Tudor, mediaeval and royal historian, writer, broadcaster and consultant; Elizabeth is the author of twelve acclaimed books specialising in the queens of England and the Tudor period.
Elizabeth’s most recent books are the critically acclaimed ‘The Lives of Tudor Women’ and ‘The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor’. She is also the author of a biography of Margaret Beaufort and four of Henry VIII’s wives, amongst other titles. Her research into the women who featured in the period covered by Hilary Mantel’s trilogy, is extensively based on the historical evidence, and her book; Anne Boleyn: In Her Own Words & the Words of Those Who Knew Her, for the first time makes it possible to view the real Anne Boleyn through her own words and the words of her contemporaries.
Elizabeth is also the author of the first biography of Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s True Love and at the weekend she will look in detail at the downfall of Anne who in part lost her head because her royal husband’s eyes were now on Jane, the maid from Wolf Hall.
Elizabeth explains, ‘Jane Seymour is often portrayed as meek and mild and as the most successful, but one of the least significant, of Henry VIII’s wives. The real Jane was a very different character, demure and submissive yet with a ruthless streak – as Anne Boleyn was being tried for treason, Jane was choosing her wedding dress. From the lowliest origins of any of Henry’s wives her rise shows an ambition every bit as great as Anne’s.’
Hilary Mantel weaves the character of Thomas Cromwell into that triangulated dynamic between the two queens and their king and in her talk Elizabeth will examine the historical evidence of his involvement as the enabler of the king’s desire. Wolf Hall is of course the childhood home of Jane Seymour and even before the King’s disenchantment with Anne, the symbolic role of the seat of the Seymour dynasty is set at the heart of the Hilary’s story.
The final sentence of Wolf Hall – the first volume of the trilogy – Cromwell writes almost fatefully in the King’s itinerary for the end of the summer of 1535:
‘Early September. Five Days. Wolf Hall.’
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