wrote: "MARGARET THE FIRST by Danielle Dutton is another book I will add to my reading list. Margaret Cavendish lived in England in the 17th century from 1623-1673. The book has a beautiful cover and is le..."

She was certainly a remarkable character, she did live in the Stuarts reign though. Maybe use it as a wild card?

Thank you Melanie for the info about The Phantom Hall. I noticed it fits other sections but I will just apply it to one, cuz then I can get more books, right? ;) I started reading it tonight. It’s got a lot I find so intriguing... art, an old painting, a mysterious box, going back in time to another era... I really like it so far!

I forgot to say that I will most likely apply THE PHANTOM TREE to Alternative History as that’s the category I have the least amount of books for. I now have lots of books for Tudor Britain and Time Travel.

Anna wrote: "hello!! i just wondered if anyone had read any tudor historical fiction that had main queer characters (especially any queer/bi/lesbian women main characters)?"

You know, I cannot think of anything... if you find one, let us know. There is a Tudor Group on Goodreads, they may know something. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Ah I see it now, Melanie you are right about MARGARET THE FIRST. Tudor period 1483 (or is it 1485?) to 1603... Okay so that book can be a Wild Card. I only have maybe one or two books for Wild Cards anyways so I am glad.

Ps I dont know how to “reply” properly in the posts using the Goodreads App on my phone. I do hope to figure that out.

Bonnie wrote: "Ah I see it now, Melanie you are right about MARGARET THE FIRST. Tudor period 1483 (or is it 1485?) to 1603... Okay so that book can be a Wild Card. I only have maybe one or two books for Wild Card..."

If you use the phone, you cannot reply to the threads, only on the PC, Goodreads app is not that well developed. Sadly.

Melanie wrote: "Anna wrote: "hello!! i just wondered if anyone had read any tudor historical fiction that had main queer characters (especially any queer/bi/lesbian women main characters)?"

You know, I cannot thi..."

oh thank you! i will check that group out!