Book Review - Jane the Quene by Janet Wertman

Author Janet Wertman gives readers an inside look at Henry VIII's court from the perspective of young and innocent Jane Seymour as she falls in love with the handsome and flirtatious King Henry while he is still married to the queen who will soon be dubbed a witch, Anne Boleyn. Wertman brings what I have always thought of as the 'dull and simple' queen to beautiful light, breathing personality, honour and duty to Jane's background and time in court.

Wertman is an ace with her descriptions of the deceit and court politics, taking us away from Jane's point of view when necessary, into Cromwell's where we get a firm grasp of behind-the-scenes plotting. I much preferred Jane's point of view where there are scenes where I had actual gooseflesh when reading, especially during the downfall of Boleyn and near Jane's own end. Jane's courtship with Henry was highly engaging and brought forth a gentler Henry without disregarding his dangerous side and Jane sees it all but humbly accepts what she is duty bound to be: the bearer of Henry's only legitimate male heir. I was kept intrigued, despite being already very familiar with the events, and found the narrative difficult to fault. There are a few modern phrases that make an appearance, but Wertman blended them into the text in such a way that they are not only forgiveable, but help the modern reader grasp the era feel without being limited to the archaic (but beautiful) and difficult language of the Tudor court (for anyone wanting to grasp a sample, please look up some of Anne Boleyn's letters to Henry, both during her courtship and her 'supposed' last letter to Henry during her time in the Tower).

This book is ideal for newcomers to the subject as Wertman takes the reader gently by the hand and helps them navigate through the intrigue, court politics, and Tudor mindset with ease, but as a lover of all things Tudor, I found myself still intrigued with this new Jane, who I feel Wertman brought to life in a way that makes me understand her as a woman and a queen of the era. A well researched and well presented read. If you have a love of history, read this book. If you enjoy the Tudor era, read this book. If you thought only Anne Boleyn was worth reading about, you'll know better after... well, you know. Just be warned – there are more books to follow, this is only the first of Wertman's literary gems.

Tudor Mysteries, Moves, and HNS

It's been ten months since the relocation – we still have some boxes in the garage and everyone is settled in their new work/school routine. I expected that a move to such a sunny location would alter my writing from the Tudor feel I was after, but instead it has helped me dive deeper into the era somehow. With my dedicated writing room/library (the former formal dining room, we've never had one of these, so there is no need to start now) I've been whizzing through scenes of intrigue and betrayal, inns and court, kirtle and... well, you get the picture. Having spent all of 2014 in dedicated research, by January I was ready to write. By late June I had a strong working draft and by September, I had an edited version for my trial readers.

Now that most of the dust has settled and book one is drafted and edited (currently going through another edit), the timing of the Historical Novel Society's 2016 Oxford conference tickets being on sale was just right. I've booked my place at the conference, accommodation and evening costume gala, which, I do believe means I'll be the only one in my group of historical fiction friends who will be dressed as a Tudor; the rest of them seem to be Georgian-heavy. As I'm used to sticking out like a sore thumb everywhere I go, this is probably a good thing (or, at least, in my comfort zone). This means getting out the continuing work-in-progress known as the Tudor gown and getting some appropriate Tudor undergarments (Elizabethan era rather than early Henrician as my story is set, but hey).

With England in my sights again, I've also put together a Tudor tour so I can go back to both Hever Castle and Framlingham Castle (book two is set mostly at Framlingham Castle) since my photos were lost in transit due to a bad memory stick and a defunct laptop; my current WIP was the only thing to go smoothly in the past twelve months.

Which, somehow brings me back to the manuscript. I had sent it out to US agents and also one UK agent who had invited me to submit at the last HNS (still pending a response, I know they are busy) and I wasn't sure if I was going to be happy having my book with US spelling (something I'm not fond of), so I've made the decision to keep it to UK English. Sounds like such a simple thing, but writing Tudor era stories with a modern edge to keep the speech intelligible to the general public is hard enough, dropping the extra vowels that are so unique to UK English is a soul-killer.

I've also finally joined the Historical Novel Society as a member and am looking forward to getting more involved and writing up more research-based blogs. Happy days!

Battle of Flodden

The Battle of Flodden, which took place in Northumberland’s Brainston Moor, was a victory for England and the death of Scotland’s King James IV, who died in the battle. Although the English forces were headed by the Earl of Surrey (Thomas Howard, 2^nd Duke of Norfolk), it was Queen Catherine who, heavily pregnant, rode out in full armour to address the troops before battle.

War with Scotland was personal – it was the King’s brother-in-law, James IV who declared war on England while England was making war with France.  James IV wrote to Henry VIII on 24 May, 1513, stating that he had received word from France that England might invade, and that if Henry invaded France, Scotland in turn would invade England. Scotland’s alliance (known as the Auld Alliance) supported France and were anit-Papist reformers. More specifically, England and Spain were allies with League of the Cambrai, the Catholic League, which was under attack from France who was invading Italy. While England attacked France, Scotland supported France by attacking England. Queen Catherine, a daughter of Spain and devout Catholic, kept Henry’s England highly influenced by Spain and the Pope until she fell out of Henry’s favour many years later. Adding to this was the already turbulent relationship between Scotland and England which, never a strong alliance, had reached critical breaking point when Robert Kerr, a Scottish East March warden was murdered (not to mention that Henry outraged James by claiming Scotland as one of his territories).

Fighting on two or more fronts always weakens an army, so when the King and his troops gathered arms and fought for two years in France, it was up to Queen Regent, Catherine of Aragon to sort things out on the northern borders of England while Scotland was trying to invade. Catherine proved herself to be a trustworthy Regent and leader at the time. The Battle of Flodden was not the end of Anglo-Scots tension or wars, but with James IV dead and his son and successor only 17 months old, it cooled their attack for many years to come.

Catherine may have succeeded in rousing troops to victory, but her joy was short lived as her newborn child died only days after he was born in October.

 

sources: 'Henry VIII: May 1513, 21-31', Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 1: 1509-1514 (1920)
Scottisharchivesforschool.org
and Wiki