Please help fuel my Tudor addiction

[IvaNighSpare]

(have posted this in both fiction and non fiction)

I'm currently working my way rapidly through my DVD box-set of The Tudors and it has fired my interest in the actual history of the times, particularly during Henry VIII's reign.
Could anyone reccommend any books that make interesting reading that don't read like school history books [yawn] and are truer to the facts than the efforts of Phillippa Gregory?

Thanks

Try Alison Weir's books - I love them, and they are most definitely factual!

Ooops, just looked on Amazon and see she has now written some fiction too . I was meaning this and this

Have just started a C J Sansom book. There are a series of 'Shardlake' books all set in Tudor times.

Lots of people say they're v v good (I'm only a few pages in so far).

Here we go

Definitely try Alison Weir. I find her books very accessible, but also historically accurate. I enjoyed all of the following by her: "Elizabeth, The Queen", "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" and "Children of ENgland: The heirs Of King Henry VIII".

She also wrote a fictional account of the early years of Elizabeth I ("The Lady Elizabeth. This was largely based on fact, but, in AW's own admission, spiced up a bit. If I remember correctly, in the novel ELizabeth had an early pregnancy in her younger days, but that probably never actually happened. I didn't much like the novel, as it seemed a little light on characterisation, but it's a easy read.

This is very interesting too. I know you weren't looking for a history book but it's very readable.

Antonia fraser's books are amazing. I like philippa gregory's books better than alison weir's fiction ones.

David Starkey's books on Elizabeth I's early years and Henry VII's wives are really really interesting and very anecdotal so to me don't read like school text books at all. I rattled through them and found them absolutely fascinating.

What about Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel?

Legacy by Susan Kay is superb, really worth a read.

Also highly recommend David Starky, not keen on Phillipa Gregory as a lot of it is really inacuarate.

Definitely read CJ Sansom. Brilliant whodunnit novels. 4 of them. one more coming out in summer.

Would second Antonia Fraser- it might make her a questionable historian, but you can tell her books are written from a woman's perspective often and it makes good, thought provoking reading.

Also Queen of Subtleties by Suzannah Dunn, fabulous book about Anne Boleyn.

Second Susan Kays Legacy - its just ace! have read it a few times and in fact now you have reminded me of it, I am going to go and dig it out and read it again!

Iva: erm, I have heard it said that Philippa Gregory's novels are more historically accurate than the 'Tudors' series on tv.

I second the recommendation of Alison Weir and also of H Mantel's 'Wolf Hall'.

Am going to follow up other suggestions on this thread too, apart from Fraser (I read her 'Mary Queen of Scots' years ago, and think there's quite a bit of fiction woven into that 'history') and Starkey (haven't read anything by him, but have seen him on tv and I just don't think (heresy) that he's a great historian).

This probably makes me sound really narky! I'm not, honest - and am looking forward to following up a couple of suggestions on this thread!

Wolf Hall is utterly brilliant.

Alison Weir also good, but I find Phillippa Gregory almost unreadably badly written. It might be accurate, but she sprinkles the facts in so clumsily.

Are Jean Plaidy books still in print. They were supposed to be very accurate and I enjoyed them many many years ago.

I know what you mean Mazzy. I loved 'The Other Boleyn Girl', tore into a heap of her others and was so disappointed with the writing.

I recently read The Lady Penelope by Sally Varlow.

It was about Penelope Devereux, sister to Earl of Essex, related to QEII - bit later than Henry VIII but still a fascinating insight into the late Tudor period.

Not quite a history book but not a novel. I found it quite readable.

If you fancy going back a bit further, Sharon Penman is great. 'The Sunne in Splendour' about Edward iv/Richard iii is marvellous.

I'm not entirely sure of her historical accuracy, but she's a lovely storyteller. She's done various books on Llewelyn of Wales/King John, Simon de Montfort, Henry ii and after each one I've read up on some non-fiction about the era as she presents it in such a fascinating way.

Hmm, bit gushy that

Sharon Penman is utterly marvelous, really wonderful writer.

Also Dorothy Dunnett is just sublime, her Lymond series is set during the Tudor period but covers the French and Scottish courts of the time, even the Russion court of Ivan the terrible. The last book, Checkmate, is set in Marys tudor court.

I cannot recommend them highly enough, pure genious, I challenge you not to fall in love with the lead character.

[swoon emoticon]

Wolf Hall! Wolf Hall! Wolf Hall!