The Lady in the Tower

Image source

"The Lady in the Tower: The fall of Anne Boleyn" by Alison Weir was one of the first non-thesis related books I started reading after the end of my thesis. I had seen the cover of the book and picked it up a few times after it first came out, reading the blurb and placing it back on the shelf going 'I wish I had time to read this book'. That was even before I went gaga for The Tudors and/or Anne Boleyn. Luckily for me, I managed to pick it up for $8.99 at a local discount bookstore! Bingo!

This book covers in wonderful detail the final months of Anne Boleyn's life. Weir makes the case that Anne's execution was carefully orchestrated by Thomas Cromwell, who used her lack of popularity with the lords and nobles to his advantage. I loved it for its dedication to historical documentation, but there are moments of pure assumption and creative license. It tells a very intricate story and you cannot fault it for bringing together a wonderfully interesting world to life. I only wish that it had covered more of Queen Anne's life!

Definitely worth checking out if you're a Tudor lover like me :)

Anne.

"I heard say the execution was very good, and I have a little neck", and then put her hands about it, laughing heartily"

- Account by Constable of the Tower, Anthony Kingston

Anne Boleyn is one of my favourite characters in history. She's just fascinating. Her relationship with Henry and the impact she had on history for love is huge.

Today, in 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed. She had been accused of high treason, adultery and incest. Many historians believe today that Anne was innocent of these charges. Instead of having her beheaded on the block (as her lovers were), Henry employed a French swordsmen to remove the queen's head.

While Anne never delivered Henry the son he so wanted, she produced one of the most famous, magnificent Queen of England, Elizabeth I.

Karma's a bitch, hey Henry?

For more tidbits of Anne info, check out this post :)

Edit: Just found this video and found it really interesting. Worth checking out :)

The Tudors Love

Why I love The Tudors:

1. Kings, Queens, Mistresses. Love triangles, life and death, and all that juicy drama. I love it.

2. History. Henry VIII lead an extraordinary life, you cannot deny that.

3. Inaccuracies. I really love the inaccuracies. Some are just ridiculous and funny (for example, Margaret). Others are more sneaky. Why do I love them though? They make you hunt for the truth. You learn in the truth hunting - plus a whole lot more!

4. Costumes. The sets. The computer graphic castles, not so much. Everything else looks awesome. I want some royal bling baby!

5. Natalie Dormer. Henry Cavill. Sarah Bolger. Beautiful people, wonderful actors. Or, more accurately, this:

Vest and tin.

Toured three op shops the other day. Nothing overly exciting to be found. Perhaps I'm a little put off because most of my market stall items were previous op shop finds. I couldn't help myself with this cute vest though, in a glamorous dark pink.

Pink woolen vest, $5

Another homemade, grandma-knitted garment for my collection. I love these pieces. Someone made them for someone with love. So darling :)

And as I was about to leave the same op shop, I spotted this Henry VIII tin in the glass cabinet. Price? One whole dollar. It was meant to be.

Henry VIII tin, $1

Modern Anne Boleyn

I really enjoyed creating my own 'Dress like a Modern Marie Antoinette' post last year, so I thought I'd create another on another of my favourite royal women, Anne Boleyn. They do take a lot of effort to create, however I'm considering making it a monthly feature. What do you lovelies think?

You either love or hate Anne Boleyn. It seems it's always been that way. Hated for stealing King Henry VIII away from the beloved Catherine of Aragon. Hated for poisoning the mind of Henry and the consequential Reformation.

Personally, I love her. She seems to have real pizazz! I especially love Natalie Dormer's portrayal of her in The Tudors series. Beyond that, I find her easily the most complex and fascinating of Henry's six wives.

Have a calling to seduce Johnathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII? I know I do. So let's follow Anne's guide...

What made Anne stand out from all the other beauties at Henry's extravagant and entertaining court?

Hair

Majority of the ladies of the English court had blonde hair and blue eyes. Unlikes these, Anne had luscious dark hair and deep dark eyes to match. Even those that hated her had to admit that these were her most beautiful traits. She either wore this trademark hair out and flowing or carefully pulled off her face in a tight bun to reveal her stunning dark eyes. If you're fully committed to 'Going Anne', consider dying your hair a dark raven colour.

Another of Anne's trademarks was her French hood (as seen below on Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl). It distanced herself from Catherine of Aragon who mostly wore the English hood (as seen in the first portrait of Anne Boleyn). Anne probably also saw the French hood as a connection with the fancy and fashionable French court, where she had spent time as a young girl. As a Modern Anne, try wearing a thick headband or scarf around your head instead.

Jewelery

Unlike Catherine of Aragon, Anne loved to splurge on beautiful things. Including jewelery. Anne was easily identifiable at court with her string of white pearls which held onto a golden "B" with three pearls dangling below. Have a go at making your own - there's plenty of guides if you search on Google. Or, stick to a lovely string of pearls.

Big golden broaches can add to any outfit. You might also like to invest in a locket to keep an image of Henry close to your heart, always.

Clothing

Colours: It's difficult to determine what Anne's colour palette was when it came to fashion. Due to her perceived calculating, manipulating and evil character, she is often portrayed in dark, rich colours. Think royal reds, amethyst purples (the colour purple being reserved for royalty in the past), poison apple greens. You may even like to play up the fact that she was later called a 'witch' and stick to blacks.

Style: There are two ways you could go about this. Either stick to the modesty (*cough cough*) of the era and cover up with long flowing skirts. Or you could insert Anne's coy character into your clothes with shorter skirts and tights. Ensure that your delicate bosom is on show with low, square cut tops.

Behaviour

Anne was reportedly a furious flirt. She loved to be loved, and to do so she would flirt with all those around her.

