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16 May 2025

Blog Tour ~ Falling Pomegranate Seeds: All Manner of Things, The Katherine of Aragon Story by Wendy J. Dunn


Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US


In the Falling Pomegranate Seeds Duology, readers are transported to the rich historical tapestry of 15th and 16th-century Europe, where the lives of remarkable women unfold against the backdrop of political upheaval and personal struggles. 

In the first book, beginning in 1490 Castile, Doña Beatriz Galindo, a passionate and respected scholar, serves as an advisor to Queen Isabel of Castile. Beatriz yearns for a life beyond the constraints imposed on women, desiring to control her own destiny. As she witnesses the Holy War led by Queen Isabel and her husband, King Ferdinand of Aragon, Beatriz dedicates herself to guiding Queen Isabel's youngest child, Catalina of Aragon, on her own path. Beatriz's role as a tutor and advisor becomes instrumental in shaping Catalina's future as she prepares to become England's queen. 

Fast forward to the winter of 1539 in the second book, where María de Salinas, a dear friend and cousin of Catalina (now known as Katherine of Aragon), pens a heartfelt letter to her daughter, the Duchess of Suffolk. Unable to make the journey from her London home due to illness, María shares her life story, intricately woven with her experiences alongside Catalina. Their friendship has endured through exile and tumultuous times. María seeks to shed light for her daughter on the choices she has made in a story exploring themes of friendship, betrayal, hatred, and forgiveness. Through María's narrative, the eternal question Will love ultimately triumph?

Winking at his son, the king turned to the man introduced to them as Queen Isabel’s ambassador. “Her fair beauty pleases us, as does her agreeable nature, Doctor de Puebla. With her good royal blood, she’ll give us fine grandchildren.” All the time he spoke, not once did the king address Catalina directly, Rather, he looked her over, up and down.
     Still on her knees, María inwardly shuddered. In her mind came the memory of her father. His eyes had the same look as the king when he selected the young mares to serve his prized stallion.


From All Manner of Things, by Wendy J. Dunn

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About the Author 

Wendy J. Dunn is an award-winning Australian writer fascinated by Tudor history – so much so she was not surprised to discover a family connection to the Tudors, not long after the publication of her first Anne Boleyn novel, which narrated the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the elder. Her family tree reveals the intriguing fact that one of her ancestral families – possibly over three generations – had purchased land from both the Boleyn and Wyatt families to build up their own holdings. It seems very likely Wendy’s ancestors knew the Wyatts and Boleyns personally. Find out more at www.wendyjdunn.com and find Wendy on FacebookInstagram and Bluesky @wendyjdunn.bsky.social

15 May 2025

Book Launch Excerpt from Katharine of Aragon, Spanish Princess, by Heather R. Darsie


Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

On 4 November 1501, a fifteen-year-old girl arrived in England to marry the fifteen-year-old prince of that kingdom. Their parents, especially the boy’s, hoped that the marriage would secure the future of their 
Heather R. Darsie’s Katharine of Aragon, Spanish Princess offers readers a meticulously researched and engaging journey into the early life of one of history's most iconic queens. Rather than focusing solely on her tumultuous marriage to Henry VIII, Darsie shines a much-needed light on Katharine's formative years in Spain, her lineage, and the political machinations that shaped her destiny
 long before she set foot on English soil.

Excerpt: The Brutality of Katharine of Aragon’s Paternal Grandfather

Katharine of Aragon’s paternal grandfather John II of Aragón was willing to do anything to keep control of the kingdom of Navarre, which he held jure uxoris, although his wife was deceased. John’s two eldest children, Katharine of Aragon’s uncle Charles and aunt Blanche, were unwilling to simply hand over dominion of the kingdom to him. They died mysteriously. His eldest child, a son named Charles, battled off-and-on to gain control over Navarre. Charles died in his twenties, much to the dismay of his adoring public. Charles must have known his life was in danger,

In his will, Charles left his claim to the throne of Navarre to his sister Blanche, which followed the wishes of their mother Blanche I of Navarre. Their father John II of Aragón took more extreme action with Blanche than he did with Charles.

