Review | Princesses Behaving Badly by Linda Rodríguez McRobbie

Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings

by Linda Rodríguez McRobbie

My Rating: 

You think you know her story. You’ve read the Brothers Grimm, you’ve watched the Disney cartoons, you cheered as these virtuous women lived happily ever after. But the lives of real princesses couldn’t be more different. Sure, many were graceful and benevolent leaders—but just as many were ruthless in their quest for power, and all of them had skeletons rattling in their royal closets. Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe was a Nazi spy. Empress Elizabeth of the Austro-Hungarian empire slept wearing a mask of raw veal. Princess Olga of Kiev murdered thousands of men, and Princess Rani Lakshmibai waged war on the battlefield, charging into combat with her toddler son strapped to her back. Princesses Behaving Badly offers minibiographies of all these princesses and dozens more. It’s a fascinating read for history buffs, feminists, and anyone seeking a different kind of bedtime story.

Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery | Quirk Books

I received an eARC of Princesses Behaving Badly from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book combines two of my favourite things: women and history. I've been a history nerd since my childhood and was lucky enough to spend many days out at museums, castles and abbeys that my parents took me to. Looking back, it makes me sad that the only women ever really mentioned in my history lessons at school were Boadicea, Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria. All amazing women in their own right, of course, but what about all the other women who contributed to the world's history who have been completely overshadowed by their male contemporaries?

Princesses Behaving Badly aims to set this bias right, and I think it does a decent job of it; there are lots of women in here I'd heard of before, but there were plenty more I'd either never heard of or had heard of but didn't really know anything about.  For example, I never knew just how tragic the life of George I's wife, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, was. Let's just say George I has quickly become one of my least favourite British monarchs.

There are princesses from all over the world in this book, from many different cultures, races and religions, which I really enjoyed. When we hear 'princess' I think it's easy for us to picture a white, European Guinevere-esque figure - someone from a fairy tale rather than history - so I admire the amount of research that must have gone into the creation of this book to make it so diverse.

I also loved that McRobbie didn't choose to only include the 'nice' princesses, or even the ones that were particularly good at their job. There are women in this book who died defending their country and others who cared more about their wardrobe than war, and by including all of them she hasn't put women on a pedestal but proved that we have been just as diverse as men throughout the centuries.

Having said that, there were some parts that grated on me a little bit. McRobbie has a rant about Disney Princesses in the introduction which I thought was unnecessary, especially as, to me, it came across as 'I'm not like other girls, I don't like Disney princesses because I'm not silly'. I'm not a fan of the belief that Disney teaches girls that they're only worth how pretty other people think they are; I've been a Disney fanatic all my life, so perhaps I'm biased, but one of the reasons I adore Beauty and the Beast so much is because of the message that it's what's inside that counts.

The earlier Disney movies are certainly of their time, but from The Little Mermaid onwards we've had a whole host of strong Disney heroines who are heroic in their own way. No, wearing a pretty dress and a tiara doesn't make you a princess - something another Disney film, The Princess Diaries, addressed excellently - but I'm not going to shame little girls who enjoy wearing dresses and tiaras if it makes them feel empowered.

There were also a few instances where people were described as 'ugly' or 'insane' that made me a bit uncomfortable, especially as these instances didn't agree with other parts of the book. McRobbie criticised Disney for making girls think being a princess is about being beautiful, and then pitied various real life princesses because they hadn't been considered attractive. She also made some excellent points about mental illness not being taken seriously or treated appropriately in the past, only to make throwaway remarks about people being insane. Hypocritical much?

All in all, though, this is a much more positive book than a negative one. This would be an excellent introduction to anyone who wants to learn more about women's history as well as anyone who wants to learn more about history but feels intimidated by non-fiction. This book is written so conversationally that it's a very easy read and there's a wonderful bibliography of further reading included in the back if you want to learn more about any of the princesses involved.

If you're more interested in history that isn't about the royal family then this book probably isn't for you, although the clue's in the title, but wherever your interests lie there are so many fascinating women in this book I think it would be a shame to miss out on learning more about them.

Women's History Month is Coming!

