Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers from all over share their own top ten list based on the topic of the week.  You can find all Top Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Books For People Who Have Never Read About The Tudors

Tudor England is one of my favorite time periods ever!  I’ve been fascinated with the Tudors ever since I did a research project on Elizabeth 1 in high school, and since it’s the only era in history I’ve consistently read about, I knew it would be a great topic.  I went for a combination of non-fiction and fiction, and you can’t go wrong with any of the books I talk about.  All links will lead you to goodreads!

Non-Fiction:

1. The Wives Of Henry VIII by Antonia Frasier.  There are a couple other biographies about the 6 women who were married to Henry VIII (that I know of) and I knew I had to include at least one of them.  I’d go with this one, since it gives the best overview of his wives.
2. Henry VIII: The King And His Court by Alison Weir.  It’s a really good look at Henry VIII himself, and it’s a pretty long book with quite a few details, but it also give really good insight into Henry’s life and who he was.  (I will say, you can’t go wrong with Alison Weir, who is one of my favorite authors).
3. Winter King: Henry VII And The Dawn Of Tudor England by Thomas Penn.  Initially, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to include it on this list, because I actually haven’t finished it…because I put it on hold months ago- like, last year months ago.  But even though I haven’t finished it, it’s still an interesting read, because it touches a bit on the Wars Of The Roses, which led to the Tudors sitting on the throne.
4. Jane Boleyn: The True Story Of The Infamous Lady Rochford by Julia Fox.  It’s been ages since I’ve read it, but it’s a great biography of the sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn and a lady-in-waiting to three Tudor Queens.
5. The First Queen Of England: The Myth Of “Bloody Mary” by Linda Porter.  I feel like this biography of Mary is good one to read, since it’s actually a really good introduction to who Mary Tudor was and what influenced her to be the person and Queen she was.

Historical Fiction:

1. Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb.  It’s a great YA paranormal historical fiction about a witch living during the reign of Mary Tudor…and she just happens to be in service to the future Elizabeth I.  It’s a good look at what life was like during this time.
2. Gilt by Katherine Longshore.  I was debating whether I wanted to include this one or Tarnish, but I went with Gilt because it’s about Katherine Howard, and she doesn’t pop up too often in books about this time period.  (Well, in books that I’ve read).
3. Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer.  It’s a great middle grade book about Mary Tudor, and I think it would be a great way to introduce the time period to kids.
4. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory.  I thought about putting The Other Boleyn Girl on this list, as it’s a book a lot of people probably know.  But I actually like The Boleyn Inheritance better!  Partly because it focuses on Anne Of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Jane Rochford, but also because Gregory can tell a story that keeps you reading.  This one in particular has you invested in the characters.  (Side Note: You can’t go wrong with any of her Tudor Court books.  I haven’t read The Other Queen, but I highly recommend the rest of the series).
5. The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir.  I tried really hard to include only one Alison Weir book, which was really hard since I’ve read so many books by her.  She’s made the jump from non-fiction to historical fiction sometime in the last few years, and so I felt like a 2nd appearance was warranted.  Overall, her historical fiction is super-accurate and authentic (for those who like that in historical fiction), which is the direct result of writing historical fiction set during the time periods that she researches for her non-fiction stuff.