…Blanche II of Navarre’s marriage with then-Infante Henry IV of Castile and León was a failure. Blanche was married to Henry IV of Castile between 1440 and 1453. Their marriage was annulled on the basis of non-consummation. Blanche returned to Navarre humiliated, destitute, and hated by her father. On top of that, Charles’s and Blanche’s youngest full-blood sister Eleanor of Navarre was very cold toward Blanche. Blanche’s stepmother Juana Enriquez cared very little for any of her stepchildren, especially those who stood in the way of her own son Infante Ferdinand, the heir to the Aragonese throne and hopefully, the throne of Navarre.

Blanche II of Navarre’s quality of life plummeted after the annulment of her marriage to Infante Henry of Castile and León. John II, king of Aragón and usurper-king of Navarre, was not inclined to allow the throne of Navarre to pass to any of his children with Blanche I of Navarre. For whatever reason, he did not like the idea of sharing or handing over any power he could hold. This led to atrocious behavior towards Charles, Prince of Viana and Blanche II of Navarre.

Blanche II, who was three years younger than her brother Charles, Prince of Viana, was promptly taken into custody under her father’s orders after her return to Navarre. She was held in the Palace of the Kings of Navarre in Olite, which was the most sumptuous palace in Europe under the reign of Eleanor’s maternal grandfather Charles III of Navarre. The palace was highly decorated, with reliefs, stained glass, and other elements that were part of the building complex. The palace had extensive gardens and hanging gardens, and a zoo with a lion. Even if the palace in Olite were beautiful, some of its beauty would be tarnished by John II of Aragón’s shamelessness…

John II of Aragón tried arranging another marriage for his daughter Blanche, but she refused it. Blanche was not as easy to control as her younger sister Eleanor. John II of Aragón and his daughter Eleanor of Navarre signed the Treaty of Olite in early April 1462, wherein John would remain king. …

John II of Aragón bade his daughter Eleanor of Navarre and Eleanor’s husband Gaston IV de Foix to kidnap Blanche II of Navarre, which they did later into April 1462. In response, Blanche wrote a document, formally protesting her treatment, and disinheriting Eleanor and any children that Eleanor would have…

Eleanor of Navarre took her sister Blanche to Bearn, in the Pyrenees mountains. Blanche remained imprisoned there for eighteen months, until her death. It is rumored that Blanche was poisoned on the orders of her relatives. There was not an autopsy to discern the cause of young Blanche’s death. Whatever killed Blanche in December 1464, her father John II of Aragón remained king of Navarre until he died in January 1479. Eleanor ruled Navarre for fifteen days before her own death in February 1479, a couple of weeks after Eleanor turned fifty-four. Henry IV of Castile and León, former husband of Blanche II of Navarre, briefly tried to obtain the throne of Navarre. As with several other things, Henry IV was unsuccessful. The Navarrese succession followed Eleanor of Navarre’s lineage and offspring.

Infante Ferdinand became Ferdinand II of Aragón upon his father’s death in 1479. John II of Aragón set a dangerous precedent for his future descendants through his son Ferdinand II of Aragón. Ferdinand II of Aragón, the half-brother of Charles, Blanche, and Eleanor, witnessed the cruel, malevolent, unpaternal parts of his father’s behavior. Ferdinand adopted several of these strategies when it came to his own ambitions and children, particularly concerning the fate of his oldest surviving daughter, Juana of Castile. The callous behavior that Ferdinand inherited from his father was also turned towards his daughter [Katharine of Aragon].”

Heather R. Darsie, J. D.