It's not easy to flirt and maintain the amusement of a horny king however. Especially when you're courting a man for seven years and holding off the thing he wants most: sex. So how did she entertain the king? She was a fabulous and graceful dancer. She also had wit and humour and was reportedly very skilled in musical instruments. And didn't mind throwing a tantrum in front of the king. Don't know how that'd go down today!

Rose without thorns

I have begun to watch my beloved Tudors. Season 4 is the final season (*cries inside*) and begins with the flighty and frivolous Catherine Howard. At the end of Season 3, I already hated the stupid Catherine Howard, but now I find myself warming to her.

I believe if I were to suddenly and unexpectedly became queen, I'd carry on like her. I'd giggle away everything, enjoy every splendor the wealth and status brought with it.

Already, Season 4 is more visually beautiful than ever. I'm so excited!

Nonsuch Palace

I'm currently re-watching the last few episodes of The Tudors Season 3 in preparation for my watching of Season 4. I loved Joss Stone as Anne of Cleeves. Giving her up for the giggling Catherine Howard (Tamzin Merchant) is going to be hard.

I loved these final scenes though. I only wish Nonsuch Palace survived history! I know Blogger will kill the beautiful colours in Henry's (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) clothes, but they truly are a wonderful rainbow.

And now to Season 4! Horrah!

Chrissy Joys

I hope everyone had a wonderful fun and delicious Christmas :) I know mine definitely was: three days of family feasts and festivities. Definitely looking forward to relaxing over the next few days with some of my Christmas goodies :)

Yep, Tudors Season 4 now eagerly awaits me. I also got Young Victoria and Beauty and the Beast on DVD. I'm watching Beauty and the Beast now, and the DVD quality is amazing compared to the good ol' VHS!

I also have some reading to do: Sex with a Queen by Eleanor Herman and what looks to be a yummy piece of fiction: The Empress of Ice Cream by Anthony Capella.

And yes, that is a teacup with King Henry VIII, with some of his wives and Wolsey (the other three wives and Cromwell are on the other side). My wonderful boyfriend found these teacups on the internet somewhere for me. Very lucky girl, I am :)

So I'm off to relax some more. Happy Holidays everyone!

Sex with Royalty

I've found it really hard to get into 'relaxing' mode these holidays. I had 8 large assignments due in the last two weeks of uni, with a total of 24 assignments for the semester. You'd think it'd be oh-so-easy to put up your feet and relax after that... but I have (weirdly) really struggled. But, I think (and hope) that I have finally conquered it.

And how can I tell? Why, I finished a book!

Sex With Kings

Eleanor Herman

2004 HarperCollins

I have been reading this book for a long time. Or rather, I started it last holidays, was forced to put it down to complete my 24 assignments and only just finished it. And it is awesome!

At first I was a little put off by a few things. Firstly, Eleanor Herman is a journalist, not a historian. Secondly, I was hoping for more of my beloved Henry VIII's wives; particularly Anne Boleyn. And finally, I was slightly confused while reading it. See, each chapter is based on a theme, rather than giving narrative biographies of royal mistresses. With the book centering largely on around a small selection of women (largely, but not limited to: Madame de Pompadour, Madame du Barry, Marquise de Montespan, Lady Castlemine, Nell Gwynn), it seemed thematic approach lost some of the details of the lives of these lavish ladies.

However, after letting go of my grudges, I found the book to read like a juicy juicy gossipy book. I couldn't help but love it and become sucked into these different worlds. More than once I longly thought to myself 'oh, if only I could become the king's mistress!' The dresses, the jewels, the extravagance and scandal! Wow. Definitely worth a fun and exciting read :)

I was touring Borders trying to scout out a good book on Anne Boleyn (anyone got any suggestions?) when I found that Eleanor Herman has also written a book Sex with Queens. That is most definitely on my Christmas Wishlist!

Check out this website for more info.

The Tudors

I have quickly become addicted to this show. Never before have I become so addicted to a television show that I have gone out and purchased the DVDs. Normally, for me, watching the one episode once is enough for me. Otherwise my sister borrows the DVDs from her friends and we watch them together (The Hills, Gossip Girl) or I borrow them off my friends (Gilmore Girls <3). Generally speaking, I'm a movie kinda girl. My sister on the other hand is addicted to tv shows and rarely wants to watch a movie and prefers to watch zillions of episodes in a row.

Anyway, so out of the kindness of my heart I've lent my copy of Season 1 to a lovely friend. Problem is, I've been having withdrawal issues. I pretty much sucked the juice dry out of Season 1. I would watch every episode twice before moving onto the next one. I would try to ration out my viewing. I watched the season over and over and over. I love the dialogue, the historical accuracy and hints and allusions to well-known facts at the time (for instance, in one episode Henry asks Boleyn's father if the King of France has nice thighs like Henry because back in the day, thighs were the sexiest part of a man's body and a good way to determine how masculine he was, and naturally King Henry VIII was well-known for his beautiful thighs), I love all the actresses and actors, I even love the historical inaccuracies. The costumes, the sets, the music, I love it all!



Natalie Dormer is a fantastic intelligent, sexy and manipulative Anne Boleyn. I like that they have a spunky actor (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) playing King Henry, rather than someone dressed up in a fat suit. Instead of being focused on how disgusting Henry is/was, we're allowed to be attached, and feel for him and understand where he is coming from. He is no longer a hideous monster of fat and diseased wounds. Maria Doyle Kennedy is fantastic as Catherine of Aragon, a strong and beautiful woman dedicated to her faith.

And Charles Brandon? *drools* Hello Henry Cavill!


So now I'm off to watch, absorb and love Season 2!