Damian Lewis fans line up for Wolf Hall tonight

[Travelledtheworld]

Wednesday 21st January BBC2 Channel 4

lush costumes.

www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/11358197/Damian-Lewiss-inspiration-for-Wolf-Halls-Henry-VIII-Wills-and-Harry.html

Am also enjoying the book recommendations.

LaQ was v helpful when I was discovering Edward IV & RIII.

I read The King's Grey Mare years ago - told you that I'd read a lot of historical fiction Philippa Gregory didn't really discover a neglected period despite what she claims with her Cousins' War series.

I also read Rosemary Hawley Jarman's earlier novel We Speak No Treason. I tried to re-read it a couple of years ago and found it a little overblown.

The Joanna Hickson looks really interesting. Thanks.

Thanks LaQ, that makes more sense. Awful though it is.

A totally different class of production of course, but I really enjoyed The White Queen last year and your mention of Cecily Neville reminds me of a scene where Elizabeth Woodville stands up to her and says you may not like that your son married me, but my mother had FOURTEEN children and I've already proven that I can make boy babies, so NER NER.

(you could make a good drinking game out of the times she went on about her family's fabled fertility)

Where the Jeff have you been LaQ? Been waiting for your view.

I'm not fond of Phiippa Gregory's 'Cousins War' series (and I have read a few). I'll just say 'Melusine' and leave it there .

The Joanna Hickson novel I was referring to earlier is called Red Rose, White Rose - just realised I forgot the title!

We Speak No Treason was really an event, at least in Ricardian circles, when it was first published. I remember my mum (a serious Ricardian) being really excited when she first got hold of it.

I haven't read Crown in Candlelight, can't think why not. I will have to get hold of a copy.

I think Anne's life would have turned out very differently if Elizabeth had been a boy. One of the great what might have been moments in history.

Tarnish, the Katherine Longshore YA about Anne just after returning from France, is very good. She kind of cheats by making Anne as young as she could possibly have been even though it's more likely she was older, so she could make a YA book out of it, but the voice is very convincing.

Melusine features quite a bit in The King's Grey Mare, IIRC.

Lol Flip, Melusine is all you need say.
Why do they do this? Why? Why ruin perfectly good historical stories with sodding supernsupernatural?

I didn't know that about Geoffrey of Anjou!

For anyone who is interested in historical fiction covering that period, I recommend Elizabeth Chadwick's books. Lady of the English is a good place to start.

I really loved Sharon Penman's earlier books - the first one I read was 'Falls the Shadow' - but not so keen on the later ones.

Here be Dragons was my favourite. I couldn't finish The Reckoning; it upset me too much. Not because it was an awful book, but it's just such a dreadfully sad story.

I've never heard of Sharon Penman but will have to read Here be Dragons now - my parents live in N Wales so from reading the synopsis on Wikipedia I think I will be very familiar with some of the locations. And on our next visit there we will have to take DD to Dolwyddelan Castle to feed her addiction to castles!

I dunno, Rylance is not the right actor to play Cromwell who was a really hard man, notwithstanding Mantel's cuddly portrait. I don't think Damien is right for Henry either, although I understand why they cast him as he will sell it the US. Henry was large - fat came later - but he was 6ft 2, athletic frame, with 42inch chest, and not very bright. I don't think you get a sense of what he was actually like from Damien. Neither does Claire Foy strike me as the kind of woman you would break from Rome to marry. So hmm...

Agree re Henry being large, not sure about him not being bright. I don't really buy DL any more than Rylance though.