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About the Author

Heather R. Darsie works as an attorney in the US. Along with her Juris Doctorate she has a BA in German, which was of great value in her research. She completed multiple graduate-level courses in Early Modern History, with her primary focus being the Holy Roman Empire under Charles V. She runs the website MaidensAndManuscripts.com, and is a co-host of Tudors Dynasty podcast.  Find out more at maidensandmanuscripts.com  and follow her on FacebookTwitter and Bluesky @hrdarsiehistory.bsky.social

14 May 2025

Book Launch Guest Post by Judith Arnopp, Author of Hell Hath No Fury! The story of Marguerite of Anjou


Available for pre-order

From the moment Henry VI's new queen, Marguerite of Anjou, sets foot on English soil she is despised by the English as a foreigner, and blamed for the failures of the hundred years war in France. Her enemies impede her role as the king’s consort and when Henry sinks into apparent madness her bid to become regent is rejected. Marguerite must fight, not only for her own position but to maintain Henry’s possession of the crown.

Marguerite: Hell Hath No Fury is a book I have been wanting to write for a long time. I first came across Marguerite while I was at university where I was struck by the injustice of her story. I spent many years researching and writing about her contemporary, Margaret Beaufort, who also dedicated her life to fighting for her son’s rights. The similarities between the two women diverge when Margaret Beaufort triumphs at Bosworth, while Marguerite’s hopes end with her son’s death on Tewkesbury field.

Yorkist propaganda against Marguerite of Anjou begins early in her story and continues to affect our perception of her today. Polydore Vergil’s assessment of her character, taken from widespread Yorkist propaganda, echoes loudly in Shakespeare’s malevolent portrayal of the queen in his play, ‘The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York and the Good King Henry the Sixth’

‘She wolf of France but worse than the wolves of France,
whose tongue more poisons than the adder’s tooth!
How ill be-seeming is it in thy sex
To triumph like an Amazonian trull
Upon their woes who Fortune captivates!
But that thy face is vizard like, unchanging,
Made impudent with use of evil deeds,
I would assay, proud queen, to make thee blush.
To tell thee whence thy cam’st, of whom derived,
Were shame enough to shame thee, wert not shameless.’ (Act 1.4.112)

Sounds like a nice lady but my research revealed no monster but simply a queen determined to maintain her husband’s throne and to secure the inheritance of her son.  But Marguerite was a foreigner, unhampered by the political restraints placed upon English women and that fact cast the first shadow over her life in England.

Marguerite came from a line of determined women; both her paternal grandmother, Yolande of Aragon, and her mother, Isabelle of Lorraine, were deeply involved in politics. They championed the rights of their absent husbands, raised taxes and armies, administered the duchies and laid down policies. Both women impacted on Marguerite’s own experience after she became Queen of England. To Marguerite, when finding her crown at risk, there was only one thing she could do and that was fight.

During her early years as queen, Marguerite acted as a supporting, conciliatory presence behind the king, mainly confining her activities to matchmaking and obtaining positions at court for friends and servants. She used her influence to secure the surrender of Maine and Anjou and, although the pressure on her to comply is obvious to us now, the act did not endear her to her new subjects.  
Her first real intercession into politics was during the Jack Cade rebellion when at her instigation Henry agreed to show leniency and issue a pardon to the rebels. The king’s preamble to the pardon illustrates Marguerite’s role in the matter.

‘Nevertheless, recalling to the reflection and consideration of our mind that among those virtues fitting and proper to the royal person and dignity, none befits him more than clemency, which is apt to bring about and put the shame of sinning in the minds of his subject people, and considering as well that it is fitting to show himself such a prince to his subjects as he wishes and desires God to be supreme and high Lord him, persuaded and moved by these and many other pious considerations, among others by the most humble and persistent supplications, prayers and requests of our most serene and beloved wife and consort the queen…we have pardoned…’

The lure of a pardon undermined Cade’s force, and the mention of Marguerite’s intercession allowed Henry to show leniency without appearing weak.

