English royal history is filled with fantastic stories of triumphs and tribulations, grand romances, and divorces that shook the foundations of the monarchy. It is also filled with struggles over religion, wars both inside England and with foreign nations, and heartbreaking child losses. We often think about the spouses of the Plantagenets and the Tudors when we think about royal romances, but we shouldn’t forget about the dynasties that came after, like the Stuarts. So how did the Stuart dynasty come to be and how did the unions between monarchs and their significant others affect the dynasty and England? Heather R. Darsie explores this often-overlooked dynasty and the stories of their marriages and romances in her latest book, “Stuart Spouses: A Compendium of Consorts from James I of Scotland to Queen Anne of Great Britain.”
I want to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I didn’t know much about the Stuarts before reading this book, except for those associated with the Plantagenets and the Tudors. I wanted to learn more about the Stuarts because I tend to stop after the death of Elizabeth I, so when I heard that Darsie was writing a book about the consorts of the Stuart dynasty, it was intriguing to me.
Darsie begins by explaining that she will be exploring the entirety of the Stuart dynasty, starting with its patriarch Walter Fitzalan, Stewart of Scotland for David I of Scotland in the 1100s. It is a fascinating story of how the family went from serving the monarchy to being the rulers of Scotland, all the way up to 1406 when James I became King of Scotland. The first royal consort that Darsie discusses might be familiar to anyone who knows about the origins of the Tudors, Joan Beaufort. We then track the Scottish story of the Stuarts through the death of Mary Queen of Scots through their significant others such as Mary of Guelders, Margaret of Denmark, Margaret Tudor, Madeleine of Valois, Marie de Guise, Francis II of France, Henry Stewart Lord Darnley, and James Hepburn 4th Earl of Bothwell.
It was under James VI of Scotland that things changed drastically for both England and Scotland as James became King James I of England with the death of Elizabeth I, and so James’ wife Anna of Denmark became the first Stuart Queen of England. This is the segment that I thoroughly enjoyed because they were new stories for me. We have Henriette Marie of France, a Catholic queen who married Charles I who was a Protestant, which did not have a happy ending as we get to see the English Civil War play out and the execution of Charles I on January 30, 1649. Darsie also includes the stories of the women who married Oliver Cromwell and his son Richard Cromwell, both Lord Protectors of England when the monarchy was not popular. Eventually, the Stuarts returned to their place on the English throne with Charles II and his queen Catherine of Braganza; followed by the women who married James Stewart Duke of York, Anne Hyde and Mary of Modena. James would become James II before the Glorious Revolution led by William of Orange, which led to the co-rulers William III and Mary II. Finally, we reach the tragic tale of Queen Anne of Great Britain and her Prince Consort George of Denmark.
I was so impressed with the amount of stories over centuries that Darsie was able to cover in this book. It was a fantastic introduction to Scottish Stuart history, how the dynasty survived, and created international relationships that allowed England to thrive. There were tales of tragedies, but there were also alliances that created stronger bonds, religious rifts, and romances. This was another triumph for Darsie and it is a book that made me interested in reading more about the Stuarts. If you are like me and you want a book that is a fantastic introduction to the Stuart monarchs and their consorts, I highly recommend you read, “Stuart Spouses: A Compendium of Consorts from James I of Scotland to Queen Anne of Great Britain” by Heather R. Darsie.
As humans, we love a good love story. Tales of courtships, grand confessions of love, over-the-top weddings, and marriages that last decades. These seem like high expectations, especially when we compare these expectations to royal courtships of the past. The majority of royals married and they were more focused on political matches instead of love. However, few chose a different path altogether, they decided to be single. One of the most famous monarchs with a single status was Queen Elizabeth I of England, the Virgin Queen So why did Elizabeth stay single throughout her reign, and how did she navigate her numerous suitors? Carol Ann Lloyd tries to answer these questions in her latest book, “Courting the Virgin Queen: Queen Elizabeth I and Her Suitors.”
The royal dynasties of English history are some of the most popular in European history. We have the Normans, the Angevins, the Plantagenets, who occupied the throne for 300 years, the Scottish Stuarts who saw religious change and political upheaval, the haughty Hanovers, and the current Windsor dynasty. However, one dynasty that has captured the imagination of history nerds for centuries has been the tumultuous Tudors. In book two of Peter Ackroyd’s “The History of England: Tudors,” he explores the stories that made the Tudor dynasty so infamous.
England is a nation that is rich in history and conflicts galore. Through the centuries, England has seen so much change. Many of us know the stories of the medieval and the Tudor kings and queens of England, covered in numerous books, but Peter Ackroyd has taken this concept a step forward. Ackroyd embarked on an epic quest to chronicle the history of England from its prehistoric origins to the modern age. In “Foundation: The History of England From Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors,” Peter Ackroyd begins his epic journey into the past to explore the origins of English history.
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.”
I am pleased to welcome Judith Arnopp to my blog today to share a blurb for her latest book, “How to Dress Like a Tudor.” I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books, The Coffee Pot Book Club, and Judith Arnopp for allowing me to be part of this blog tour. 
Blurb:
Author Bio:
When we think of old homes, we often think of the phrase, “If walls could talk,” because the true treasure of any home is not the floorboards or the walls, but rather the stories of those who lived inside its walls. Take, for example, Hampton Court Palace in England. A home for over 500 years that has seen many architectural and artistic changes in its hallowed halls, but it is the stories of those who stayed for brief periods that truly make this palace spectacular. Stories full of salacious scandals, religious implications, and revelations that would shake England to its core through revolutions. Hampton Court Palace has been the center of English court drama for centuries and finally, these tantalizing tales are being told in a truly remarkable book, “The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court” by Gareth Russell.
The story of the Boleyn family in the 16th century and their ultimate fall from grace has been told for centuries. However, there is a more intriguing tale hidden in the Boleyn family tree. The origins of the family and how they became such a dynamic family that revolutionized the 16th century. How did this family of peasants rise through the ranks to have one of their own become the Queen of England? It is a tale of struggle, survival, and triumph that is told in Claire Martin’s debut book, “Heirs of Ambition: The Making of the Boleyns.”
The story of the Tudor dynasty has been told in numerous different ways. We know the major figures, the significant events, and the stories of their love lives. We understand how they changed the history of England and Europe forever, but these are just the basic facts. If we look at the numbers surrounding the dynasty, what type of story does it tell? This is the approach Carol Ann Lloyd has taken in her debut book, “The Tudors by Numbers: The Stories and Statistics Behind England’s Most Infamous Royal Dynasty.”
When we think about the Tudor dynasty, we often focus on the women in King Henry VIII’s life and his children, at least when it comes to novels. Writing about this larger-than-life figure, this notorious king and controversial figure in English history, are usually considered ambitious. Few have attempted to write a book about the king’s entire reign, but Alison Weir has embarked on this endeavor in her latest novel, “The King’s Pleasure: A Novel of Henry VIII.”