Historical Fiction Online

Elfrida was quite a gal wasn't she! They did a pretty good job, although one of the actors reminds me of Sam from the LOTR films.

I get really annoyed when I hear of all those lovely abbeys etc that Henry VIII destroyed, the swine!

Just read the early history on the village website (thanks for that annis) and it's interesting to see the word "celebrity" used so early. Shame there's no mention of JM at the siege though.

Posted by Madeleine

I get really annoyed when I hear of all those lovely abbeys etc that Henry VIII destroyed, the swine

Sansom's "Dissolution" is really good on the destruction of the monasteries- even the roofs were melted down for the lead, and all those wonderful stained glass windows smashed! Worst of all, the monks, nuns and laypeople who were suddenly tossed out into the world with no idea of how to survive.

I've just got round to buying a copy of Prescott's "Man On A Donkey", which has often been recommended to me as being the novel to read about the Dissolution and the Pilgrimage of Grace

Yes I've read Dissolution. Waltham Abbey, which isn't far from me, was another victim - you can see the foundations and sketches of the original building and, whilst the church that's there now is pretty impressive, the Abbey would have rivalled the great cathedrals in size alone.