It is almost midnight and the cream of the English nobility hold their breath as King Henry VIII prepares to face his God. As the royal physicians wring their hands and Archbishop Cranmer gallops through the frigid night, two dispossessed princesses pray for their father’s soul and a boy, soon to be king, snivels into his velvet sleeve. Time slows, and dread settles around the royal bed, the candles dip and something stirs in the darkness … something, or someone, who has come to tell the king it is time to pay his dues. The Kiss of the Concubine is the story of Anne Boleyn, second of Henry VIII’s queens.

    Through his personal relationships with several of Henry s queens, and Henry himself, his writings were filled with colorful anecdotes, salacious gossip, and personal and insightful observations of the key players at court, thus offering the single most continuous portrait of the central decades of Henry s reign.Beginning with Chapuys arrival in England, in the middle of Henry VIII s divorce from Katherine of Aragon, this book progresses through the episodic reigns of each of Henry s queens. Chapuys tirelessly defended Katherine and later her daughter, Mary Tudor, the future Mary I. He remained as ambassador through the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, and reported on each and every one of Henry s subsequent wives Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Katherine Parr as well as that most notorious of ministers Thomas Cromwell. He retired in 1545, close to the end of Henry VIII s reign.In approaching the period through Chapuys letters, Lauren Mackay provides a fresh perspective on Henry, his court and the Tudor period in general.

    But the real Boleyns were very different. In this collection of articles, best-selling author and creator of The Anne Boleyn Files website, Claire Ridgway, banishes the myths and introduces the real Boleyns. Written in Claire's easy-going style, but with an emphasis on good history and sound research, these articles are perfect reading for Tudor history lovers everywhere.Topics include:- The origins of the Boleyn family- Anne Boleyn's date of birth- Did Anne Boleyn serve Margaret of Austria and Queen Claude of France?- Anne Boleyn's love life- Anne Boleyn and James Butler- Anne Boleyn and the accusation of witchcraft- Anne Boleyn's pregnancies and miscarriages- Pregnancy and childbirth in Tudor times- Anne and Elizabeth- Anne Boleyn and the Tower of London- Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn, Earl and Countess of Wiltshire- George Boleyn, Lord Rochford- Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford- Mary Boleyn- The Boleyns and Religionand much more...The Anne Boleyn Collection II is fully referenced, with chapter notes and bibliography, and includes over 40 illustrations.

    The scale of their ambition was breathtaking. Drawing on the latest navigational science and the new spirit of enterprise and discovery sweeping the Tudor capital, they sought a northern passage to Asia and its riches.The success of the expedition depended on its two leaders: Sir Hugh Willoughby, a brave gentleman soldier, and Richard Chancellor, a brilliant young scientist and practical man of the sea. When their ships became separated in a storm, each had to fend for himself. Their fates were sharply divided. One returned to England, to recount extraordinary tales of the imperial court of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The tragic, mysterious story of the other two ships has had to be pieced together through the surviving captain’s log book, after he and his crew became lost and trapped by the advancing Arctic winter.This exceptional endeavour was one of the boldest in British history, and its impact was profound. Although the “merchant adventurers” failed to reach China as they had hoped, their achievements would lay the foundations for England’s expansion on a global stage. As James Evans’ vivid account shows, their voyage also makes for a moving story of daring, discovery, tragedy, and adventure.

    Charged with high treason and incest, he was executed in May 1536. History has forgotten that Rochford was a talented diplomat and gifted poet. History has also been unkind to Rochford's cousin, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, whose alleged pride led to his downfall and subsequent execution in 1547. Yet, Surrey is considered to be one of the founders of the English Renaissance, and served Henry VIII loyally as Lieutenant General in the French campaigns. Published in Paris in 1891, Edmond Bapst's Deux Gentilshommes-Poètes de la Cour de Henry VIII is the earliest biography of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and the only one to date on George Boleyn, Lord Rochford. Although Thomas Wyatt's name is the one that springs to mind when considering poets of Henry VIII's reign, Bapst considered Rochford and Surrey to be “the two who shone with the brightest light” and so set about writing detailed accounts of their lives, careers, poetry, and dramatic downfalls. Bapst made full use of primary sources, including sixteenth century French documents. Tudor history author Claire Ridgway found Bapst's book such a useful resource in her own research that she commissioned this English translation. Two Gentleman Poets at the Court of Henry VIII is true to Bapst's style and contains all of Bapst's notes and references.

    Elizabeth I & Her People explores the stories of those individuals whose achievements brought about these changes, as well as giving a fascinating glimpse into their way of life through accessories and artifacts. The book features portraits of the Queen and her courtiers, including explorers such as Francis Drake and Martin Frobisher, statesmen and soldiers, and portraits of the Queen's female courtiers. From the mid-sixteenth century, interest in portraiture broadened as members of a growing wealthy middle class sought to have their likenesses captured for posterity. The book includes lesser-known images of Elizabethan merchants, lawyers, goldsmiths, butchers, calligraphers, playwrights and artists.