If I Could Time Travel...

I seriously must have some underlying desire to be a medieval maiden, because it’s one of my favorite time periods to read about. I would definitely have liked to live as a noblewoman, but just not be one of Henry VIII’s mistresses.  Who knows what would have happened to me then!

This week I read Secrets of the Tudor Court: Between Two Queens by Kate Emerson.  A lot of the characters used in this story are real, which I found really interesting.

Again a warning, because there is so much going on in this book (it coves a great part of English history), I do give some SPOILERS in this post.

This story focuses on Anne “Nan” Bassett, fourth child of the late Sir Bassett and her mother Honor, who remarried Arthur Plantagenet, uncle to Henry VIII.  Nan has lived in Calais, an English possession in France.  She is sent to be a maid of honor to Queen Jane, Henry’s third wife, who is almost ready to give birth.  However, Jane dies giving birth to Edward, England’s long awaited male heir. 

Nan dreams of marrying a wealthy courtier, but instead has an affair with Ned Corbett, one of her father’s men, and they make love, which she immediately regrets.  Nan and her fellow ladies discuss who will possibly be the next queen and even discuss Henry’s various mistresses, including the late Anne Boleyn’s sister, Mary.  Nan even jokes she would become one, if it would gain her a wealthy husband.  Kate, another maid of honor, however seems to notice something holding Nan back – Nan is pregnant with Ned’s child.  Nan is forced to bribe Kate and a midwife to help hide her condition so she can remain at court, but not telling Ned about his child.

Nan gives birth to a son, who is given to a local shopkeeper and his wife.  She secretly visits him, whom the couple has named Jamie.

Court drama continues, as the new queen, Anna of Cleves, heads to England.  Henry is unsatisfied with Anna, seeing the new queen in person differs greatly from the portrait he was given.  Henry comes to Nan for comfort, and she sleeps with him, hiding the evidence of her not being a virgin while Henry believes he was the first.  Anna of Cleves doesn’t stay long, as her marriage is annulled and she becomes “The king’s sister.”

Ned soon gets involved in drama of his own, taking things to a friend, Sir Stephen Botolph, causing him to be put in the Tower of London.  Nan frees him with bribes, and Ned flees, only to return to London confusing Nan.  They reunite briefly, but Nan says she can never see him again, though she still loves him.

Soon Henry is married again, to another maid of honor, Catherine Howard.  However, Catherine’s indiscretions are soon revealed (she had had many affairs before and during her marriage to Henry) and she is executed.  Nan meanwhile is still being pursued by Wat Hungerford, a young man who first saw her at Edward’s christening and has been in love with Nan all these years. 

Nan becomes close to a returning member of court, sister to one of her fellow maids of honor, Lady Katherine Latimer, formerly Parr.  Katherine’s husband is dying, and she and Nan are both being pursued by Henry to be the next queen.  However, Henry is old, and Nan realizes that it would be better for her if Katherine became queen because of her ability to care for Henry in his old age.  Katherine and Henry soon marry before Henry dies.

We then get an epilogue.  Mary Tudor is now queen, who Nan has served in her household before and after Mary’s coronation.  Nan’s time is now up since she has agreed to marry Wat.  She may not have got the wealth and title she wanted, but realized what was more important that she had given up with Ned – love.

I would recommend this book if you're like me and love anything medieval.  I would also recommend this book if you're interested in the life of the Tudor royal family.  A lot of these characters in the book are based on real people, which I really enjoyed because some of these people I knew nothing about before reading the book.

Kate Emerson has other books written about this time period.  You can view more information about Kate and her novels at http://www.kateemersonhistoricals.com/

Next week my book will be Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden.  It'll be a re-read but I'm excited because it's one of my favorite books.

Thanks for reading, and please leave a comment if you have any recommendations! :)