The Tudors in Love
Passion and Politics in the Age of England's Most Famous Dynasty
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ISBN10: 1250271428
ISBN13: 9781250271426
Hardcover
400 Pages
$29.99
CA$39.99
Why did Henry VIII marry six times? Why did Anne Boleyn have to die? Why did Elizabeth I's courtiers hail her as a goddess come to earth?
The dramas of courtly love have captivated centuries of readers and dreamers. Yet too often they're dismissed as something existing only in books and song—those old legends of King Arthur and chivalric fantasy.
Not so. In this ground-breaking history, Sarah Gristwood reveals the way courtly love made and marred the Tudor dynasty. From Henry VIII declaring himself as the ‘loyal and most assured servant' of Anne Boleyn to the poems lavished on Elizabeth I by her suitors, the Tudors re-enacted the roles of the devoted lovers and capricious mistresses first laid out in the romances of medieval literature. The Tudors in Love dissects the codes of love, desire and power, unveiling romantic obsessions that have shaped the history of the world.
Reviews
Praise for The Tudors in Love
“Gristwood’s prose is as seductive as the subject matter. Be prepared to fall in love.”—The Wall Street Journal
“The disconnection between romance and realpolitik is brutally and entertainingly illuminated by Gristwood.”—The Times (UK)
"A masterclass in marshalling a vast canon of research into a riveting, pacy page-turner."—Alison Weir
"One of the most important books to be written about the Tudors in a generation."—Tracy Borman, author of The Private Lives of the Tudors
"Captivating and entrancing."—Kate Williams, author of Rival Queens
“An engrossing look at how the Tudor dynasty employed the ‘stylish and stylised game’ of courtly love . . . fascinating incidental details add insight and reveal personal connections between historical figures. The result is a fresh and tantalizing look at a much-scrutinized dynasty.”—Publishers Weekly
Reviews from Goodreads
BOOK EXCERPTS
Read an Excerpt
1Chrétien, the Countess and the Chaplain
12th century
OVER THE CENTURIES, the Once and Future Queen has appeared in many guises. But the dominant image of Arthur’s Queen Guinevere, the one that has come...
About the author
Sarah Gristwood
