What led you to this series, and specifically to Owen Tudor? The developing friendship between Catherine and Mary was interesting to write. I recommend Giles Tremlett’s biography, ‘Catherine of Aragon, Henry’s Spanish Queen’ to anyone who would like to see beyond the more traditional treatment of Catherine. How did you develop this view of her?Īs with Mary, I’ve ‘lived’ with Queen Catherine for the last few years, as she first appears as a fifteen-year-old in my Tudor trilogy. Young Catherine is so different than the woman we meet in the many Anne Boleyn novels. Your depiction of Catherine of Aragon came alive in this novel. Mary insisted on being referred to as ‘Queen of France’ for the rest of her life. It seems she accepted his wishes as her duty – and tried to make the best of it. I think it was her stoical acceptance of her brother Henry’s insistence that she should marry the aging King of France. What surprised you the most in your research of her? The most intriguing research was my visit to her home at Westhorpe and to see Mary’s tomb in Bury St Edmunds (where I also saw a lock of her hair). ![]() This is full of fascinating details which I could research further to bring her world to life. I also discovered a wonderful biography, ‘Mary Tudor the White Queen’, by Walter Richardson. As well as translations of all Mary’s surviving letters, this has invaluable analysis of the context. One of the most useful sources was Erin Sadlack’s book ‘The French Queen’s Letters: Mary Tudor Brandon and the Politics of Marriage in Sixteenth-Century Europe (Queenship and Power)’. What were your main sources of information on Mary? When I finished the trilogy, I had a wealth of information about Mary Tudor – and decided her amazing story would make the perfect ‘sequel’. She was close to her mother and shared many of her mother’s qualities, and of course her paternal grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. TR: My first encounter with Mary was her birth in book three of my Tudor trilogy. Did you have a strong idea of her character before you began or did it evolve as you wrote? She seemed younger and more naive in this story than in other depictions. NB: I found your depiction of Mary Tudor very fresh. ![]() I liked it so much I asked Tony for an interview! It's a book about the sister of Henry VIII. ![]() The novel I just read is Mary, Tudor Princess. Without these men, there'd have been no dynasty at all! Tony writes about the early Tudors, bringing to life the exciting dramas of Owen Tudor and his sons, Edmund and Jasper Tudor. I've been impressed with the fiction of Tony Riches for quite some time.
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