NEW WEBSITE/BLOG!!!!

Please visit my NEW AND IMPROVED BLOG (and website) for future blog updates and entries!!!

I will no longer be updating at this site, go to the address below for all future entries:

Http://tudortastic.com


THANK YOU FOR BEING LOYAL READERS!

John Dee mini conference!

This is cute- a group of scholars gathered on Sunday to "rescue" the reputation of Dr. John Dee!

From the Guardian:

"A group of international scholars are meeting in Cambridge today to rescue the reputation of the last royal wizard, Dr John Dee, from the false charge of sorcery that has dogged him for 400 years – undoubtedly fuelled by his use of a crystal ball to communicate with angels, and collaboration with a conman who assured him the angels had suggested a spot of wife-swapping.

Dee is variously regarded as one of Europe's greatest scholars and scientific thinkers – and as the man who cast horoscopes for Queen Mary and her Spanish husband, Philip, suggested the most auspicious date for the coronation of Elizabeth I, and called up the wind that scattered the Armada. He may also have inspired Shakespeare's Prospero in The Tempest, and Ben Jonson's The Alchemist."

Read more

Final Glimpse of the Mary Rose

From BBC News:

"Hundreds of people flocked to Portsmouth this weekend for a final glimpse of the Mary Rose before the Tudor warship goes under wraps for three years.

Currently the ancient hull of the Mary Rose is constantly sprayed with a water-based wax solution to prevent the timbers drying out and rotting away.

Eventually this process will end, and by 2011 a complex programme will begin to "dry out" her ancient beams and ensure they are preserved forever"

Read more and watch video

How two lion statues came to Hampton Court

Interesting article about how these lion statues ended up at Hampton Court Palace

Phillipa Gregory book signing!

Last night was Phillipa Gregory's first stop on her US book tour for "The White Queen". She was at Boston University at the Tsai performance center and gave a presentation about her new book. She was wonderful! She was engaging, charming and had wonderful insight into Tudor history. She also did a Q & A in which the audience members can ask her any questions they wanted (and most people asked questions about her other books!) Then she did a book signing.

Her next book will be called "The Red Queen" and it will be about Margaret Beaufort, the Queen of the Lancaster house.

I really enjoy the Q & As because we Tudor nerds can ask her any questions we wanted to. Somebody asked her what she thought of the movie "The Other Boleyn Girl" and she made a joke about how she can't really complain since they gave her money for it and she spent it happily. In my opinion, I think she was trying to put in nice words that the movie didn't really do the book justice but also adding that a movie is only an hour and half long and her book is 500 pages. She did say she love the actors though. Haha.

Somebody else asked her what her opinion of Anne Boleyn was, and her response was that Anne was a very ambitious woman, but not a very nice or good person. Just "wicked" ambitious. My initial instinct was that I got offended because I loooove Anne Boleyn and admire her greatly, but I guess it makes sense that people generally don't rise to the top by being nice. It's like being the boss - you can't be too nice and a respected boss at the same time.

I asked her if she really thought Elizabeth had sex with Robert Dudley and she believed that Elizabeth did. I personally do NOT believe that is the case, but it is interesting to hear her opinion on it. Gregory said that there is a written record of Elizabeth half naked calling Robert out her window to have Robert come up to her room - Gregory thinks that, of course, anybody who does this must obviously be doing the deed with the man they love. And yes, I do agree with her that Elizabeth was madly in love with Robert Dudley. But I just don't believe Elizabeth would risk pregnancy for her throne.

A lot of women were there- I think I saw maybe one or two men. Figures!

I got two books signed- "The White Queen" and "The Other Boleyn Girl". I think "The Other Boleyn Girl" will always be one of my favorite books ever, along with The Queen's Fool. Gregory brought up how everyone LOVES Hannah Green, and I practically giggled in glee because I DO love that character.

I also took this event as a fabulous opportunity to promote my club -
Tudor History: Boston group on facebook! I wish I found out about it earlier so I could have made legitimate business cards to hand out, but of course, I ended up writing chicken scratch on a piece of paper, made 200 copies, and then handed it out to people that were there. I got yelled at by a staff member to stop soliciting and to sit down. But then after the event, I just stood outside with Ashlyn, another fellow Tudor nerd and member of the club, and we chatted up with other Tudor nerds about the group!


PLEASE JOIN if you love Tudor History and live in the Greater Boston area!!

Wiltshire history centre to celebrate the Tudor era

At the Wilshire History Center, visitors will be able to meet crew members of the Mary Rose, shoot arrows with a long bow and look at authentic Tudor documents!

It will take place on Saturday, September 26.

Some of the rarest documents include the marriage deed of Henry VIII to Jane Seymour and a signed letter from Elizabeth I about her cousin Mary Queen of Scots.

Read more

New Tudor-Tastic Blog site coming soon!

A new revamp to my TudorTastic main website and this blog will be coming within the next few weeks!

You will be accessing this page (www.tudortastic.com) for my blog!!! Bookmark it now for the future!!