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?

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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*)

[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!)

[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.)