There's only one week left until it's March!

(How frightening is that? Wasn't it Christmas yesterday? I love winter but I do look forward to the spring once Christmas is over, it just seems to come around so fast every year...)

From the 1st - 31st March it's Women's History Month, probably the best month of the year if you're a history nerd like me, and I'm hoping to get some women in history content here on my blog. With any luck I'll have some reviews scheduled and perhaps I'll even be able to write a discussion post or two. Whatever happens, if WHM is something you're interested in then keep your eye on my blog for some kind of content!

Christmas Book Haul!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you're all having a wonderful day, and if you don't celebrate Christmas I wish you a very Merry Sunday all the same!

I've been treated to a bunch of lovely things today, but I thought I'd share with you the pile of shiny new history books I received this Christmas. I'm so excited to read all of them!

The Witches by Stacy Schiff

The Astronomer and the Witch by Ulinka Rublack

The Lives of Tudor Women by Elizabeth Norton

Crown of Blood by Nicola Tallis

Game of Queens by Sarah Gristwood

I'm especially pleased with this pile as #HistoryBooksByWomen was trending on Twitter earlier this month, and I love my women's history and my women historians. I can't wait to get stuck in!

Did Santa leave some books under your tree? Whatever you're doing today, I hope it's wonderful. Merry Christmas!

Non-Fiction November TBR

My reading's been rubbish this year, especially my non-fiction reading, so as this November sees the return of Gemma @ Non Fic Books and Olive @ abookolive's Non-Fiction November I figured it was best I join in!

Like last year there are four categories, but this year's categories are a bit different and a bit more open to interpretation.

New

This could mean you read something about a topic that is new to you, you read a recently published book or you read a book you've recently bought.

I've decided to go with Lucy Jones's Foxes Unearthed for this challenge. I bought it very recently and I believe it was published this year, but the main reason I picked it is because I've yet to read a non-fiction book about wildlife. This book sounds super interesting and I'm really looking forward to reading it.

Fascinating

Essentially the complete opposite of the New category. Fascinating is a chance for you to read a book about a topic you're already interested in or already know a lot about.

For me that's history books, so I'll be reading Fiona Maddocks' Hildegard of Bingen. I've always been interested in Hildegard so I'm looking forward to this biography and to learning a bit more about Medieval history.

Controversial

This is a category for books which can be deemed controversial, but aren't necessarily controversial. I guess to me controversial simply means a book about a topic that gets people talking, or at least gets them thinking.

For this challenge I'll be reading Mona Eltahawy's Headscarves and Hymens, which I've owned for a while now and still haven't read. Whether I agree with everything Eltahawy has to say here or not, I think this'll still be an interesting, eye-opening and important book to read.

Important

This category is for books which you deem to be important to read, a book you think you must read. 

I'm also challenging myself with Native American November this month, so my book for this category is Thomas King's The Inconvenient Indian. This is a book which discusses the history of North America's indigenous people, as well as the way Native Americans and First Nation Canadians are still being treated now. I think it's going to be heartbreaking, but so important to read.

Those are the four books I really want to get through this month, but I also have some other non-fiction books that I'd like to get to this month if I can:

Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race

by Margot Lee Shetterly

The Geek Feminist Revolution

by Kameron Hurley

Female Gothic Histories: Gender, History and the Gothic

by Diana Wallace

Reading Lolita in Tehran

by Azar Nafisi

Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own

by Kate Bolick

Woman Who Brings the Rain: A Memour of Hokkaido, Japan

by Eluned Gramich

The Lost Gardens of Heligan

by Tim Smit

Science in Wonderland: The Scientific Fairy Tales of Victorian Britain

by Melaine Keene

Losing Israel

by Jasmine Donahaye

Shakespeare

by Bill Bryson

Mary Boleyn: 'The Great and Infamous Whore'

by Alison Weir

The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn

by Alison Weir

Elizabeth's Women: The Hidden Story of the Virgin Queen

by Tracy Borman

Witches: A Tale of Sorcery, Scandal and Seduction

by Tracy Borman

How to be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Everyday Life

by Ruth Goodman

Have you read any of these, and if so are there any in particular you'd recommend? Are you taking part in Non-Fiction November this year?

