There have been certain events in Tudor history that have become as famous as those involved. None more so than the divorce between Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon so Henry could marry his second wife, Anne Boleyn, also known as “The Great Matter”. We often study this time through the perspectives of the many historians and authors who have written about this topic. But, what if Katherine, Henry, and Anne had a chance to speak for themselves about the events of “The Great Matter”. Thomas Crockett decided to have the main figures of this famous divorce tell their tales in his latest work, “The Great Matter Monologues: Katherine, Henry, Anne”.
I would like to thank John Hunt Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. The premise of this particular play intrigued me so I wanted to read it, even though I haven’t read many plays or monologues before.
Unlike many narratives about “The Great Matter”, Crockett begins with Katherine finding out that Henry wants to divorce Katherine because she has not given her his desired son. It is a bit of a strange starting point since other narratives show the courting of Henry and Anne. Crockett’s monologues deal with Katherine, Henry, and Anne discussing the events that recently happened as well as flashbacks to easier times. As a reader, you can feel the emotional turmoil that each character is going through as the marriage of Henry and Katherine is ending and a new relationship begins.
While I did enjoy the emotional dialogues that Crockett shared to give the audience a sense of what Henry, Katherine, and Anne might have felt during this time, I did have a problem with the other pieces of dialogue. When the characters were remembering past conversations with relatively minor characters, it was hard for me to follow what was going on, but I think it might have been because I was not used to reading monologues.
The characters are each interesting in their own ways. Katherine mourns for her marriage and fights for Henry’s love, her daughter Mary, and for her crown. Henry wants what he wants and he doesn’t care who he steps on in order to get his way. The character that I really did not like in this series of monologues was the woman who was caught in the middle, Anne Boleyn. To me, she comes off as power-hungry and whining. It feels like Crockett did not like Anne Boleyn at all when he wrote this book.
Overall, I thought that this book was okay. There was nothing new about “The Great Matter”, but Crockett did bring to life the emotional struggles that Henry, Katherine, and Anne must have been going through. If you are not familiar with the divorce of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon then “The Great Matter Monologues: Katherine, Henry, Anne” by Thomas Crockett is a good book that gives you a different perspective of this historic event that changed England forever.
In history, we tend to focus on the stories of the men and women who shaped the era. This is obviously important, but the locations where the events of the past happened are equally as important. Sadly, many of the buildings that the men and women from the past knew no longer exist. However, there are a few, especially from the Tudor period, that we can still visit. Suzannah Lipscomb explored over 50 of these remarkable buildings and decided to tell their tales in her book, “A Journey Through Tudor England”.
Try Me, Good King- Immersive Classical Concert of Tudor Tales and Shakespearean Stories
The reigns of the Tudor monarchs were full of change, not only in court and in culture, but also when it came to religion. None more so than in the reign of King Henry VIII, especially during the incident known as “The Great Matter”, when the king wanted a divorce from his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. Many people were swept into the chaos of this time, but there are two who were infamous during this time; Thomas Wolsey and Anne Boleyn. These two were adversaries, vying for the attention of the king. They both experienced extreme highs and tragic lows as they navigated the change in England that would be the start of the Reformation. Lynda Telford explores the lives of Thomas Wolsey and Anne Boleyn, as well as the lives of other people who were caught displeasing King Henry VIII during this tumultuous time in her book, “Tudor Victims of the Reformation”.
The story of Anne Boleyn is one of love, triumph, and tragedy. Her tale has been told in many different ways in the several centuries since her execution by many different people. Except by Anne Boleyn herself. We never truly understood what it might have felt like when she went to court for the first time, what it must have felt like to have fallen in love with King Henry VIII. How she might have felt when she had her daughter and experienced her numerous miscarriages. The devastation she must have felt when she found out about Henry’s abusive side, his mistresses, and her ultimate demise. That is until now. In Holly-Eloise Walters’ debut novel, “The Most Happy”, Anne Boleyn tells her personal story, giving the readers a better understanding of the legend.
At the age of 18, Honora Grenville, daughter of a wealthy Cornish landowner, is swept off her feet by Arthur Plantagenet, the handsome, illegitimate uncle of Henry VIII. Since childhood, her dreams have been of a handsome gentleman who would whisk her away to live in far-off palaces and to wear fine clothes. Now, in Arthur Plantagenet, it seems that her dreams are about to come true.
marrying and raising a family in Tasmania she moved to Wales in 2003 and still lives there, close to the Herefordshire border. Always a keen historian, she became fascinated by her own family history and by the lives of her ancestors – some of whom she discovered to be very colourful indeed. This led her to begin writing.
When one thinks about women reformers during the time of the Tudors, certain women like Catherine Parr and Anne Aske come to mind. However, there was one who really should get more attention and her name is Katherine Willoughby. She was the last wife of Charles Brandon. Her mother was Maria de Salinas, a lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon and a devout Catholic. Katherine knew all six of Henry VIII’s wives on a personal level and knew all of his children. She has often been seen as an afterthought; someone you associate with other people, but never a stand out herself. That is until now. Katherine Willoughby finally gets her time to shine in Tony Riches’ latest historical fiction novel and his conclusion to his Tudor trilogy, “Katherine-Tudor Duchess”.
The study of history is all about asking questions about how and why events happened. We understand that history is very much a study of cause and effect; if a certain person causes something to happen, we study the effect of those actions. But what if the person changes what they do? What would happen to the course of history? These are considered the “what ifs” of history, which is something that history fans and students like to discuss with one another. These questions rarely are discussed in books, until now. Timothy Venning explores some of the “what ifs” of the Tudor Dynasty in his book, “An Alternative History of Britain: The Tudors”. 
Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII and the mother of the future Queen Elizabeth I, is one of the unique characters of the Tudor era. She was the sister of one of the king’s mistresses, Mary Boleyn, which she could have been, but Henry wanted Anne as his queen. Unfortunately, he was married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. It is Henry’s divorce to Catherine and his relationship with Anne, the rise and fall, is what many people look at, but there is more to Anne’s story than just her life with Henry. What was Anne’s life really like and what really caused her fall? These are just a few questions that Amy Licence tackles in her latest biography, “Anne Boleyn: Adultery, Heresy, Desire.”
Henry VIII may have had six wives, but only one could give him the desired son that he wanted. She was kind, demure and everything that Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn was not. Her name was Jane Seymour, Henry’s third wife. Sadly, she is often remembered for the birth of her son and her death. However, there was a lot more to Jane’s story than the ending. What was her relationship with her family like? How did she fall in love with the King? And how was her relationship with her romantic rival, Anne Boleyn? These are just some of the questions that Janet Wertman strives to answer in her first novel of her new Seymour Saga called, “Jane the Quene”. 
Adventures of a Tudor Nerd 