Genealogy Forum UK

I borrowed The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (from the library).
How complicated was that period in history? Middle 15th century seems to have been a nasty mess of battles and side-switching shenanigans. Obviously this book is fictionalised but still my mind boggles at the idea of what went on. Just getting to the bit where the Princes in the Tower are about to....whatever it was. Their uncle has already been found guilty of treason and, given a choice of death method, opted for drowing in a barrel of malmsey wine. That was on Feb 18th 1478.

I love reading books based on historical events.
The Tudors and The Plantagenants being my special favourite times although lately i'm tending to be attracted to the middle 19th century country life ( Lark Rise to Candleford methinks) and also the fact that i found out that ancestors of mine were farmers in North Oxfordshire around the period that the series is set in!!

Rob I also am into History most of the Leedham family are from Stoke Golding birthplace of the Tudor Dynasty.
A lot of family were farmers in Leicestershire amongst other trades.
Mike.

C.J. Sansom has a series of books called the Matthew Shardlake series which are set in the reign of Henry VIII. Shardlake is the main character who is a hunchbacked lawyer. The first book is Dissolution then Dark Fire, Sovereign and Revelation which really need to be read in that order. They are brilliant books. You can really smell and imagine the living conditions in the way that Sansom describes London in the 1500s. I've just seen that Sansom has released a new book in the series called Heartstone. These are really "Must Read" books.

They sound good BCW. And the library has them so I'll see how the first one is

BC Wench wrote:C.J. Sansom has a series of books called the Matthew Shardlake series which are set in the reign of Henry VIII. Shardlake is the main character who is a hunchbacked lawyer. The first book is Dissolution then Dark Fire, Sovereign and Revelation which really need to be read in that order. They are brilliant books. You can really smell and imagine the living conditions in the way that Sansom describes London in the 1500s. I've just seen that Sansom has released a new book in the series called Heartstone. These are really "Must Read" books.

thanks for that BC wench
I fancy that lot
have you seen the Tudors!
I enjoyed that set watched it twice....bit naughty in parts but the setting was brill

I used to read a huge amount but BCC sort of stopped that
need to get back to it

I love Torey Hayden books
or Michael Connelly

BC Wench wrote:C.J. Sansom has a series of books called the Matthew Shardlake series which are set in the reign of Henry VIII. Shardlake is the main character who is a hunchbacked lawyer. The first book is Dissolution then Dark Fire, Sovereign and Revelation which really need to be read in that order. They are brilliant books. You can really smell and imagine the living conditions in the way that Sansom describes London in the 1500s. I've just seen that Sansom has released a new book in the series called Heartstone. These are really "Must Read" books.

Loved the Shardlake series, and can heartily recommend Susanna Gregory's Thomas Challoner books - The Butcher of Smithfield, Blood on the Strand, A Murder on London Bridge. As their titles suggest the location is London but a London teeming with spies and subterfuge and as BCWench says about C J Sansom - you can really smell the streets and experience the squalor (from a distance), and for fast paced action they take some beating!

But beware - make sure you read them in the correct order!!!!!!

The talk about superstitions got me interested in where some of Mom's might have come from.

Ended up reading this wonderfull book published in 1886 called "Shropshire folk-lore".

I am afraid my grasp of salonian is slim so some of the rhymes don't make sense but still, very interesting read.

http://www.archive.org/stream/shropshirefolkl01jackgoog#page/n0/mode/1up

Teifi wrote:

BC Wench wrote:C.J. Sansom has a series of books called the Matthew Shardlake series which are set in the reign of Henry VIII. Shardlake is the main character who is a hunchbacked lawyer. The first book is Dissolution then Dark Fire, Sovereign and Revelation which really need to be read in that order. They are brilliant books. You can really smell and imagine the living conditions in the way that Sansom describes London in the 1500s. I've just seen that Sansom has released a new book in the series called Heartstone. These are really "Must Read" books.

Loved the Shardlake series, and can heartily recommend Susanna Gregory's Thomas Challoner books - The Butcher of Smithfield, Blood on the Strand, A Murder on London Bridge. As their titles suggest the location is London but a London teeming with spies and subterfuge and as BCWench says about C J Sansom - you can really smell the streets and experience the squalor (from a distance), and for fast paced action they take some beating!

But beware - make sure you read them in the correct order!!!!!!

Thanks for that Teifi will give them a try.