Review | The Creation of Anne Boleyn by Susan Bordo

The Creation of Anne Boleyn: In Search of the Tudors' Most Notorious Queen

by Susan Bordo

My Rating: 

Part biography, part cultural history, The Creation of Anne Boleyn is a fascinating reconstruction of Anne's life and an illuminating look at her afterlife in the popular imagination.

Why is Anne so compelling? Why has she inspired such extreme reactions? What did she really even look like?! And perhaps the most provocative questions concern Anne's death more than her life. How could Henry order the execution of a once beloved wife? Drawing on scholarship and popular culture Bordo probes the complexities of one of history's most infamous relationships.

In her inimitable, straight-talking style Bordo dares to confront the established histories, stepping off the well-trodden paths of Tudoriana to expertly tease out the human being behind the myths.

I've been fascinated with the Tudors since I was a little girl; ever since I learned that Henry VIII had six wives, two of whom he executed, I've wanted to know more about these women who found themselves married to a man who sounded like the worst husband in the world. Once I'd delved into Tudor England, I couldn't break away from it; I became fascinated by the religious turmoil and the turbulence of the dynasty as a whole, from Henry VII's bloody ascension to the throne to Elizabeth I's inspiring but worryingly childless reign.

Like many history fans, particularly Tudor fans, I've been interested in Anne Boleyn since I was very young; the woman for whom the King of England would defy the Pope, only to later become the first English Queen to be executed by the very husband who had sought her so lustfully. Everyone has a different opinion of Anne; some people think she was a Protestant martyr while others think she was a home-wrecking whore, not to mention all the opinions that fall inbetween.

We're fascinated by her because we're almost completely (in my case entirely) certain that she was innocent of all the charges against her, meaning she was innocently put to death. She was witty and intelligent, and the mother of one of the greatest monarchs England has ever seen.

I was recommended this book by a friend of mine, and it sounded like everything I'd ever wanted to read. Rather than a history of Anne's life, The Creation of Anne Boleyn is more about how we perceive Anne; how she's been represented in period dramas and historical fiction and how, ultimately, we'll never know what she was really like because aside from one disputed letter, we have nothing written in her hand. It's worth me pointing out, I think, that if you want a book about Anne's life then these aren't the droids this isn't the book you're looking for.

I loved this book so much. As you'll know if you've been following my blog for a while, I've fallen in love with non-fiction this year, and now that I've read this I'd really like to check out more of Susan Bordo's work.

The usual problem I have with books about Anne Boleyn is that the people who write them put too much of their opinions into them. I know that might sound odd. Don't get me wrong, I always find other people's opinions interesting, but Anne Boleyn seems to bring out such strong opinions in authors and historians that their books irritate me. For example, I'm not a big fan of Philippa Gregory's portrayal of Anne Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl - in fact Bordo discusses Gregory's portrayal as breathing new life into some of the ridiculous insults thrown at Anne, during her lifetime, by rampant Catholic Eustace Chapuys.

Though Bordo is a big fan of Anne's, and it's clear from the way she talks about her that she thinks very highly of her, she also doesn't hesitate to point out how much proof certain theories have. Many historians say things must be true because 'they have a hunch', so Bordo's honesty was very refreshing and made me feel like I was reading a book which had been written fairly.

It's also written well. I think for a lot of people non-fiction can seem intimidating - I know it did for me. For a long time I didn't think I'd ever be able to read non-fiction for my own enjoyment because I associated non-fiction with sifting through dusty old tomes for relevant evidence to back up the arguments I made in the essays during my student years. This year I finally began to read non-fiction for pleasure and in doing so discovered what I've been missing. The Creation of Anne Boleyn isn't a dry book at all; Bordo has a very readable writing style, and nothing's ever too complicated to follow. I wouldn't recommend trying to read this if you know nothing about the Tudors - as I said it's not a history book in the traditional sense, so it's not going to teach you the basics - but to be honest I'd be surprised if this book appealed to people who didn't have some knowledge or interest in that period of history.

