Buggery

[hackthis_archive]

In the last 36 hours I have discovered The Tudors. I cannot begin to tell you how this has wreaked havoc on my other plans for the weekend, especially when I have to keep getting dragged out the front door. All I can do is point to my icon and say, "WTF, Y'all?!" Why didn't anybody tell me about this? (Not you, ethrosdemon, you don't count b/c we never like the same thing at the same time. )

Seriously I'm only up to 1.05, so don't spoil me, but it's got craziness everywhere, intrigue, insanity, gayness, and when did Henry Cavill get hot? He was always so thin and not beef-noodle hearty (TM ethrosdemon). I feel cheated! Of course he's gay, everybody hot is gay. Typical ;-) It also has Fiona from Burn Notice, and I don't even mind Johnathan Rhys Meyers here, even though I've always thought he was extremely dodgy and unattractive, it works here. I wonder if he hits on Henry Cavill in RL?

In related questioning, does anybody have any recommendations for good Henry VIII reading? I'm looking for more court-related and less military-based. Ideally, I'd like a book that focuses on Henry himself through the years and his relationships as opposed to a POV from the wives or kids. Also, don't recommend Antonia Fraser as I don't like her writing. ETA: Non-fictional preferred over fictional.

Comments

[sparky77.livejournal.com]

Do you have a preference for fiction or non-fiction for the Henry VIII reading?

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I prefer non-fiction over fictional when I'm dealing with my history, BUT, if there some awesome historical fiction, I am totally down for that. Also, you know what my first thought was during the pilot? OMG! It's Entourage, but in the 15th Century!

[sparky77.livejournal.com]

Damn it! Now I want to watch. Entourage in the 15th century sounds awesome. Is there a 15th century Ari?

And okay, let me try and remember which of my British History books are crap and which ones are good. Sadly, it's mostly crap, but I know I liked at least one about that time period. I just need to find it.

[flyingtapes.livejournal.com]

Man, The Tudors. I don't even know what to do with that show, except I find it sexy as hell, and figure I can just pretend it's the HBO fanfic version of history.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I was just telling sparky that my first thought was during the pilot was "OMG! It's Entourage, but in the 15th Century!" Henry is Vince, Charlie is Eric and the other two actors are Drama and Turtle, but Drama is canonically gay for a change!

[flyingtapes.livejournal.com]

Ha, that's so true. Can Woolsey be Ari? Because that would just make my day.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I was totally thinking he is, and More is his Lloyd!

[flyingtapes.livejournal.com]

Ack, oh my god, all I'm seeing now is the Entourage Tudors AU, where Ari is running around bitching about the stupid dress he has to wear and drags a scribe everywhere with him (as his crackberry of course), and Vince is just lounging around in bubble shorts and hose and a kind of drunk smile, dropping wives like a bad habit while Eric runs around bitching about why can't Vince just make *one* of them stick, jesus, the whole world is fucking watching, Christ, your mother would be so pissed.

And Turtle and Drama are off trying to bang courtesans, only they all have their eyes on Vince, so mainly they just go horseback riding a lot and try to hunt really badly.

Oh god, please make it go away. There is no way in hell I am actually writing that.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Okay, that would be SO fucking awesome. Wow.

[random-flores.livejournal.com]

Oh Good. I was in the middle of .. ahem... aquiring the first season and hooray that it's as hot and sexy as it looks.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Oh, most definitely!

[phaballa.livejournal.com]

If you want something pretty trashy, try Phillipa Gregory's Henry VIII series. I started with The Other Boleyn Girl and it's probably the best one. There's a prequel about Katherine of Aragon (Constant Princess, I think it's called) and another about Jane Boleyn, the German Queen, and the one who was like 15 (another Catherine, I think) called... The Boleyn Inheritence. That one is NOT well written at all, but it's interesting anyway.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I see that The Other Boleyn Girl is out in the cinema, but it doesn't look very good I must say.

[phaballa.livejournal.com]

It's not high literature, that's for sure. It's pretty trashy, with really not enough sex to make it worth it if you're not into the historical aspect of it. But it's pretty interesting (and seemingly accurate) if you *are* interested in how Anne Boleyn worked her way up, etc. I think the movie will end up not sticking very closely to the book... but it'll be pretty.

[rozza.livejournal.com]

I'm a big fan of Alison Weir's books. I gave my friend the Six Wives book; she's a slow reader but knocked that one out very quickly. My only complaint is that, like many historians, I feel Weir is biased towards Catherine of Aragon and I am definitely all about Anne Boleyn. There's an Anne bio that I REALLY want to read but I keep forgetting to pick it up, it's called the Life and Death of Anne Boleyn. As for Philippa Gregory, I think The Queen's Fool is the only other book to stand beside The Other Boleyn Girl. The others veer on trash romance masquerading as historical fiction. Maybe the Constant Princess, not so much.

