Brandon - Tudor Knight: 2 (The Brandon Trilogy)

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Having recently read the first instalment I wasn't disappointed. Yes, there are some bits that match the first book but it's expected when the two are from a married couple experiencing the same things. Once again I was enthralled by the details of clothing, atmosphere even sounds described. You can almost hear the sounds of the tiltyard it's described so incredibly well. Tony Riches has again brought the Tudor court to life.

He's fallen in love with King Henry VIII’s sister, Mary Tudor, the beautiful widowed Queen of France. Penry Williams, The Later Tudors: England, 1547–1603 (New Oxford History of England, 1998), chapters 6, 10, 11, 12.The book follows Brandon's life from a young 21 year old who serves tables at the court of Henry VII to becoming one of the highest ranking nobles in England. Brandon's father was standard bearer for Henry Tudor and lost his life at the Battle of Bosworth. He was taken in by his uncle and became friends with Prince Henry. David Loades, "The Reign of Mary Tudor: Historiography and Research", Albion 21.4 (1989): 547–58. online Zagora, Perez. "English History, 1558–1640: A Bibliographical Survey", in Elizabeth Chapin Furber (ed.), Changing views on British history: essays on historical writing since 1939 (Harvard University Press, 1966), pp.119–40

Stater, Victor (ed.), The Political History of Tudor and Stuart England: A Sourcebook (Routledge, 2002) [ ISBNmissing]

We first meet Charles Brandon as a twenty-one year old, newly appointed to the King’s Spears. His father, who was Henry Tudor’s standard bearer, died during the Battle of Bosworth, and Brandon had been brought up at the court of Henry Vll. He became good friends with the young Prince Harry, who was later crowned Henry VIII, teaching him to joust and was one of his favoured group of courtiers. Brandon is clever, ambitious and constantly in debt as he pursues his dream of a knighthood and further advancement. Firstly to his uncle then to Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII’s secretary, and even Henry VIII himself, despite marriages, land grants and wardships that brought him wealth. Elizabeth received eighty such symbolic jewels as New Year’s gifts in January 1587. One of the most popular emblems was a crossbow, which denoted strength and purpose. Other symbols include the serpent for wisdom, an arrow for martial loyalty, a pelican for piety, spires for the direction to heaven and rainbows for the celestial.

Kett's Rebellion began in 1549 in Norfolk; it started as a demonstration against enclosures of common land. The instigator, Robert Kett, was executed for treason. [67] E. W. Ives, "Henry VIII (1491–1547)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2009). Retrieved 8 August 2017. Patterson, Annabel. "Rethinking Tudor Historiography". South Atlantic Quarterly (1993), 92#2, pp: 185–208.Q: Last year you identified an altar cloth from Bacton as originally belonging to an Elizabethan court dress, possibly to the Queen herself. How did it make you feel, coming across this fabric considering how rare the extant Tudor textiles are? Torn between duty to his family and loyalty to the king, Brandon faces an impossible decision: can he accept Anne Boleyn as his new queen?

This book has been on my to-read list ever since it came out. I am a massive fan of Tony Riches work, and I was confident that he would not disappoint, but I have to say, Riches has outdone himself in this unputdownable and exceptional work of Historical Fiction.Tudor Fashion: Dress at Court' by Eleri Lynn was published in the UK by Yale University Press on 4 August 2017. Doran, Susan and Thomas Freeman, eds. Mary Tudor: Old and New Perspectives (Palgrave MacMillan, 2011). Handsome, charismatic and a champion jouster, Sir Charles Brandon is the epitome of a Tudor Knight. A favourite of King Henry VIII, Brandon has a secret. He has fallen in love with Henry’s sister, Mary Tudor, the beautiful widowed Queen of France, and risks everything to marry her without the King’s consent. Ann Weikel, "Mary I (1516–1558)", in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004) doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/18245.