What this book does really well is look at Anne Boleyn as a person - a real living, breathing human being - and her cultural impact. Reading this has also sparked my interest in the French court at this period of history, and particularly in the life of Marguerite de Navarre, whom I definitely want to learn a lot more about in future.

If you have any interest in the Tudors, and especially in Anne Boleyn, and you want to read a book about her that doesn't try to figure out whether or not she was guilty for a change, then you need this book in your life.

This Week in Books | 16/12/15

This week I'm joining in with Lipsy @ Lipsyy Lost & Found to talk about the books I've been reading recently!

NOW: This morning I started Val McDermid's non-fiction book, Forensics, in which she looks at how real scientists solve crimes. I'm fascinated by the idea of a writer of crime fiction exploring real crime - something I'm sure she does regularly when she's researching her novels - and so far I'm enjoying it. It's very readable, and I find forensic science really interesting.

THEN: Recently I was in the mood for another Sarah Waters book, so I decided to pick up her debut, Tipping the Velvet. Look out for my review on Friday!

NEXT: I'm in a really non-fiction mood right now, and there's so much I want to try and read before the end of the year, but I think I might at least start making my way through The Creation of Anne Boleyn, in which Susan Bordo explores the ways in which Anne Boleyn has been perceived, from whore to saint. Anne Boleyn is one of my favourite figures from history - I find her so, so interesting, and I'm fascinated by the fact that everyone has an opinion about her, and yet none of us will ever really know what she was like.

What are you reading?

My Non-Fiction TBR

I've really gotten into non-fiction this year, and though I've read more non-fiction this year than I ever thought I'd read there's still so much I'd like to read - the more I read, the more I discover! So, here are some of the non-fiction books I'd like to cross off my TBR soon.

The Creation of Anne Boleyn: In Search of the Tudors' Most Notorious Queen

by Susan Bordo

Part biography, part cultural history, The Creation of Anne Boleyn is a fascinating reconstruction of Anne's life and an illuminating look at her afterlife in the popular imagination.

Why is Anne so compelling? Why has she inspired such extreme reactions? What did she really even look like?! And perhaps the most provocative questions concern Anne's death more than her life. How could Henry order the execution of a once beloved wife? Drawing on scholarship and popular culture Bordo probes the complexities of one of history's most infamous relationships.

In her inimitable, straight-talking style Bordo dares to confront the established histories, stepping off the well-trodden paths of Tudoriana to expertly tease out the human being behind the myths.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Women Writers Explore Their Favorite Fairy Tales

ed. by Kate Bernheimer

Fairy tales are one of the most enduring forms of literature, their plots retold and characters reimagined for centuries. In this elegant and thought-provoking collection of original essays, Kate Bernheimer brings together twenty-eight leading women writers to discuss how these stories helped shape their imaginations, their craft, and our culture. In poetic narratives, personal histories, and penetrating commentary, the assembled authors bare their soul and challenge received wisdom. Eclectic and wide-ranging, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall is essential reading for anyone who has ever been bewitched by the strange and fanciful realm of fairy tales.

Witches: A Tale of Sorcery, Scandal and Seduction

by Tracy Borman

September 1613.

In Belvoir Castle, the heir of one of England’s great noble families falls suddenly and dangerously ill. His body is ‘tormented’ with violent convulsions. Within a few short weeks he will suffer an excruciating death. Soon the whole family will be stricken with the same terrifying symptoms. The second son, the last male of the line, will not survive.

It is said witches are to blame. And so the Earl of Rutland’s sons will not be the last to die.

Witches traces the dramatic events which unfolded at one of England’s oldest and most spectacular castles four hundred years ago. The case is among those which constitute the European witch craze of the 15th-18th centuries, when suspected witches were burned, hanged, or tortured by the thousand. Like those other cases, it is a tale of superstition, the darkest limits of the human imagination and, ultimately, injustice – a reminder of how paranoia and hysteria can create an environment in which nonconformism spells death. But as Tracy Borman reveals here, it is not quite typical. The most powerful and Machiavellian figure of the Jacobean court had a vested interest in events at Belvoir.He would mastermind a conspiracy that has remained hidden for centuries.

