Fascinated by the glamour and ghastliness of life in the 1500s, his books show a penchant for myths, mysteries and murders in an age in which the law was as slippery as those who defied it...
My Books
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Coming soon
I am now deeply into Henry VIII’s reign. Following his gruelling adventures in Of Blood Descended, Anthony Blanke will return in 2023. This time, he will face murder and madness in Cardinal Wolsey’s court, when a visiting enemy of the lord chancellor is found stabbed to death with a fire poker. Famous faces to watch out for will include Sir Thomas More, Lord Henry Percy, and Anne Boleyn.
Additionally, on the nonfiction side, I’m turning my attention slightly from Anna of Denmark and working on a full-length biography of her husband, the profligate, bisexual, utterly endearing, endlessly infuriating King James VI and I – under the provisional title of The Private Life of King James. Expect scandal, murder, treachery, and masques.
Academic
My research interests lie predominantly in the field of early modern literature. In particular, I am interested in the pre-Stuart foundations of the verse libel and the legal machinations of the early modern state in licensing, censoring and banning texts in the pursuit of state-sponsored national narratives. I am also interested in the relationship between the British nations before, during and following the Reformation; their respective European links; and resultant literary representations of English and Scottish national identities.
Published in 2017 in Early Modern Literary Studies and available here:
Published in 2017 in the Journal of the Northern Renaissance and available here:
Published in 2016 in Early Modern Literary Studies and available here:
Published in 2013 in the Journal of the Northern Renaissance and available here:
BLOG
The image of the elderly Virgin Queen that has been passed down to us is not always necessarily complimentary.
In this rogue’s gallery, I’ll be judging ten reputed nasties of the era and considering whether they deserve to be reviled or reassessed…
The Tudor era has spawned a welter of myths, legends, and misconceptions, some of which have been frustratingly long-lived.
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