The study of the Tudor dynasty has led us on many different adventures throughout the centuries. We have analyzed this period from numerous angles, from the royals and nobles to the essential lives of those who lived in England during this time. We tend to leave the more intimate moments for historical fiction novels and dramas, but one must wonder what those moments might have been like for those who lived in Tudor England. What were the romantic and the more intimate moments like for the Tudors? In her book, “Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England,” Carol McGrath gives her readers an in-depth look at these private moments.
I want to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I have heard great things about the Sex and Sexuality series by Pen and Sword Books, so when they announced the book about Tudor England, I knew that I wanted to read it.
McGrath begins by informing her readers that to understand how Tudors viewed sex and sexuality, we must know how the Catholic Church and Protestantism viewed sex. We also see what kinds of aphrodisiacs the Tudors found the most effective, where prostitution reigned supreme for a time, how music and dancing influenced courtship. They viewed hygiene and their overall health through the Humours Theory and how the Tudors viewed witchcraft compared to other dynasties that would follow.
She also mentions how those accused of adultery and impotence were tested and tried and how a couple could prevent an unwanted pregnancy. McGrath makes sure that no stone is unturned in this journey to understand better these private moments from love and lust, sex inside and outside of marriage, clothing, and symbols in art.
One complaint with this title was that she spent a little too much time on Henry VIII and his wives. Still, I wanted to see more about other less known Tudor relationships to gain a more comprehensive understanding of different Tudor relationships.
This is a well-written and informative book on the more private moments in Tudor history. They played a dynamic role in our understanding of the Tudors. It is educational, and a fun read for any fan of the Tudor dynasty. If you want to learn more about the more intimate side of the Tudor dynasty, I highly recommend you read “Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England” by Carol McGrath.
When we study history, we tend to focus on specific dates, certain people, and the stories that transformed countries forever, no matter how much of an impact they made. What is difficult about studying history is understanding how they experienced life. What did they see? How did they communicate? What did they hear during a typical day? What smells wafted through the air? How did their view on how the body worked affected what they ate and how they cured their illnesses? In her latest nonfiction book,” Woodsmoke and Sage: The Five Senses 1485-1603: How the Tudors Experienced the World”, Amy Licence has taken on the challenge of explaining the Tudor world that they knew through their senses.
The Tudor era has enchanted generations of history lovers with its interesting monarchs and scandals. The beautiful outfits, the political drama of the age, the legendary marriages of King Henry VIII, the children of Henry VIII, and how England grew into a dominant force in European politics. These are the things that people tend to focus on when studying the Tudors, yet this is a very narrow view of the time period. We tend to focus on the inner workings of the court system, but we don’t focus on the common people who lived in England during this time. What was it like to live in Tudor England for the common people? This is the question that Ruth Goodman explores in her book, “How To Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Everyday Life”. 
Adventures of a Tudor Nerd 