Becoming an adult is an important stage in the life of anyone. Usually, the age at which a young person becomes an adult is seen as eighteen. It is a time when you leave your childhood behind for a bigger adventure. What was life like for some of the most famous people who lived in Britain throughout the centuries? Did they know when they were eighteen what great things they would do? What advice can they offer to a newer generation of young adults? Alice Loxton explores the lives of eighteen extraordinary figures of British history when they became adults in her book “Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives.”
I have followed Alice Loxton on Instagram for a while now, as I have thoroughly enjoyed her videos. When I saw the cover of this book and read the description, it felt so fresh and innovative that I knew I wanted to read it.
Loxton explains in her introduction how this concept of hitting the age of maturity has changed over the centuries. Each person mentioned in this book is at a different stage of life, but we are able to see their hopes and ambitions for the future. She also notes that some stories were harder to research than others, especially when it comes to their childhood, because of a lack of records about their lives. So, how does Loxton connect these figures who lived in different centuries and had different paths in life into one book? Why, with a hypothetical dinner party, of course, which is such an ingenious and delightful idea. It allows the audience to see how historical figures might interact with each other in a modern setting.
So the question remains, who is coming to dinner? Each chapter focuses on a different guest and a mini-biography about them. We begin with the author, the Venerable Bede, who was just a monk wanting to survive a plague, followed by Empress Matilda, who will fight for her birthright, the throne of England. We get to meet a young Geoffrey Chaucer before he writes his famous work, The Canterbury Tales. In the Tudor age, we meet an African diver named Jacques Francis, who is on a mission to salvage The Mary Rose, as well as Princess Elizabeth Tudor, who just wants to survive the tumultuous court. With the Stuarts, we meet Jeffrey Hudson, whose small stature makes him a sensation at the court of two queens, and Fionnghal Nic Dhomhnaill, who discovers that one moment can change a person’s fate. We are introduced to the young Horace Nelson before he becomes a war hero, the remarkable art of Sarah Biffin, who paints with no hands or feet, and the fossil hunter Mary Anning. There is the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the surgeon and suffragist Elsie Inglis, and the garden designer Vita Sackville- West.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, we are introduced to Jack Lewis, before he began to write The Chronicles of Narnia; Rosalind Franklin, an aspiring chemist who took a photo that changed the world; the actor Richard Burton, before he became famous; and the fashion icon Vivienne Westwood, when she was struggling to figure out her path in life. Finally, we are introduced to the mysterious Rae DeDarre.
I did not know what to expect when I first saw this book, but I am so glad I read it. It has been a long time since I have read a book that is both educational and unbelievably fun to read. That is this book. There were some historical figures that I knew or at least knew their names, but there were several who were completely new to me, which was so exciting. I cannot wait to read more books by Alice Loxton and see how she approaches history in the future. This is an ideal book for anyone, whether they are approaching eighteen or those who fondly remember the age of eighteen. If you are a history lover who wants to learn more about the history of Britain in a fun and innovative way, you will thoroughly enjoy “Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives” by Alice Loxton.
When we think about medieval princesses, we often think about pawns in the marriage market. They were born to become brides to create stronger alliances between nations. They helped rule kingdoms, but more importantly, they gave birth to heirs to help their new families’ dynasties continue to grow. But outside of marriages, what was life like for these royal women? How did certain women break the stereotype that comes with being a medieval princess? And how did the political environments of their new kingdoms affect their marriages and their families? Sharon Bennett Connolly explores these questions in her latest book, “Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest.”
When we consider the issue of succession, we often imagine the crown being passed to the next legitimate heir, regardless of gender, but that was not always the case. We think about the struggles that women like Mary I and Elizabeth I endured to secure and stay on the throne, but one woman came before them so close to becoming England’s first ruling queen. She was the daughter of King Henry I and the next in line to the throne after her brother tragically died, but after her father passed away, it was her cousin Stephen who usurped the throne. The war for the crown which would last decades would be known as The Anarchy is the primary focus for Sharon Kay Penman’s novel, “When Christ and His Saints Slept.”