It is quite possible that had Henry not fallen ill, Marguerite’s supporting role would have continued but as his condition worsened and the threat from the Yorkist faction grew stronger, she had little option but to assume a more prominent position. The fluctuating health of the king meant that increasingly she governed beneath the cloak of Henry’s kingship, continuing to represent herself as subordinate to the king’s authority whilst, in fact, assuming increasing power.

During a lull in Henry’s illness Marguerite produced the king with an heir, Edward, securing Lancaster’s position whilst simultaneously dealing a blow to the ambitious Duke of York who was previously Henry’s heir. It is no coincidence that around this time propaganda against the queen increased, and York’s attempts to undermine Margaret’s authority picked up pace.

Since Marguerite: Hell Hath No Fury is a fictional novel I took the liberty of diverting from the record and embellishing the contemporary rumours of an affair with Somerset. After all, every woman, fictional or otherwise, deserves to be loved at least once or twice. 

The historical record only takes us so far, what went on behind closed doors is ‘scope for the author’s imagination.’ The human need for physical comfort and our weakness in the face of temptation should not be overlooked but, that does not imply I personally believe anything untoward happened. Henry may very well have found the wherewithal to sire a son.

Several contemporary reports accuse the queen of sexual misconduct and her son, Edward, is described as a ‘changeling,’ a term which infers he was base born.  Two days before York was removed from office on 23 February 1456 a John Helton was executed for distributing bills that alleged the prince was not the queen’s son. 

The relationship between Marguerite and Exeter is also fictional, as is her presence at Tewkesbury field. I wanted to describe the battle but since so many died on the battlefield, I lacked a messenger to bring her news of it. We don’t actually know where she was at the time the fight took place but she was discovered by Edward IV at a nearby unnamed nunnery. Some historians believe that to have been Malvern. 

As the struggle for power descended into military combat Marguerite was obliged to step further and further from the expected feminine role. The nobles of England and their adherents were killed in various skirmishes and battles, the reins of government passing from York to Henry (or Marguerite) but it was not until the Battle of Towton that the reign of Lancaster was all but ended and the new Yorkist dynasty arose.

With York dead and Edward IV firmly on the throne, Marguerite could have faded into genteel retirement. York’s vendetta against the deposed queen could have ceased. But poetry and pamphlets continued to be issued, denigrating both Marguerite and her claim to the throne. She was blamed for the fall of the Lancastrian dynasty and stereotyped as ‘an angry woman driven by malice, spreading sorrow, disorder and confusion in her wake.’  

Marguerite, still refusing to admit defeat, spent the next ten years in exile, plotting to reinstate her son. Her determination was so strong that when Warwick fell out with Edward IV, she formed an alliance with him, one of her greatest enemies, and consented to a marriage between Edward of Lancaster and Warwick’s youngest daughter, Anne.  

It was a short-lived alliance that ended in death for Warwick at Barnet, and for Marguerite at Tewkesbury where her seventeen-year-old son Edward, was killed, along with Lancastrian hopes for the English throne.

But Yorkist propaganda continued, and the wide range of devices used to defame Marguerite make it difficult, even now, to obtain a clear view of her. Early historians picked up the Yorkist banner and continued to dehumanise her, subverting her female instinct to nurture into an unnatural lust for murder.
By the time Shakespeare wrote his Wars of the Roses plays Marguerite’s name had already come to epitomise unrelieved lust for power. He described her as possessed of a ‘tigers heart wrapped in a woman’s hide,’ and lacking ‘the true qualities of royalty.’ Tainted by immorality, Marguerite becomes an adulteress, her lust and propensity for vengeance her worst flaw. 

In Henry VI part III her feminine weaknesses are replaced by the most ignoble of male attributes; she is masculine but akin to only the worst of men. Shakespeare’s Marguerite is an arch-villainess whose femininity is inverted to encompass the direst human traits; her assumption of a male role and her lust for blood and revenge reverses the natural order and creates chaos in the realm. 

