Elizabeth Norton (1) (1986–)

I've always been fascinated with the period of history from the Plantagenets to the Tudors, encompassing the battle for the crown during the Wars of the Roses to the religious tug-of-war as England's Tudor monarchs switched between Catholic and Protestant. When I think of the Tudors, I first think of Henry VIII but, for once, he has a small part to play in Elizabeth Norton's The Lives of Tudor Women as the Tudor women come to the fore.

I was given a history lesson from the very first page as show more the first thing that I learned was that Queen Elizabeth I was not the first Elizabeth Tudor. In fact, the first Elizabeth Tudor was her aunt, the younger sister of Henry VIII. Elizabeth died when she was 3 so she rarely appears in history books, at least none that I have read. If you google 'Elizabeth Tudor' you will see the familiar face of Good Queen Bess with no mention at all of her aunt. So that was my first clue as to the impeccable research that has gone into this book, the second clue being the massive endnotes and bibliography sections in the back of the book. Clearly, Elizabeth Norton has left no stone unturned in her writing of this Tudor masterpiece.

What I found absolutely riveting about this book were the stories of real women who lived during Tudor times. Although obviously she features in it as the most famous Tudor woman, this isn't a book solely about Elizabeth I. There were some lesser known Elizabeths who caught my eye as I read about the visions of Elizabeth Barton, the Holy Maid of Kent and the persecution of Elizabeth Wright, the Witch of Stapenhill. Each chapter felt like a history lesson but one full of interesting colourful stories rather than one of the history lessons from school that made you fall asleep. The Lives of Tudor Women definitely doesn't read like a text book, so historical fiction fans will very easily make the leap from fiction to fact.

I truly stepped back in time whilst reading The Lives of Tudor Women, I was so immersed in the era that I felt a deep sense of loss as Elizabeth I breathed her last breath and the glorious flame of the Tudor dynasty was snuffed out. It's an absolutely brilliant book giving readers the chance to walk in the footsteps of various Tudor women, and leaving us with a deeper understanding of life in the 16th Century to enable us to fully appreciate the Tudor period. I have no doubt that this will absolutely delight all lovers of Tudor history, especially fans of Alison Weir and Philippa Gregory.

Many thanks to Blake from Head of Zeus for providing a beautiful hardback copy in exchange for an honest review. show less

To the extent that she is known at all, the Saxon Queen Elfrida is notorious for supposedly arranging the murder of her stepson, King Edward, called the Martyr after his death in 978, in favour of her own son by King Edgar, Ethelred, later called the Unready. This book pieces together the sources to present a reasonable picture of her life, probably as extensive as we are ever likely to get. The sources accusing her openly of murder are late and it may be that she was blamed more at the time show more for failing to punish the supporters of her son who were the murderers, rather than necessarily being among their number herself. Nevertheless, her name became quickly notorious for the murder, and her every other action has been interpreted in this light. She was a great religious reformer, re-establishing monasteries and nunneries, but these were seen as acts of atonement for the murder. An interesting individual, her political power and influence may have provided a model for her daughter in law, Emma of Normandy. A fascinating study. show less

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-hidden-lives-of-tudor-women-a-social-history...

An interesting look at the experience of half of the English people during the reigns of the five Tudor monarchs, going from top to bottom – linking the lives and deaths of princesses and queens to what is known of the rest of the population. The framework is around Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of Man, taken as applying to all of us, so from infancy to old age and the various options between.

There are some show more very good bits here; the chapters on crime and religion in particular are fertile ground for the imagination. It’s also interesting to learn of Katherine Fenkyll, a multiply married businesswoman in the City of London. As usual with this sort of book, sadly, the word “Ireland” is missing from the index, and there’s not even much about Wales. But it’s good to come at a well-known subject – life in Tudor England – from a different direction, and I certainly learned as much as I had hoped from it. show less

I loved it. Mainly because I am happy to have all the details of this period of Elizabeth's life assembled in one place along with all the citations (I am deep into my Regina trilogy and there are a couple of pieces I didn't realize - like the fact that this was when Elizabeth Fitzgerald came into Elizabeth's household). I also love non-fiction that reads as smoothly and compellingly as fiction - though without the character arcs of course. I've read some reviews that say Norton should just show more go on and write a novel, but I look at Allison Weir's example and say "please no" (I love Weir's non-fiction but am only "meh" about her novels). show less