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Has no one ever heard of research any more?

I just had to post this. As an historian I am constantly amazed at the misinformation being touted as 'history' both on television and in books. 

First there was the Tudors, a television programme here in England with the usual wonderful acting and equally wonderful costumes. Of course the title was wrong because this series was not about the Tudors, it was specifically about King Henry VIII who was only one of five Tudor monarchs. Perhaps the inventors of this programme did not know that.

Well, according to this tv programme, Henry's sister, Margaret was sent to marry the ageing King of Portugal. NOoooo! His sister, Mary was sent to marry the ageing King of France. Then she married Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, but had no children with him. Well, if she hadn't, there would have been no nine day wonder called Jane Grey. But never mind.

Henry's sister, Margaret, who was not even included in this programme, married the King of Scotland, James IV, making him Henry's brother-in-law NOT his cousin as he kept saying. Charles Brandon, when widowed married Catherine Willoughby and no they didn't separate and he didn't have a French mistress.

Then we have Victoria, the wonderful programme about Queen Victoria, where we have people being hanged, drawn and quartered, a barbaric sentence for those found guilty of treason. The last person to suffer this was about 100 years before Victoria; during her reign the drawing and quartering was carried out after death.

Now, let's come to some recent books I have read. The first was a tale of a King of Wales - Wales never had a king, it was and still is a principality. Not so bad, a fictional King of Wales, except the earl mentioned in the story had a throne, a realm and a kingdom. Noooooo! Only Kings, Queens and sometimes princes and princesses have those. Still, it was a good story.

The next was a timeslip novel, where the modern girl not only turns up at the door of a 17th century castle in modern clothes and is given hospitality and a bed for the night, but then she overhears a plot against King James I because he was Catholic! Noooooooooooo! James was Protestant, anyone with a modicum of historical knowledge knows that. He padded himself out wherever he went because he was terrified of Catholic plots against him.

Now I have started to read a book where a mulatto, i.e. person of mixed race, is a barrister at the Inns of Court in London. Nooooo! Never would a person of mixed race have been accepted, but worse than that, far worse, is the fact that the barrister is in Newgate Prison, thinking about the Old Bailey. Nooooo! The Old Bailey, central criminal court, was built on the site of Newgate Prison after it was demolished. The story is set in 1819 - the Old Bailey was opened in 1907.

Please, please, please, if you are going to write a screenplay or a novel involving English history, make sure you get your facts straight. It is not that difficult. You don't even need to open a book nowadays, you can simply google it. It is an affront to historians.

I have read from people who are supposed to be historians, that people in the middle ages had nice white teeth because there wasn't any sugar, I kid you not. They also had baths every day. Yeah, right.

Please, get it right before you publish.

New Novel out now

THE MINSTREL'S LADY

I thought to write a novel around Anne Boleyn, who I have long regarded as one of the most unfortunate and betrayed women in English history.

From what we know, she did not want to marry the King. She was in love with Harry Percy and wanted to wed him; all they need was the permission of the King. But once that King saw Anne, he was not going to let her have a normal, happy life with the man she loved. He wanted her for himself and what Henry VIII wanted, Henry VIII got.

He was no doubt besotted. He turned the country upside down an divorced his faithful wife of 20 years, declared his daughter a bastard and defied the Pope, earning him an excommunication. All this for the love of his life, yet only a few short years later, he not only lost interest in her, he was happy to have her executed.

It is said that he spent the night before her execution pawing over plans and diagrams for the scaffold where she was to lose her life. By this time, it is rumoured, she was also in love with him.

Of course, we none of us really know the truth and it is popular to believe that she was guilty of all charges, although we do know she could not have committed adultery with Mark Smeaton on the dates and at the times he stated, as she was elsewhere at those times. That didn't stop Cromwell from stating his word as fact. The poor man was terrified and was promised his life if he confessed.

So, since I never use real historical figures as major characters in my books, I decided to write about friends of the unfortunate Mark Smeaton, a fellow minstrel and his lady, called to London by Mark to perform for the Queen. 

This is their story and you can read more and the first chapter on my website here.

FIVE FREE BOOKS FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS TO MY READERS' GROUP NEWSLETTER

FREE BOOKS

These are the e-books you will receive absolutely free when you sign up for my Readers' Group Newsletter. Three of the books are the first in series and two are exclusive to Readers' Group subscribers and are not on sale to the general public.

All you need do is go to my website to learn more and to sign up.

Conquest - New Book out now

CONQUEST

This is my new novel, set in 1066, the year of the conquest of England by the Duke of Normandy.

It is a time of terror and change, when the way of life of the ordinary people was changed for centuries.

Everyone knows the date 1066, but not everyone knows that we had three kings in that year.

This is the story of two royal sisters, very close and great friends always, until the Normans invaded. When they fell in love with men on different sides in the dispute, they were both forced to choose between their kin and the men they loved.

Read the first chapter here

The Musketeers are back - third series

My UK readers might like to know, if they don't already, that the four gorgeous Musketeers are back on BBC television for a third series.

They have managed to persuade Aramis (Santiago Cabrera) that all that handsome manhood has no place in a monastery and brought him back to his rightful position.

But now we have a married Musketeer - D'Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino) - and really not sure whether Alexander Dumas had that bit in his stories. I really must get round to reading the book, but at 750 pages I haven't managed it. Should have done it when I was younger.

I am longing to know if Milady (Maimie McCoy) is coming into this series. She was just being cured of her wickedness in the last series and nearly won Athos back. If we have one married Musketeer, why not two?

Can't wait!

PESTILENCE: Now available in boxed set!

PESTILENCE

All three books now available in a three book set in digital format.

Individual books available in paperback as well.