In the hands of the bard, Marguerite is a marvellous authorial depiction of twisted humanity but as a playwright Shakespeare remains unchallenged but he was not a historian.  Unfortunately, Shakespeare’s history plays came to be utilised not as examples of literary genius but as factual documents of history.
In the 1840’s Agnes Strickland published her Lives of the Queens of England and viewed Marguerite’s story ‘...of more powerful of interest than are to be found in the imaginary career of any heroine of romance; for the creations of fiction, however forcibly they may appeal to our imagination, fade into insignificance before the simple majesty of truth.’

Like other Victorian moralists, Strickland provides a highly romanticised picture of an unfortunate queen who unwisely meddled in the concerns of men. Marguerite becomes pitiful in her defeat but Strickland, by illustrating her utter personal defeat and regret, upholds the medieval opinion of a woman’s proper place.
‘While they remained in life, she would have died a thousand deaths rather than relinquish even the most shadowy of their claims; but the dear ones were no more,

‘Ambition, pride, the rival names
of York and Lancaster,
with all their long-contested claims
what were they then to her?’

 J. J. Bagley in his biography of Marguerite written in 1948 provides a less romantic presentation. Bagley admits that Marguerite ‘did not cause the Wars of the Roses, but her intense, bitter feeling, her refusal to compromise, and her disregard of any other factor than the inheritance of her only son were reflected in the brutal, callous nature of the prolonged struggle.  For the sake of its own cause and for the welfare of the English people, the house of Lancaster might have wished for a wiser and more understanding leader, but nowhere could it have found a braver and more determined champion.  

Queen Margaret’s life was more than a sad story. It was a true tragedy, for the root cause of her failure lay, not in the fickle fate of battles, but in her own character and philosophy.’
In Bagley’s opinion, the Lancastrian cause could not have wished for a braver leader but perhaps one less swayed by dangerous female characteristics such as loyalty and determination.  
Richard, Duke of York was equally ambitious for his sons and fought just as fiercely for what he saw as his own rights and, moreover, he fought against an anointed king. Marguerite was acting in defence of the throne of England, as was her duty.

Historical research in the twenty and twenty-first centuries has concentrated on the study of women and how women have exercised power, and this gendered analysis has allowed historians to move away from the traditional perception of queens.  Modern scholars look at the restrictions placed upon them and how those limitations impinged upon their political lives. Marguerite pushed the boundaries of her engendered position and faced with the insurmountable problem of an inefficient consort, she was forced to take unpopular actions and has since been judged accordingly. 

Other people have campaigned for thrones, overthrown kings and taken power from weak or incompetent rulers and (with the exception of Richard III) have not been defamed; the only difference is that they were men. 

Marguerite posed a threat to male rule that the medieval world was unprepared to accept. She was a woman out of her prescribed place, deemed ‘unnatural’ and any divergence from the norm was considered suspect and therefore dangerous.  Rosaldo clarifies the point in his book Women, Culture and Society,
‘Societies that define woman as lacking legitimate authority have no way of acknowledging the reality of female power.  This difference between rule and reality is reflected in our own society when we speak of powerful women as ‘bitches’.’ Or ‘she-wolves’ perhaps.

Marguerite’s determination and indefatigable resolve to win back her son’s throne was only exhausted by his death. In a man, such tenacity would be heroic.  She has been labelled a violent and vengeful woman but surely she was no more so than her male opponents.  The unique circumstances in which she found herself made it impossible to follow prescribed gender boundaries while her opponents remained unfettered.  

Hostile propaganda, perpetuated by male playwrights and Victorian moralists, remains in our consciousness even now.  Every day on social media I hear derogatory comments against Marguerite and her contemporary, Margaret Beaufort, but medieval history cannot be judged from a modern perspective and it does nobody any favours to perpetuate the misogyny of the past. 
As was my intention in The Beaufort Chronicle, my novel, Marguerite: Hell Hath No Fury is written in Marguerite’s voice and represents my own poor attempt to rectify the flawed perception of an admirable woman. 