The Bookshop Book

by Jen Campbell

Every bookshop has a story.

We’re not talking about rooms that are just full of books. We’re talking about bookshops in barns, disused factories, converted churches and underground car parks. Bookshops on boats, on buses, and in old run-down train stations. Fold-out bookshops, undercover bookshops, this-is-the-best-place-I’ve-ever-been-to-bookshops.

Meet Sarah and her Book Barge sailing across the sea to France; meet Sebastien, in Mongolia, who sells books to herders of the Altai mountains; meet the bookshop in Canada that’s invented the world’s first antiquarian book vending machine. 

And that’s just the beginning. 

From the oldest bookshop in the world, to the smallest you could imagine, The Bookshop Book examines the history of books, talks to authors about their favourite places, and looks at over three hundred weirdly wonderful bookshops across six continents (sadly, we’ve yet to build a bookshop down in the South Pole).

The Bookshop Book is a love letter to bookshops all around the world.

Losing Israel

by Jasmine Donahaye

During a phone call to her mother Jasmine Donahaye stumbled upon the collusion of her kibbutz family in the displacement of Palestinians in 1948 - and earlier, in the 1930s. She set out to learn the facts behind this revelation, and her discoveries challenged everything she thought she knew about the country and her family, transforming her understanding of Israel, and of herself.

In a moving and honest account that spans travel writing, nature writing and memoir, Losing Israel explores the powerful attachments people have to place and to contested national stories. Moving between Wales and Israel, and attempting to reconcile her conflicted feelings rooted in difficult family history and a love of Israel's birds, the author asks challenging questions about homeland and belonging, and the power of stories to shape a landscape.

Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation

by Judith Mackrell

Glamorized, mythologized and demonized - the women of the 1920s prefigured the 1960s in their determination to reinvent the way they lived. Flappers is in part a biography of that restless generation: starting with its first fashionable acts of rebellion just before the Great War, and continuing through to the end of the decade when the Wall Street crash signal led another cataclysmic world change. It focuses on six women who between them exemplified the range and daring of that generation’s spirit.

Diana Cooper, Nancy Cunard, Tallulah Bankhead, Zelda Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker and Tamara de Lempicka were far from typical flappers. Although they danced the Charleston, wore fashionable clothes and partied with the rest of their peers, they made themselves prominent among the artists, icons, and heroines of their age. Talented, reckless and willful, with personalities that transcended their class and background, they re-wrote their destinies in remarkable, entertaining and tragic ways. And between them they blazed the trail of the New Woman around the world.

Reading Lolita in Tehran

by Azar Nafisi

Every Thursday morning in a living room in Iran, over tea and pastries, eight women meet in secret to discuss forbidden works of Western literature. As they lose themselves in the worlds of Lolita, The Great Gatsby andPride and Prejudice, gradually they come to share their own stories, dreams and hopes with each other, and, for a few hours, taste freedom. Azar Nafisi's bestselling memoir is a moving, passionate testament to the transforming power of books, the magic of words and the search for beauty in life's darkest moments.

Are there any non-fiction books you'd like to read soon?

Review | Beyond the Pale: Folklore, Family and the Mystery of our Hidden Genes by Emily Urquhart

Beyond the Pale: Folklore, Family and the Mystery of our Hidden Genes

by Emily Urquhart

My Rating: 

Like any new mother, Emily is thrilled when her first child, a daughter, is born. The baby, Sadie, is healthy and stunningly beautiful, with snow white hair and fair skin. Even the doctors and nurses can’t help a second look at this magical child. But soon a darker current begins to emerge—something is amiss. After three months of testing, Sadie is diagnosed with albinism, a rare genetic condition.

Emily, a folklore scholar and an award-winning journalist, is accustomed to understanding and processing the world through stories. With Sadie at her side, Emily researches the cultural beliefs surrounding albinism and finds a curious history of outlandish tales of magic, and of good and evil reaching back through time, along with present-day atrocities. In some parts of the world, people with albinism are stalked; their condition is seen to bring luck and health as well as danger and death. Investigating the different reactions, in different cultures, to those with albinism, Emily begins to see her child as a connection between worlds.

