A life of Reginald Pole (1500-1558), among the most important of sixteenth-century international notables.

The true story of 'The King's Curse'; the extraordinary life of Margaret Pole, niece of Richard III, loyal servant of the Tudors.

Born in 1473, Margaret Pole was the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, niece of both Edward IV and Richard III, and the only woman, apart from Anne Boleyn, to hold a peerage title in her own right during the sixteenth century. After being restored by Henry VIII to the earldom of Salisbury in 1512, her deep Catholic convictions were increasingly out of favour with Henry and she was executed on a charge of treason in 1541. In 1886, Margaret Pole was among sixty-three martyrs beatified by Pope Leo XIII for not hesitating 'to lay down their lives by the shedding of their blood' for the dignity of the Holy See. In this first biography of a significant female figure in the male-dominated world of Tudor politics, Hazel Pierce presents the life and culture of this propertied titled lady against the social and political background of late Yorkist and early Tudor Britain.

Eamon Duffy publishes a book on the broad sweep of English Reformation history, including a study of Late Medieval religion and society.

Margaret Pole is no stranger to fortune's wheel. From her childhood as firstborn of the heir apparent of England, she was brought low as the daughter of a traitor. After years of turmoil as the Tudor dynasty made its roots, Margaret finds favor with her cousin, King Henry VIII. Will the remnant of the York dynasty thrive under this tempestuous king or will Margaret discover that there is a price to pay for having an excess of royal blood?Step into Tudor England....

Forty-five gruesome but not gratuitous accounts from the Tudor reign, including the death of Richard III and the botched execution of Mary Queen of Scots. This decidedly darker take on the Tudors, from 1485 to 1603, covers a whole host of horrors from the Tudor reign. Particular attention is paid to the various gruesome ways in which the Tudors despatched their various villains and lawbreakers, from simple beheadings, to burnings and of course the dreaded hanging, drawing and quartering. Other chapters cover the various diseases prevalent during Tudor times, including the dreaded “Sweating Sickness”—rather topical at the moment, unfortunately—as well as the cures for these sicknesses, some of which were considered worse than the actual disease itself. The day-to-day living conditions of the general populace are also examined, as well as various social taboos and the punishments that accompanied them, i.e. the stocks, as well as punishment by exile. Tudor England was not a nice place to live by twenty-first-century standards, but the book will also serve to explain how it was still nevertheless a familiar home to our ancestors. “He does not shy away from the gory details, which adds another element to stories that are familiar to those who are Tudor fans. If you want something spooky to read in October or know more about the darker side of Tudor history, I recommend reading House of Tudor.” —Adventures of a Tudor Nerd “It really does cover so many different things that there will be something for everyone whatever your interests are; political, personal, medical, or death. A brilliant gory discourse on my favourite period of history!” —Tudor Blogger

As the King's young cousin, an admired scholar living in Italy, it falls to Reginald Pole to make the case for Henry's divorce from Katherine of Aragon. And it falls to the hapless Michael Throckmorton - the younger son of an impecunious titled family - to become Thomas Cromwell's messenger to Pole in Rome. This dubious privilege makes of Throckmorton's life a tragicomedy of endless journeys back and forth between England and Italy, but it also makes him a canny observer of the great dramas of his time. And like his King, he too nurses a thwarted desire.