Judith Arnopp

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About the Author

A lifelong history enthusiast and avid reader, Judith holds a BA in English/Creative writing and a Masters in Medieval Studies. She lives on the coast of West Wales where she writes both fiction and non-fiction. She is best known for her novels set in the Medieval and Tudor period, focussing on the perspective of historical women but recently she has written a trilogy from the perspective of Henry VIII himself.
 Judith is also a founder member of a re-enactment group called The Fyne Companye of Cambria which is when and why she began to experiment with sewing historical garments. She now makes clothes and accessories both for the group and others. She is not a professionally trained sewer but through trial, error and determination has learned how to make authentic looking, if not strictly historically accurate clothing. A non-fiction book about Tudor clothing, How to Dress like a Tudor, was published in 2023 by Pen and Sword. She runs a small seaside holiday let in Aberporth and when she has time for fun, likes to garden and restore antique doll’s houses. Find out more at Judith's website www.judithmarnopp.com/ and find her on FacebookBlueskyThreads and Twitter @JudithArnopp

12 May 2025

Book Review: Under the Emerald Sky: A tale of love and betrayal in 19th century Ireland, by Juliane Weber


Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Having read about the famine in 19th century Ireland, I chose in the first book in Juliane Weber's Irish Fortune Series as my holiday reading  Set in 1843, the main characters are a former Army officer, Quin Williams, and a young Irishwoman, Alannah O’Neill.

There is enough hostility towards the British to mean their relationship has to be kept a secret. I was surprised to find the potato famine is reserved for the second book in this two-book series, so 'Under the Emerald Sky' focusses on developing the characters, although there are plenty of hints about what is to come.

I liked the unexpected twists and turns of the narrative, and how the back-story of the likeable protagonists unfolds to create memorable characters. Juliane Weber's storytelling blends romance and suspense to create a page-turning narrative that kept me hooked.

The evocative story would lend itself well to a screenplay, and several times I was reminded of my own visits to the Irish countryside. I enjoyed the book, and recommend reading it as a prequel to the second book in the series, 'Beneath the Darkening Clouds'.

Tony Riches 

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About the author

Juliane Weber is a scientist by training. She holds degrees in physiology and zoology, including a PhD in physiology. During her studies she realised, however, that her passion lay not in conducting scientific research herself, but in writing about it. Thus began her career as a medical writer, where she took on all manner of writing and editing tasks, in the process honing her writing skills, until she finally plucked up the courage to write her first historical novel, Under the Emerald Sky.  Juliane was born in Germany but spent most of her life in South Africa. She now lives with her husband and her two sons in Hamelin, Germany, the town made famous by the story of the Pied Piper.  Find out more (and follow her blog) on Juliane’s website www.julianeweber.com and find her on Facebook, Twitter @Writer_JW 

11 May 2025

Historical Fiction Spotlight: The King's Agent (Soldier Spy) by Rosemary Hayes


Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

France 1809: War against Napoleon is still raging and disgraced soldier, Will Fraser, and Duncan Armstrong, his wounded Sergeant, are now working as agents for the British Government.

They are dispatched to France on an urgent mission to rescue undercover spies. These royalists, who are ardent enemies of Napoleon, have been exposed by a traitor. Fraser is ordered to bring them to safety in England.

They must also find Gaston, a codename for the head of the Paris spy network, who has vital information for the British. To do this Fraser and Armstrong embed themselves with the enemy and play a dangerous game of deception.

But time is not on their side. Joseph Fouché, the brutal head of Napoleon’s Secret Police, is on their trail.

Not only must they maintain their disguise to confuse Fouché and snatch the royalists from his clutches, but Fraser also has a very personal score to settle.