I really enjoy the Tudors. I'm a member of a Facebook group called "I am obsessed with the Tudors, mainly because everyone on it is sooooo hot." Except for JRM--he's the weak link of the series, imo. And dude, Henry Cavill? I remember when we were all oooer missus over him when the Count of Monte Cristo came out. He was a wee boy and now he's all strapping stud. It definitely picks up as the series goes on and I can't wait for season two, which starts next month.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I was wondering about Alison Weir's stuff, it seems heavily recommended on amazon, but you know how sketchy that can be. I'm rather shocked that there aren't more proper Henry VIII books out there, I thought I would inunded with choice, but it all seems rather thin on the ground, which is strange.

I always thought Henry Cavil was too skinny, but when he showed up on the screen I was like "Holy hell, where did that come from?"

[ethrosdemon.livejournal.com]

I like the way you request recommendations in a very imperial way.

Yes, he is fine. I watched the first season of the Tudors when it was on. I don't like the actress playing Anne, but otherwise, yes.

[ethrosdemon.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I read "The Other Boleyn Girl" and it's absolutely horrible.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I was just telling Sparky that my first thought during the pilot was "OMG! It's Entourage, but in the 15th Century!" Henry is Vince, Charlie is Eric and the other two actors are Drama and Turtle, but Drama is canonically gay for a change! I'm not feeling Anne myself, either, there's something about her that irks me and the fast and loose with the timelines is a bit maddening, but I do love Catherine and all the sex scenes with Henry are hot enough to set my TV on fire.

Re: The Other Boleyn Girl, the movie looks rather horrible so I wasn't really looking for that. Ideally, I'd like a book that focuses on Henry himself through the years and his relationships as opposed to a POV from the wives or kids.

[ethrosdemon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't really have a book for you. "A Man For All Seasons" reread? You should rewatch the 66 version of the movie, too because Henry is really hot in that, too.

[elizardbits.livejournal.com]

Like everyone else here, I totally dig the fanficcy pr0nitude of the Tudors. But I have a terrible problem... see, every time Jonathan Rhys-Meyers opens his mouth, I keep expecting him to lunge wildly at Henry Cavill, bellowing "I ORDER YOU TO CARESS THE ROYAL BUTTOCKS!"

(Yes, apparently some part of my mind is quite convinced that life during the English Reformation was just one big slashy crack!fic. Oh, the shame. *snicker*)

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

every time Jonathan Rhys-Meyers opens his mouth, I keep expecting him to lunge wildly at Henry Cavill, bellowing "I ORDER YOU TO CARESS THE ROYAL BUTTOCKS!"

I would! I mean every time Henry Cavill has a sex scene I think, "Damn, why isn't he naked all the time?"

[mardia.livejournal.com]

Echoing everyone's recs of Phillipa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl. And as for non-fiction, I'll also echo the rec of Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII, it's a long read, but I could not put that thing down at ALL. So engrossing, I can't even tell you. And I've always gotten the sense that historians just don't know what the hell to make of Henry, dude was WHACKED in the head. But I'm actually taking a class on the Tudor/Stuart period, and I have a paper coming up, so I'm going to poke around the libraries, might update this again...

Off the top of my head, I'll also recommend Karen Lindsay's Divorced, Beheaded, Survived... which is a 'feminist' look at Henry's six wives. I do think she tries to whitewash Anne too much, but her outlook on Anne of Cleves is pretty awesome and IMO, the most reasonable theory out there. And despite supposedly focusing on the wives, she does focus quite a bit on Henry's character--clearly not in a nice way, heh.

The Divorce by Martin H. Albert (I'm pretty sure this is the right author) is a really great, pretty engrossing look at the divorce of Catherine and Henry. Again, non-fiction, dealing heavily with all the players and diplomats involved, not to mention all the politics behind it. Really great looks at Catherine, Anne, and Henry as well.

Also, I haven't read any of his stuff, but from what I hear, Eric Ives is a BIG name in the Tudor historian world, you might want to check his stuff out.

Fiction-wise: There is a LOT of stuff out there, but I haven't read all that much of it, and I haven't read this so I can't tell you if it's any good, but Margaret George wrote a fictonal "autobiography" of Henry. I flipped through the book at the store one day, and if you've got a solid grasp of the history, it looks like a really interesting take on how Henry alternately excuses and justifies his behavior and actions.

(ETA: and now that I've posted this, I realize how long it is. OMG so sorry!)

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

It's not too long, it's very well thought out and informed. Thank you!

[transtempts.livejournal.com]

*is amused*

[casapazzo.livejournal.com]

"The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by his Fool, Will Somers" by Margaret George was a pretty decent fictional account -- somewhat limited to the focus of Henry and his wives, and obviously more sympathetic to Henry's side of things, but an engaging treatment.

For a nonfiction treatment, aside from what's already been recommended, "England Under the Tudors" is good for surrounding historical context. It covers from Henry VII through Elizabeth.

(I've read about Elizabeth more than her father, so if you decide to move ahead to reading about her, I can be more helpful with recommendations and stay-away-froms.)

[redfirecracker.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I really liked "The Autobiography..."!

Z, I will look through my textbooks and see what I can find... though I specialized more in the medieval period than the Tudors.