Part memoir, part cultural critique, and part genetic travelogue, Beyond the Pale is a brave, intimate investigation into the secret histories that each of us carries in our genes and an inspiring and beautiful memoir about parenting a child with a disability—and building a better future for that child.

I feel like this year is the happiest I've felt with my reading habits for the longest time. When you step into book blogging it feels as though you must read what everyone else is reading, not because anyone else tells you that but because, naturally, you want to join in when other bloggers are really excited about a book they've been reading. I really tried, but I don't read primarily YA so a lot of the books that are very popular in the book blogging community tend to pass me by. For a while that bugged me, and now it doesn't because all that matters is that I enjoy blogging and I enjoy reading.

This year I've really gotten into non-fiction. For a while I was convinced non-fiction just wasn't my thing. When I was younger I was interested in stories, in fiction, I wasn't interested in reading a memoir. As I got older most of the non-fiction I read I encountered at university, and when you associate non-fiction with essay writing it can be hard to seek out non-fiction purely for enjoyment's sake. Over the past year or so, however, I've really begun to enjoy non-fiction. I love non-fiction centred around history and historical figures - I'm a huge history nerd - but I've also enjoyed reading some literary criticism and memoirs, and recently I read and enjoyed Beyond the Pale.

I had no idea whatsoever that this book existed until I saw Jen Campbell mention it on her YouTube channel and it sounded fascinating. I knew very little about albinism, but I had encountered it a little during my MA while I was researching witchcraft, and the idea of a folklorist exploring the beliefs surrounding albinism and looking into her own family history sounded right up my street.

Emily Urquhart's writing style is very readable. When she's discussing the early stages of her daughter's diagnosis and the different types of albinism there are it could have been easy for me to get lost - I'm not scientifically minded at all - but I was never confused, nor should I have been. This book isn't a science book, it's a memoir and a travel book and criticism all rolled into one, and while albinism is the focus Emily pays so much more attention to the people with albinism than the condition itself. Everyone she meets is treated with such respect and her daughter, Sadie, is just adorable.

There's a real spectrum of beliefs in this book, from the biblical suggestion that Noah had albinism and therefore the condition is associated with being the child of an angel in Christian theology, to the more heartbreaking realities in Tanzania in which people with albinism literally live in fear of their lives. Some of the stories may be a little hard to read but they're worth reading: it's incredibly important that we don't remain ignorant to some of the atrocities that people with albinism are forced to face on a daily basis.

I really enjoyed this book. It satisfied the craving I've had for non-fiction all year, and once again reminded me to continue to broaden my reading habits. The only reason I gave it four stars rather than five was because I was hoping for a little more along the lines of folklore; after a while it seemed to disappear from the narrative completely other than the times in which Emily reminded us she's a folklorist, but I still really enjoyed reading about her trip to Tanzania and her research into her family history.

Super interesting read, I highly recommend it!

From Screen to Page #1

Welcome to the very first instalment of From Screen to Page! If you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about you can find my announcement for this little series here. This series was supposed to start back in February, and then it just sort of... didn't. Oops!

When it comes to historical films most people who aren't big fans of history or historical fiction have usually seen Shakespeare In Love. In many ways it's a rom-com with costumes, and with a cast like that it's no surprise that so many people enjoy watching it.

For any of you who haven't seen the film, Shakespeare In Love tells the story of, you guessed it, Shakespeare and his fictional affair with a young woman named Viola de Lesseps who longs to be an actress in a time when women were not allowed to perform on the stage. In true Shakespearean fashion, she disguises herself as a man so that she can perform and becomes Shakespeare's most convincing Juliet, as well as the inspiration for Viola in Twelfth Night.

In terms of period films it's not one of my favourites - I'm not a big fan of any films or books in which Shakespeare himself is a character, I'm not entirely sure why - but it is a pretty good film. If you're a fan of the film, there's a book I think you just might like!



Maeve Haran's The Lady and the Poet isn't entirely unlike Shakespeare In Love. There are three big differences: firstly, the writer in question is John Donne, not Shakespeare; secondly, our leading lady, Anne More, was real as was her relationship with Donne; and thirdly, The Lady and the Poet is a little more serious than Shakespeare In Love.

