Tudor Women: Queens and Commoners [Hardcover]

Alison Plowden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1979

The Tudor era belongs to its women. No other period of English history has produced so many notable and interesting women, and in no other period have women so powerfully influenced the course of political events. Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I and, at moments of high drama, Mary Queen of Scots dominated the political scene for more than half a century, while in the previous 50 years Henry VIII's marital escapades brought six more women to the center of attention. In this study, the women of the royal family are the central characters; the royal women set the style and between them they provide a dazzling variety of personalities, as well as illustrating almost every aspect of life as it affected women in Tudor England.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A more vivd, informed and entertaining book about women in the Tudor era cannot be imagined." -- Country Life

"Interesting, percipient and lively." -- The Guardian --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Alison Plowden is a well-known and successful historical writer, who won a Writers Guild Award for her script for the television series Mistress of Hardwick. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 182 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan Pub Co (January 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068910944X
• ISBN-13: 978-0689109447
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,151,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-read and thought-provoking., October 20, 1999

By 

medelliana (Oxford, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tudor Women (Paperback)

By summarizing the Tudor dynasty through its women (including the underrecognized Margaret Beaufort), Alison Plowden has constructed a surprisingly gripping read. Her conclusions seem well-researched, and she approaches her subjects, even Katherine Howard and the despised Mary I, from a symathetic yet realistic vantage point. Far from being a dry bit of history, this book is succinct and extremely well-written. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read, but lacks depth, December 19, 2000

By 

K. Maxwell "katmax1" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tudor Women (Paperback)

This book presents, in chronological order, the stories of the women of the Tudor family starting With Margaret of Richmond, Henry the 7th mother, and the founder of the Tudor line.

The writing in this book is easy to read, and the author is factually correct. However, the biographies lack any real depth to them, and there is little new information in this book and it mostly just skims over the surface of these women's lives.

The bulk of the book deals with the women of the tudor royal family. (Mary and Elizabeth Tudor and Henry 8th's queens). There is some discussion on the lives of non-royal women, but 95% of this book is on Royalty.

This book is a great introduction to the lives of Women in 16th century england, but don't get this book if you have read Extensively on 16th century england, because it primarly relies on secondary sources, and contribes very little in the way of new information.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great biography!, May 13, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Tudor Women (Paperback)

It's a good book,but it lacks detail.I kept getting Margaret Beaufort and Margaret Pole mixed up because it didn't explain better. Still,it has good stuff because it has feeling; you can feel how daring Catherine Howard felt,you can feel the disapointment of poor Bloody Mary.It almost makes up for what it lacks.