Steve Donoghue’s posts from the original Open Letters Monthly Archives.
In addition to the pageantry, marital eccentricities, and political fireworks, the Tudors were also industrious religious persecutors. As "A Year with the Tudors" continues, a vivid new book tells the stories of the martyrs burned by Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I.
Read MorePoor innocent Lady Jane Grey has been an ostentatious martyr to the Protestant cause for centuries; a new book tells her brief but familiar life story as continues.
Read MoreJane Seymour is in many ways the most elusive of all the wives of King Henry VIII, dying just weeks after giving the king his longed-for male heir. A new novel delves into the human connection between Henry and his third wife.
Read MoreAt her trial, Anne Boleyn was accused of adultery, witchcraft, and incest - charges long mocked by historians. But a new book asks: is it possible Anne was actually guilty?
Read MoreThis is a place for all of my writing about books.