The sequel to Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" will be released next week. It promises to be an amazing reading experience. "Wolf Hall" has become my favourite book of all time. Its literary expressiveness, rich themes, exquisite language and of course, beloved subject has made it an incomparable book, and now, after reading it three times in a row this past months, I am on pins and needles waiting for my copy of the sequel to arrive.

I hope others are excited by this book as well and would like to discuss it here.

The American edition shows a close up of the standard portrait of Anne Boleyn but softened. Here is the link :

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0805090037/ref=dp_image_text_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books


By the way, the title refers to a summons by the justices at Westminster, to the Constable of the Tower to "bring up the bodies of Sir Francis Weston, knt, Henry Norris, Esq., William Brereton, Esq., and Mark Smeaton, gent," for trial.

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As we all know, Anne Boleyn was executed May 19th 1536. Her fall from power occurred in a very short period of time. Anne was a woman in many ways admirable and certainly always fascinating. I thought it might be a valuable pursuit for us to document here, on this thread, the timeline of her last month.

Between now, April 20th and May 19th, let's cite an event for each day leading up to Anne's death.On some days there will be more than one event. Don't jump ahead. Let's look at each day and what happened on that day in 1536. The events are fairly well documented and I hope will offer interesting discussion.

April 20th . In 1536 this was a Thursday. After a meeting a few days before between Cromwell, the King and Chapuys, in which the King was not as enthusiastic about an alliance with the Emperor Charles as Cromwell had made him out to be, a mortified Cromwell retreated to his house in Stepney.

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Hi all,
I am working on a historical novel about Jane Boleyn. I have created a web page, so please feel free to visit if like discussing all things Tudor (which of course you do! :) ) - the link is

http://www.facebook.com/facebook#!/pages/Jane-Boleyn-Lady-Rochford/355416077859201

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I've often wondered if Henry ever regretted the fate that befell his second wife, Anne Boleyn. It is said that he refused contact with their daughter, Elizabeth for some time after her mother's death. She was eventually welcomed back to court though, and it is well known that Elizabeth had the same dark eyes as her mother. I wonder when Henry looked at Elizabeth, did he think of Anne, did he think he made the right decision about her execution. Just a thought!

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Many of us have read Hilary Mantel's novel "Wolf Hall." Many of us would like to read it but perhaps have not had the chance or the time, and some of us are ambivalent about reading it. Whatever the case, this thread is meant to be a place to discuss the novel in detail and also to discuss some of the representations of Tudor life and characters that Mantel offers us.

The novel is controversial, due to both its writing style and its presentation of Thomas Cromwell in a sympathetic light.

The sequel to Wolf Hall is due to come out in May of this year, so this is a good time to read it if that is something that you have wanted to do.

I think a controversial work is a very exciting thing to discuss and I hope that this thread will be lively and entertaining to us all, no matter what your opinion of the novel is. . You may find it brilliant or you may find it frustrating. It is OK to like it or not like it. If you really hate it you will probably stop reading, but if it keeps your interest enough to make valid points then that is welcomed.

I am looking for other people's insights to this novel and to share my own. I am also hoping to be able to discuss the text in detail because I think it is an important contemporary piece of fiction about a subject we are all fascinated by: the Court of King Henry VIII. We know the characters, we know the age, we know the story. So let's lend our minds to this book as well as allow the book to show us something. Let's engage with it as Tudor enthusiasts and see where it takes us.

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I am interested in everyones opinion of who is their favourite wife of Henry VIII. I cant decide between Katharine and Anne.

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Anyone booking their Summer Holiday trip now will be interested to know that if you do happen to stay in the Novotel in Lambeth Road, London, this short-stay hotel is plonked right on the site of what used to be Norfolk House:

http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/18559/5th-may-1542-duchess-agnes-pardoned/#more-18559

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hi there everyone!

i am researching my family background, which involves the king's court for centuries starting with William the Conqueror in 1066. more specifically, i am hunting down information on Sir William Coffyn, who was the Master of the Horse at Anne Boleyn's coronation, and continued as such after Anne's beheading to serve Jane Seymour accordingly.

i've added a bit more info about him in my profile.

while i realize would have made little sense to include such a peripheral character in the script of The Tudors Series, it is still quite interesting to watch the series after often imagining what life was like for my ancestor in this setting.

the reason i am posting here is hoping some other members might have some information, or ability to point me in a good direction, that references Sir William Coffyn - whether anecdotal or not.

one curious bit of information i have regarding the royal courts and my ancestors, for almost 200 years every knight appointed to serve the king was named Richard Coffyn. so much for individuality huh?

i would be most appreciative for any info you might have. perhaps i have some info you could use, as i've done quite a bit of research.

-tristram coffin

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I have learnt something quite odd. In the medieval time, cats were seen as the symbol as the devil. Under her reign, Mary I would have cats burnt because they represented the " devil": the prostestant beliefs. And it when the same under Elizabeth I, for the opposite reason: representation of catholic beliefs.

Here is the link to the video where I learnt this ( It is in French):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUUkiL_tnSg&feature=g-all-u&context=G23d0a1dFAAAAAAAACAA


What do you think of it?

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I am related to Henry through his relationship with mistress Agnes Blewit and their son Richard Edwards:
Henry Tudor (1491 - 1547)
is your 16th great grandfather
Richard Edwards (1525 - 1566)
Son of Henry
Richard Edwards (1566 - 1635)
Son of Richard
Joshua Edwards (1595 - 1664)
Son of Richard
William Edwards (1613 - 1660)
Son of Joshua
Thomas Nathaniel Edwards (1635 - 1698)
Son of William
Robert Edwards (1662 - 1738)
Son of Thomas Nathaniel
Thomas Edwards (1690 - 1781)
Son of Robert
Ambrose Edwards (1726 - 1810)
Son of Thomas
Ambrose Edwards (1747 - 1812)
Son of Ambrose
William Carr Edwards (1775 - )
Son of Ambrose
Nathaniel Edwards (1800 - 1865)
Son of William Carr
Eliza Jane Edwards (1820 - 1904)
Daughter of Nathaniel
George Albert Cockrum (1850 - 1931)
Son of Eliza Jane
Arminta C Cockrum (1879 - 1931)
Daughter of George Albert
Mary Gertrude Tudor (1898 - 1931)
Daughter of Arminta C
Ruth Louise Kinnaird (1924 - 2010)
Daughter of Mary Gertrude
(Sharon) Vivian Phillips
Daughter of Ruth Louise
Sara Elizabeth Plank (ME)
Daughter of Sharon Vivian

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