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About the Author

Rosemary Hayes has written over fifty books for children and young adults. She writes in different genres, from edgy teenage fiction (The Mark), historical fiction (The Blue Eyed Aborigine and Forgotten Footprints), middle grade fantasy (Loose Connections, The Stonekeeper’s Child and Break Out) to chapter books for early readers and texts for picture books. Many of her books have won or been shortlisted for awards and several have been translated into different languages. Rosemary has travelled widely but now lives in South Cambridgeshire. She has a background in publishing, having worked for Cambridge University Press before setting up her own company Anglia Young Books which she ran for some years. She has been a reader for a well-known authors’ advisory service and runs creative writing workshops for both children and adults. Find out more at Rosemary's website https://www.rosemaryhayes.co.uk and find her on Twitter: @HayesRosemary

9 May 2025

Book Review: Katharine of Aragon, Spanish Princess, by Heather R. Darsie


Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

On 4 November 1501, a fifteen-year-old girl arrived in England to marry the fifteen-year-old prince of that kingdom. Their parents, especially the boy’s, hoped that the marriage would secure the future of their 
Heather R. Darsie’s Katharine of Aragon, Spanish Princess offers readers a meticulously researched and engaging journey into the early life of one of history's most iconic queens. Rather than focusing solely on her tumultuous marriage to Henry VIII, Darsie shines a much-needed light on Katharine's formative years in Spain, her lineage, and the political machinations that shaped her destiny
 long before she set foot on English soil.

Not as simple as she seems

Much has been written about Katharine of Aragon, but Heather Darsie's new book begins with a deep dive into the world of the Spanish court. The Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, ensure the young princess, born to become a valuable bride, is educated in diplomacy and the arts of governance. 

The strategic importance of Katharine's marriage to Arthur, Prince of Wales, stems from a complex web of intricate European alliances, which place considerable pressure and expectations upon Katharine from a young age. The negotiations took over ten years and Katherine was betrothed at the age of eleven.

Heather Darsie draws a nuanced portrait of Katharine, who comes across as intelligent and capable, with an unwavering sense of duty. We witness her resilience in the face of early hardship, such as the untimely death of Prince Arthur within six months of her arrival, and the subsequent years of financial uncertainty in England.

I liked the insightful analysis of the cultural differences Katharine encounters on her arrival in England, and the challenges she faced in navigating a foreign court.

The quote in Heather’s subtitle, ‘I am not as simple as I may seem’ is attributed to Katharine, but I think Henry VII (and both his sons) found her anything but simple to deal with. Could it have been a wry comment on the English tendency to underestimate women? 

The book focuses on Katharine's life before her marriage to Henry VIII, and we see the development of her strong will, her deep religious convictions, and her unwavering belief in her rights. These qualities would come to define her reign - and her resistance to Henry's desire for an annulment.

Katharine of Aragon, Spanish Princess lays the groundwork for understanding the queen she would later become. Compelling and informative, this is recommended for anyone interested in Tudor history and the lives of royal women.

Tony Riches

(A review copy was kindly provided by Amberley Publishing0

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About the Author

Heather R. Darsie works as an attorney in the US. Along with her Juris Doctorate she has a BA in German, which was of great value in her research. She completed multiple graduate-level courses in Early Modern History, with her primary focus being the Holy Roman Empire under Charles V. She runs the website MaidensAndManuscripts.com, and is a co-host of Tudors Dynasty podcast.  Find out more at maidensandmanuscripts.com  and follow her on FacebookTwitter and Bluesky @hrdarsiehistory.bsky.social

7 May 2025

Special Guest Post by Annie Whitehead, Author of Murder in Anglo-Saxon England: Justice, Wergild, Revenge


Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

We all love a good murder story. Historian and author Annie Whitehead has collated around 100 cases in Anglo-Saxon England, from regicides to robberies gone wrong, and from personal feuds to state-sanctioned slaughter, examining their veracity and asking what, if anything, they can tell us about the motives of those who recorded them and about Anglo-Saxon governance and society.

