Good introduction to tudor history

[WheresTheEvidence]

After a visit to the tower Ive rejuvenated mydesire to learn more about history especially the tudor era. Can anyone offer any reccomendations for books to explore tudor history please? :)

[Thirtyrock39]

Phillipa Gregory books are brill- they're technically fictional but based on real Tudors- the other Boleyn girl is a great one to start with

[WheresTheEvidence]

Thanks :)

[myothernameismyrealone]

Is it fiction you're after, or non-fiction?

Philippa Gregory is a bit (very) loose with historical accuracy, which is fair enough as it's fiction, but definitely take with a pinch of salt - especially her theories on the princes in the tower.

It might be a bit obvious, but two of my favourite books of all time are Wolf Hall / Bring up the Bodies.

For other fiction I'd really recommend the Shardlake series by C J Sansom which starts with the dissolution of the monasteries.

For accessible non-fiction you could go with some David Starkey or Christopher Haigh (absolute staple of A level / degree Tudor studies).

[lucydogz]

If you're after nonfiction, try How to be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman. Very good about everyday life

[eggcellent]

Phillipa Gregory absolutely. I'd recommend The White Queen and The Red Queen to start, and then go into the actual Tudor stuff. You'll get a good idea of The Wars of the Roses that way too

[PerspicaciaTick]

The Time Travellers Guide to Elizabethan England.
Shakespeare's Restless World: An unexpected history in 20 objects.

[DumbledoresApprentice]

Philippa Gregory books are good fun but aren’t what I would go for to learn about Tudor history. I have some recommendations for non-fiction.
Thomas Penn- Winter King
Nicola Schuman- Graven with Diamonds
Anything by Dan Jones
Michael Hicks- Anne Neville

All are enjoyable reads IMO.

[MeltingSnowflake]

There's also a great podcast called Rex Factor - they cover every king and queen of England and Scotland, but you can just listen to all the Tudor ones (although once you've started you'll want to listen to them all!) It's really easy, factual and fun listening.

IMO the English series, which was the 1st series, is better than the Scottish, but they're still definitely worth a listen

[sakura06]

I agree with @PerspicaciaTick about The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England. I love those books. It's more of a social history, than a political one though.

[SecondLifeGamer]

I have recently joined some Tudor groups on facebook. If you are looking for a good book about Tudor History, Ruth Goodman, Has written a very good book about the history of every day Life in Tudor England. It s called HOW TO BE A TUDOR.

[MaMaLa321]

I was just going to come on and suggest the Ruth Goodman book as well!