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Merissa (14013 KP) created a post

Jun 11, 2026  
"When her sister became the King's obsession, Elizabeth's quiet new life was dragged back into the most dangerous court in England." 🎨📖

An excerpt from THE QUEEN'S SISTER by CAROL MCGRATH is live on the blog today! This richly imagined work of Tudor historical fiction steps into the shadow of a famous portrait to recover a woman whom history chose to overlook. ✨🌹

Head over to the blog to read the excerpt!

@CarolMcGrathAuthor1 @Cathie Dunn #HistoricalFiction #TudorFiction #TheCoffeePotBookClub #BlogTour
https://archaeolibrarian.wixsite.com/website/post/the-queen-s-sister-by-carol-mcgrath
     
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Other Boleyn Girl
Philippa Gregory | 2003 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance
8
7.6 (23 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read this quite a long time ago, but I have to say that I do read all of Philippa Gregory’s books because they’re just really good stories. I do have a bit of a thing about the Tudor period, and I’ve read a fair bit of both fiction and non-fiction around the period. I’m aware that this (and her others) may be heavily fictionalised, but part of reading is entertainment, no? But I do like how I feel immersed in these stories.
And who knew that Anne Boleyn’s sister had an affair with Henry VIII before Anne married him (well, when the book came out, not many people seemed to know - unless they were very heavily into their history!)? And honestly, I wouldn’t be overly surprised if a lot of goes on in the book actually happened!
  
TQ
The Queen's Promise
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Yes, it's another Tudor historical novel and yes, it's another Tudor historical novel about Anne Boleyn!

This one I think is worth reading though. Although Anne carries one of the main narrative threads the book is really more about Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, who had some sort of understanding with Anne before she caught the eye of that other Henry. I don't think his life is as well documented as other more prominent figures at court, but there is enough information there to give a foundation to his story. Our other main character is Will Chatton, who, along with his wife, is a fictional character created to give us a broader view of Tudor society and to assist Henry Percy and move the narrative along. Will is also friends in the novel with Robert Aske, who was a real historical figure.

Henry Percy has not generally been given much prominence, even in fiction, so this was a new angle, drawing out his character. His is not really a happy story, but he is certainly a sympathetic character and the author uses the forced break up of their relationship as a sort of catalyst for the change in Anne's behaviour to a harder outlook, so the reader can still sympathise with her. One thing that does puzzle me in 'real' history, and which I feel the author didn't convincingly explain in her own narrative, was why it was found necessary to break up Anne and Henry's relationship? That point aside, I thought this was a good read and a bit different to the usual court focused novels.