Horrible Histories

Still revising (yes, I will be for a while) and it's making me a little slap-happy.  Luckily, the BBC has just the tonic....

Friday Five -- Tudor Edition

1.  My favorite Tudor historical fiction:  WOLF HALL by Hilary Mantel.  The book is brilliant, Ms. Mantel is brilliant, and her version of Thomas Cromwell makes him sympathetic and even likable.  I'm both thrilled and terrified that the sequel, BRING UP THE BODIES, will be published a week after GILT.  And disappointed because I won't let myself read it until after I've finished the Royal Circle series -- her characters are so strong and well-drawn, I don't want them to bleed into mine (pun intended).  There is also a BBC drama planned.  Be still my beating heart.

2.  My favorite Tudor non-fiction.  This has got to be a tie between David Starkey's SIX WIVES and Alison Weir's HENRY VIII: THE KING AND HIS COURT.

3.  My favorite Tudor film or television show.  A Man for All Seasons.  Never been a big fan of Thomas More, but the film is brilliant.

4.  My favorite Tudor wife.  Sorry, can't answer that one.  I have great compassion for Anne of Cleves, love Anne Boleyn's vivacity, Catherine of Aragon's strength, Catherine Parr's intelligence.  I wrote a novel about Catherine Howard and wonder how Jane Seymour feels, laid to rest with Henry for all eternity.

5.  Favorite Tudor.  Leaving the realm of the family itself, as well as Henrician times, I'm going to choose Bess of Hardwick.  A tough, intelligent woman who rose from nowhere to become the second-richest woman in the realm (after Elizabeth).  Not an easy thing to do.  My hat goes off to her.

So, what are some of your Tudor favorites?

Why Tudors?

A recurring theme from last week's comments was Tudor love.

"I love all the Tudor drama." -- Eliza
"I've always been fascinated with the Tudor court." -- Hannah Lorraine
"I love the Tudor era! -- picyadri
"I love anything to do with Henry VIII." -- Hannah

And it got me thinking.  Why?  Why do we love these people who lived hundreds of years ago, in what would seem like a different planet to our modern age?  Why do we get caught up in their stories and their dramas, and why do they seem so present - so immediate - in our modern minds?

I have a feeling it's not just the Showtime/BBC series (I've only seen two episodes, but Henry Cavill will always have a place in my heart) because something - something bigger and more culturally potent - threw that series into stardom.

The only answer I can provide is my own.  I began reading about Tudor history to discover if Henry truly was the gross, tyrannical behemoth so easily lampooned by modern comedians.  And learned that Henry is much more complex than I ever imagined.

My second was to find out why this diverse group of women - almost all of them well-educated and obviously intelligent - would marry him.  And their reasons were as diverse as their personalities.  Henry certainly didn't marry a "type".  Which makes him even more complex.

This doesn't come close to why I'm somewhat obsessed by the entire era.  By the wars and religious upheaval.  By the clothes and the jewelry, the food and travel and sports and entertainments.  Compared to how we live now, their ways and traditions are archaic - even barbaric.  But also fascinating - and some even beautiful.

So because I don't have an answer, let me turn it over to you.  Why are you fascinated by the Tudors?  And what is it about them that captures our collective imagination?