At their heart, however, both of them tell the story of an Early Modern writer and his great love. Donne is most famous for his rather saucy poetry - his most famous poem is 'The Flea' - and he lived a very dramatic life. He was a Catholic during the reign of Elizabeth I, and while we might argue that the Catholics were safer under Elizabeth than the Protestants were under Mary, they were never really 'safe'.

He was appointed chief secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton, the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and subsequently fell in love with his niece, Anne. They married against the wishes of Egerton and Anne's father George More, who just so happened to be the lieutenant of the Tower. Oh dear...

The marriage ruined his career and landed him in Fleet Prison, but thankfully he was only there a short time when his marriage to Anne was proven valid. It was during this time he wrote the famous words: John Donne. Anne Donne. Un-done.

Clearly their marriage was a passionate one, as during sixteen years of marriage Anne bore John twelve children. Twelve. Anne died five days after the still-birth of their twelfth child, and John mourned her deeply, writing his 17th Holy Sonnet:

Since she whom I loved hath paid her last debt
To Nature, and to hers, and my good is dead,
And her soul early into heaven ravishèd,
Wholly on heavenly things my mind is set.
Here the admiring her my mind did whet
To seek thee, God; so streams do show the head;
But though I have found thee, and thou my thirst hast fed,
A holy thirsty dropsy melts me yet.
But why should I beg more love, whenas thou
Dost woo my soul, for hers offering all thine:
And dost not only fear lest I allow
My love to saints and angels, things divine,
But in thy tender jealousy dost doubt
Lest the world, flesh, yea, devil put thee out.

Even if you're not inclined to read The Lady and the Poet, there's no denying that the true story that inspired it is just as romantic as anything penned by Shakespeare. Perhaps even more so.

So if you like Shakespeare In Love, why not check out The Lady and the Poet?

Food from History | Bookies Become Foodies Week!

This week it's Bookies Become Foodies Week over at A Flurry of Ponderings, a week where us book lovers are encouraged to share our favourite books with foods, posts with recipes or show off our cooking/baking skills!

I think you guys know by now that I love me some historical fiction, and as it's a genre that I often write as well as read I've found myself learning a little about various foods people often ate back in 'the good ol' days'. So today I thought I'd share with you a couple of recipes for some historical foods and concoctions - just know that this stuff isn't necessarily yummy...

Sweet Frumenty

Sweet Frumenty is a simple dish that's centuries old, and eventually became a festival dish served at Twelfth Night. It was a wintery dish, but a sign that spring would soon come!

Ingredients

* 140g (5oz) cracked wheat
* 1 pint ale (you can use stock if you prefer)
* 1 large or 2 small eggs
* 1-2 handfuls of currants
* Half a teaspoon of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger
* 3-4 tablespoons of single cream
* A jug of water or stock
* Optional: a generous pinch of saffron

Method

1) Soak the wheat in the ale until it begins to swell, this takes a few hours. (Or boil for 15 minutes and then leave to stand for 15 minutes) Most of the liquid will be absorbed. Add more liquid if the frumenty begins to dry out when cooking.
2) Add the spices, then boil for a few minutes until the wheat is soft.
3) Remove the heat.
4) Add the currants and allow to cool a little.
5) Stir in the beaten egg(s) and the cream.
6) Cook on a low heat, do not allow it to boil.

Plague Drink

Back in the day plague was a big worry. In the 14th century The Black Death killed 60% of Europe's population, and in 1665-1666 100,000 people were killed by The Great Plague. Oddly enough it was another disaster - The Great Fire of London - that helped rid England of the disease. Many people tried to concoct cures for the plague, turning to Mother Nature for their medicines; this is one of them.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT pick and cook plants unless you or someone you are with can detect a poisonous plant from a safe one. Many safe plants have poisonous lookalikes!

