The Braganzas: The Rise and Fall of the Ruling Dynasties of Portugal and...
The Braganzas ruled the Kingdom of Portugal from 1640 to 1910 and also the Empire of Brazil from 1822 to 1889. The family boasts plenty of interesting characters from child Emperors to mentally ill...
View ArticleTsarina – Q&A with author Ellen Alpsten
Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten is a novel of the story of Catherine I of Russia, born a peasant named Marta Helena Skowrońska, who became the mistress and later wife of Peter the Great. After his death, she...
View ArticleRoyal Confinements by Jack Dewhurst Book Review
Royal Confinements was first released in 1980 and has recently been re-released with an additional chapter focussing on a few cases post-Queen Victoria. It tracks the obstetric history of the British...
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Book News July 2020
Empress Galla Placidia and the Fall of the Roman Empire Paperback – 27 June 2020 (US) & 30 July 2020 (UK) Despite being one of history’s most important women, the story of Galla Placidia’s life...
View ArticleUncrowned Queen: The Fateful Life of Margaret Beaufort by Nicola Tallis Book...
Lady Margaret Beaufort was born on 31 May 1443 at Bletso as the daughter of Margaret Beauchamp and John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. Her father was the second son of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset,...
View ArticleAnne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan Book Review
Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, remains one of the most controversial and interesting women in history. She was one of the reasons I began my website, and I remember reading everything...
View ArticleSophia: Mother of Kings: The Finest Queen Britain Never Had by Catherine...
Sophia of Hanover would have been Queen of Great Britain if she had lived just a few months longer. In the end, she died only two months before Queen Anne, and it was Sophia’s eldest son who became...
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Book News August 2020
Marie Antoinette’s Confidante: The Rise and Fall of the Princesse de Lamballe Paperback – 30 April 2020 (UK) & 19 August 2020 (US) Marie Antoinette has always fascinated readers worldwide. Yet...
View ArticleStephen and Matilda’s Civil War: Cousins of Anarchy by Matthew Lewis Book Review
When King Henry I of England died, he had just one living legitimate child – a daughter named Matilda. Although many had sworn an oath to accept her as his successor, it was instead her cousin Stephen...
View ArticleLust, Lies and Monarchy: The Secrets Behind Britain’s Royal Portraits by...
It is not often that the title of a book grabs my attention like this and I watched as it was endlessly postponed before finally being released in June. Lust, Lies and Monarchy: The Secrets Behind...
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Book News September 2020
Forbidden Wife: The Life and Trials of Lady Augusta Murray Hardcover – 1 September 2020 (US) & 3 February 2020 (UK) On the night of 4 April 1793, two lovers were preparing to compel a cleric to...
View ArticleMaria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar, Diaries and Letters,...
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia was born on 26 June 1899 (O.S 14 June) as the third daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna. Tragically, she and her entire family were...
View ArticleEdward II’s Nieces: The Clare Sisters: Powerful Pawns of the Crown by Kathryn...
The Clare sisters were the daughters of King Edward II’s sister Joan of Acre and her first husband Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester. They were named Eleanor, Margaret and Elizabeth. With the...
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Book News October 2020
Queen of Versailles: Madame de Maintenon, First Lady of Louis XIV’s France Hardcover – 22 October 2020 (US & UK) The rise to power of Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon (1635-1719), a...
View ArticleForbidden Wife: The Life and Trials of Lady Augusta Murray by Julia Abel...
Lady Augusta Murray was the unrecognised wife of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex. Their marriage in 1793 was in contravention to the Royal Marriages Act 1772, and so it was considered to be...
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Blog Tour: Medical Downfall of the Tudors
*contains an affiliate link* Join us today for the blog tour of Sylvia Barbara Soberton’s new book Medical Downfall of the Tudors with an article called: When did Henry VIII and Katharine of Aragon...
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Book News November 2020
*contains affiliate links* The Lives of Saint Constantina: Introduction, Translations, and Commentaries (Oxford Early Christian Texts) Hardcover – 4 November 2020 (UK) & 4 January 2021 (US)...
View ArticleThe Queen’s Sisters by Sarah J. Hodder Book Review
*contains affiliate links* When King Edward IV of England married the widowed Elizabeth Woodville, she came with a big family, including many sisters. Having their sister as Queen meant that the...
View ArticleThe wedding of Wilhelm and Hermine – A most unwelcome match
On 5 November 1922, an exiled Emperor married a widowed Princess 30 years his junior. It was the wedding of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz (also known as Princess of...
View ArticleThe Imprisoned Princess by Catherine Curzon Book Review
*contains affiliate links* Sophia Dorothea of Celle would have been Queen of Great Britain if she had not divorced the future King George I of Great Britain, but it was not to be. Born from an...
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