[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars This is a layman accessible and interesting monograph on the life and works of Margaret More Roper. As a women of the period, she is nearly always considered a footnote in her father's biographies, but here the author has written a balanced and well reasoned consideration of her in historical context in her own right as a primary subject and not just an aside. The book is written with chapters in more or less chronological order: early life, the More household, education & adolescence, marriage & writing, motherhood, Humanism & reputation, reputation, loyalty, mortality (the imprisonment & death of her father), and their/her legacy. The book is meticulously annotated throughout and the chapter notes and bibliography will provide readers with many (many!) hours of further reading. Five stars. It's both a well written and researched study of the More family and allies (and enemies), but also a well rounded study of Humanism, intellectualism, and the possibilities.. Read more
NetGalley, Annie Buchanan

[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars This was a really well done nonfiction novel, I really enjoy the Tudor time-period. It had that research that I was looking for and was written perfectly. Helene Harrison has a great writing style and left me wanting to read more.
NetGalley, Kathryn McLeer

Review as featured in
Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, April 2024

[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars I was very glad to read this book, I love all aspects of Tudor history, and the mysterious death of Queen Katherine Parr, has always sat uneasily on me. Why would such a strong intelligent woman, famed for her wisdom, kindness to her Royal step children, her interest in the new religion, her ability to be a regent in her husbands absence , marry such a self promoting man as Thomas Seymour? The King was her fourth husband, and reports seem to suggest they had a cordial and friendly relationship, and a love of debate. Queen Katherine was responsible for getting Princess Mary and her half sister Elizabeth restored to the line of succession, why would she throw all this affection and goodwill away? Even more bewildering, where did her baby daughter,Lady Mary Seymour disappear to? There are times when a Time Machine would be a marvellous solution to all these questions. The idea discussed in this book is that Katherine married Thomas Seymour to protect the reputation.. Read more
NetGalley, Daphne Sharpe

[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars I am a huge fan of Amy McElroy’s first book on Tudor education and so I was very excited to receive an ARC of her second book - ‘Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era’ - and I was not disappointed. The author takes us on a fascinating and in depth journey through the lives of ordinary women during the Tudor period. Beginning with their childhood Amy McElroy explores the options and potential future that awaited baby girls. She offers us such details as the fact that even the way their hair could be worn was prescribed by society and quotes primary sources such as Roger Ascham’s ‘English Work’s’ to show us the sort of advice parents would have been expected to follow in respect to their female children. The author then moves through women’s lives looking at the day to day challenges an adolescent Tudor woman faced - such as how to make quince marmalade fit for presenting to the upper classes - and on to the more serious challenges they faced when.. Read more
NetGalley, Rebecca B