A legendary Queen of both France and England. A wife who went on the Crusades with her first husband and chose her second husband. A fierce mother who defended her Plantagenet children no matter the cost. Eleanor of Aquitaine has been revered and reviled for centuries, some saying she was a powerful woman ahead of her time while others considered her someone who could manipulate those around her by having affairs, including supposedly with her uncle in Antioch. Her story has been told in numerous ways through different mediums throughout the centuries, but now Elizabeth Chadwick has decided to write her interpretation of Eleanor of Aquitaine’s life in a trilogy of historical fiction novels. The first in the series, “The Summer Queen,” explores Eleanor’s early years, her marriage to a young French king, and the man destined to become King of England.
Civil wars, clashes between cousins, are known to be full of battles between men on foot and horseback, with their eyes set on the throne of their desired country. Many stories of civil wars tend to leave out the women who often were left on the sidelines, ready to pick up the pieces. The story of the Anarchy is a bit different than other civil wars as one of the main figures was not a man, but Empress Matilda, the daughter of King Henry I and the rightful heiress of England facing off against the man who stole the throne from her, her cousin, King Stephen. However, it was not just Empress Matilda who defined what it meant to be a woman during the Anarchy. In her latest book, “Women of the Anarchy,” Sharon Bennett Connolly tells the stories of the mothers, sisters, and wives who defined this turbulent period that saw the end of one dynasty and the beginning of another.
A life of luxury from birth, destined to be crowned King or Queen of England. This is what we often think life must have been like for royal heirs who reached the ultimate destination of a crown and a throne. However, the stories of those who failed to reach the throne are mired in tragedy and heartache. The question of royal succession in England is a complex issue, especially when the heir to the throne dies unexpectedly, leaving doubts on whether a dynasty will survive through blood or dissolve in conflict. How did the deaths of these potential rulers radically transform the fabric of English history as a whole and what can their lives tell us about what kind of rulers they might have been? Ashley Mantle hopes to answer all of these questions and more in his latest book, “Uncrowned: Royal Heirs Who Didn’t Take the Throne.”
When we think about medieval women, we often think about very pious figures who relied on men, had numerous children, and would often fade into obscurity when they died. While this would be the ultimate fate for many women, it was not so for those close to thrones worldwide. In times of war and political upheaval, the daughters, the wives, and the queens picked up the pieces and patched their respective kingdoms back together. In her latest book, “Women of Power: Formidable Queens of the Medieval World,” Teresa Cole has chosen a select group of women to highlight her point about the strength of women who held power in the Middle Ages.
A nautical disaster has left Henry I of England in a bind. His only legitimate child is his daughter Matilda, the former Holy Roman Empress. Matilda’s path to the throne may seem straightforward as she has the oaths of all the leading men in the kingdom and a new younger husband named Geoffrey of Anjou, but things take a drastic turn when Henry I dies. Chaos reigns supreme as her cousin, Stephen of Blois, is declared King of England. Matilda knows that the throne is rightfully hers, and she will fight tooth and nail to recover what has been lost. Her story is told in Carol McGrath’s latest novel, “The Stolen Crown.”
The year 1120 was a horrible year for King Henry I. His only legitimate son William died when his ship, The White Ship, sank in the middle of the night. This tragedy left Henry with one option, his legitimate daughter Matilda, the former Holy Roman Empress, would become Queen of England, and her sons would continue the royal line. Unfortunately, Matilda’s throne was taken by Stephen of Blois, and now Matilda must join forces with her stepmother Her stepmother Adeliza has always stood by Matilda’s side. Still, when she remarries after Henry’s death, Adeliza struggles to support the rightful queen but stays loyal to her new husband, who supports Stephen. Matilda and Adeliza are caught in the middle of the Anarchy in Elizabeth Chadwick’s novel, “Lady of the English.”
In human history, when citizens have disagreed with a new law or those in charge, they often stage a protest to show their frustration. When their voices are not heard, people often turn to rebellions and revolts to make sure their opinions matter. We might think that revolution and rebellion as a form of protest are modern ideas, but they go back for centuries. Revolutions and rebellions shaped history, no more so than in the middle ages. In his latest book, “Rebellion in the Middle Ages: Fight Against the Crown,” Matthew Lewis examines the origins of the most famous rebellions in medieval England and how they transformed the course of history.
Adventures of a Tudor Nerd 