Favourite Tudor Era Novels

SCW · Post by **SCW** » Fri September 7th, 2012, 11:06 pm

Well here are mine
Legacy (about Elizabeth I) by Susan Kay
The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Sat September 8th, 2012, 12:08 am

I can second Legacy.
Now I'm going to have to think. I used to love Tudor fiction as a teen, but revisiting some of my old favorites made me cringe. Definitely better left to rosy memories.

SCW · Post by **SCW** » Sat September 8th, 2012, 8:53 am

Are you referring to Tudor novels by a particular author who has a reputation of being 'very well researched'...but they're not!
I should probably add Green Darkness by Anya Seton

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Sat September 8th, 2012, 10:51 am

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, and C J Sansom's Shardlake novels - have read the first two and they're excellent.

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Sat September 8th, 2012, 2:06 pm

[quote=""SCW""]Are you referring to Tudor novels by a particular author who has a reputation of being 'very well researched'...but they're not!
I should probably add Green Darkness by Anya Seton[/quote]
I'm thinking of The Queen's Grace by Jan Weston -- used to love it. I also liked the Boleyn Inheritance, and The Other Boleyn Girl. Although I don't put much stock in PG's historical veracity, at least in those two she spun a good yarn.
I read Green Darkness rather recently, because my re-enactment guild plays the household of one of the main characters, Anthony Browne. The Tudor part wasn't too bad, but I cringed all through the plot set in the 60s, especially for my Hindu friends who would not have recognized Seton's version of their faith. And the 'hospitalization' bit was so weak -- I mean, a modern hospital debating as to whether someone was alive or dead for TWO MONTHS? Oh give me a break, even in the 60s they had EKGs and EEGs. Plus little details like the lack of decomposition.
Details like that lose me as a reader. If it weren't for the Browne connection, the book would have hit the wall.

Helen_Davis · Post by **Helen_Davis** » Sat September 8th, 2012, 9:29 pm

I liked Kathryn in the Court of Six Queens. To be honest, I'm tired of the Tudors.

I like the ancient world now.

Artasuli · Post by **Artasuli** » Fri April 8th, 2016, 8:09 pm

Having read tons of books in this genre, I had left it. However my interest has been reawakened with Elizabeth I by Margaret George which is a fantastically well written novel. It had been sitting on my shelf for about 2 years and I picked it up as I had nothing else to read. It picks up the story in 1588 around the time of the armada and definitely portrays Elizabeth in a positive note unlike other books I've read. I like the fact that it restricts the narrative to the later years of her life. Not finished yet as it is a long book but I am enjoying it immensely. I had read the Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir which i really did not enjoy. I felt she tried too hard to dumb the story down, which I also felt about her novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine. Maybe her non-fiction is better.

Lisa · Post by **Lisa** » Mon April 11th, 2016, 12:06 pm

Artasuli wrote:Having read tons of books in this genre, I had left it. However my interest has been reawakened with Elizabeth I by Margaret George which is a fantastically well written novel. It had been sitting on my shelf for about 2 years and I picked it up as I had nothing else to read. It picks up the story in 1588 around the time of the armada and definitely portrays Elizabeth in a positive note unlike other books I've read. I like the fact that it restricts the narrative to the later years of her life. Not finished yet as it is a long book but I am enjoying it immensely. I had read the Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir which i really did not enjoy. I felt she tried too hard to dumb the story down, which I also felt about her novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine. Maybe her non-fiction is better.

I also really enjoyed Elizabeth I, I agree it was nice to read something focusing on Elizabeth's later years for a change, unlike all the "young Elizabeth" novels which are plentiful (some are still good though).

And I do agree about Alison Weir, I found Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth rather dumbed down and just not that engaging. I haven't bothered with her later Tudor novels. I found Captive Queen hilarious, couldn't take it seriously at all but it sure was entertaining to read.

Other Tudor novels I've enjoyed are The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George, and The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory, which were very entertaining reads (unlike the rest of PG's Tudor series). I also enjoyed all the Suzannah Dunn Tudor novels I've read, but can't actually remember any of them now so they haven't stick with me.

Nefret · Post by **Nefret** » Fri April 15th, 2016, 9:17 pm

I like Jean Plaidy's Tudor novels. Queen of This Realm is my favourite.

princess garnet · Post by **princess garnet** » Fri April 15th, 2016, 11:20 pm

I passed on Weir's The Lady Elizabeth, however, I read The Marriage Game when it arrived at the library. That one wasn't too bad.

Nefret wrote:I like Jean Plaidy's Tudor novels. Queen of This Realm is my favourite.

I enjoyed reading that one too. Margaret Irwin's trilogy on Elizabeth was the other.

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Favourite Tudor Era Novels

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