Ingredients
* Feverfew, for fever and headaches
* Scabious, for scabs and itching
* Mugwort, for protection from plague
* Dog Rose, to purge the body and protect the lungs
* Mallow, for aches and pains
* Yarrow, for driving away sickness and evil
* Sage, for joint pains
* Grape Juice (can be substituted for ale, wine, or the urine of the victim - yummy!)

Method
1) Take a few of the leaves of each plant.
2) Crush the leaves together with a pestle and mortar until the juices start to be released.
3) Place in a container, pour over the grape juice/ale/wine/urine and stir.
4) Strain the mixture through a suitable weave cloth.
5) Give to the plague victim to drink.

Mmm! So, will you be giving either of these recipes a try? ;)

Is Daenerys Westeros's Henry VII?

Many of you may already know this, but George R. R. Martin was inspired by the Wars of the Roses when he began writing his A Song of Ice and Fire series. The Wars of the Roses were fought between the Houses of Lancaster and York, a war that culminated in the decisive Battle of Bosworth which left Richard III dead, thus ending the line of the Plantagenets, and sat Henry Tudor on the throne, thus beginning the Early Modern age.

By no means do I think A Song of Ice and Fire is merely a fantastical retelling of historical events, but it's difficult not to notice little tips of the hat to figures and events in history which inspire and influence some of the characters in the series.

At first glance, Daenerys Targaryen and Henry Tudor couldn't be any less alike. Daenerys is a beautiful young woman - quite literally the Mother of Dragons - whereas Henry Tudor is a shrewd and ambitious young man who whole-heartedly believes in his claim to the throne. That's where their similarities begin. Henry believed the English throne was his birthright - his mother was a descendent of Edward III, while his father's half-brother was Henry VI - while Daenerys was told similar things about Westeros by her brother, Viserys, thus instilling in her the adamant belief that the Iron Throne is rightfully hers.

Both Daenerys and Henry grew up across the water, waiting patiently until they could build up an army to travel across the seas and take what they believe to be theirs.

Pembroke Castle

Daenerys was born on Dragonstone, not in King's Landing, and when her life was threatened she and her brother, with the help of some loyal retainers, were able to escape to the Free City of Braavos. Henry was born in Wales, in Pembroke Castle (his uncle, Jasper Tudor, was Earl of Pembroke), to his incredibly young mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, who was only 13 years old when she gave birth to him. When Henry was 14 and Edward IV, a Yorkist, came to the throne, Henry fled to Brittany for fear that staying in England would be too dangerous for him.

Elizabeth of York

He stayed mostly in Brittany for the next 14 years until he decided the time was right to take the throne from the increasingly unpopular Richard III. Henry pledged to marry Edward IV's eldest daughter Elizabeth (you can read more about Henry and Elizabeth's relationship here!). His betrothal to Elizabeth was important as, with the supposed deaths of her brothers, she was the heir to the throne should her childless uncle die. Daenerys is also certainly no stranger to marriage for the sake of conquest, and much like Henry and Elizabeth's relationship, her relationship with Khal Drogo was genuine affection which blossomed within an arranged marriage. 

Catherine of Valois

His first attempt to invade was unsuccessful, but with the support of the French - after all, Henry's paternal grandmother was Catherine of Valois - a second invasion was successful, landing him in Pembrokeshire, near his birthplace, where the Welsh people fervently supported him. Some of them even believed him to be Y Mab Darogan - "The Son of Prophecy" - a figure from Welsh legend who would free the Welsh from English oppression. Previous contenders for the title were figures such as Llywelyn ap Iorwerth and Owain Glyndŵr, who may be familiar to those of you who are fans of Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle.

Henry was no fool. He knew exactly how important Welsh support would be if he was to take the throne from Richard, and so when he met Richard on the battlefield he brandished the Welsh flag on his standard. We're pretty much all familiar with the Targaryen sigil, right? Unsurprisingly, their sigil is a dragon. How many of you outside of the UK are familiar with the Welsh flag?

The Welsh flag

Yep. Turns out Henry had a dragon on his flag, too.

I think we can all agree that Daenerys and Henry are not at all replicas of one another, but I think there are certainly enough similarities there to show the historical influences on Martin's epic series.

What do you think? Are there any other characters you think have links to certain figures from history?