Getting Away with Murder

You’d think that a society’s attitude to murder and the punishment of the perpetrators would tell you a great deal about that society. And if I were to tell you that the Anglo-Saxons didn’t execute murderers, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was a murderous, lawless place indeed.

And yet, it was in fact not lawless at all. We have surviving written law codes from this period, dating back to the seventh century, when most of the newly established Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were converting to Christianity.

Those law codes contained punishment for murder, but hardly ever capital punishment. Instead, the murderer – or his kin, or indeed lord – was expected to pay a sum of money to the victim’s family. And this was not just true of murder cases, but also injuries. The wergild (man-price) was set according to one’s social status, and the severity of the crime. This compensation system was not unique to Anglo-Saxon England and on the whole, it appears to have been successful in preventing arguments from escalating.

Perhaps the least surprising element of my research for my new book, Murder in Anglo-Saxon England, was that although there were laws in place, they don’t seem to have applied to those with wealth, status and influence. Not only did killers act with impunity, they were often acting on the king’s orders.

The book takes us on a journey through the history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The early chapters catalogue the regicides and murders of rivals and rivals’ sons, which punctuated the struggle – usually unsuccessful – to establish royal dynasties in the burgeoning kingdoms.


The middle part of the period is a strange mixture of high-profile murders not only of kings and noblemen but also royal children with, bizarrely, the later (Anglo-Norman) chroniclers blaming royal women for the deaths. The reasons for this intrigued me, and I set to work examining the sources and their motives, to see if I could exonerate these women.

 With a couple of notable exceptions, I think I’ve secured a verdict of ‘not guilty’. (I’m afraid the jury is still out, considering the case of the first wife of King Cnut, who might well have ordered the son of Æthelred the Unready to be blinded and killed, in revenge for that king’s order to have her father killed and her brothers blinded.)


Æthelred the Unready

The later centuries though, present a different story again, with over-mighty noblemen killing rivals, either on the orders of, or with the tacit approval of the king. A huge ‘blood-feud’ also played out, spanning five generations and involving the slaughter of an entire family while they sat feasting.

Æthelred the Unready benefited inordinately from a number of murders: as mentioned above, he sanctioned the killing of one of his leading noblemen and the blinding of his sons, and he also ordered all the Danes in England to be killed. 

This order was taken seriously by the citizens of Oxford who hounded the Danes who lived there into a church, which was then set on fire. Æthelred had come to the throne as a boy when his half-brother was murdered, supposedly on the orders of Æthelred’s mother. According to the law, his killers should have been punished but they never were. As I said, one rule for the rich…

There are also a number of cases where kings died at incredibly convenient times for their rivals, and earlier stories of savagery. In the book I’ve examined the likely truth behind the legend of the ‘blood eagle’, and investigated how difficult it really is to sever a human head. Archaeology gives us lots of answers regarding execution cemeteries, and we also have written evidence showing when the law began to prohibit the burial of criminals in consecrated ground. 


Blood Eagle

The truth is that in Anglo-Saxon England you were much more likely to be hung for theft than for murder, and I’ve looked into the reasons for that, whilst also pointing out that, barbaric as it might seem that the Anglo-Saxons were employing such punishments, as late as Victorian times children were still being hanged for theft.

The intent is not to titillate, but to get to the truth of the stories, explain why some of them became legendary, and to show how ‘English’ society and its attitudes and politics changed over the course of the five centuries covered by the book. But yes, it does prove that even back in the early medieval period, murder stories were popular!

 Annie Whitehead

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About the Author:

Annie is an author and historian and an elected fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She has written four novels based on real Mercian characters, and three nonfiction books, also about the Anglo-Saxon era. She has been the winner of several fiction and nonfiction prizes and the judge of three prestigious writing awards. Find out more from Annie's website https://anniewhiteheadauthor.co.uk/ and find her om Facebook, Twitter @AnnieWHistory and BlueSky @anniehistory.bsky.social