The Tudor Society, by Claire Ridgway

Thank you, Tony, for inviting me to your blog to share a little about the Tudor Society, why it exists and what it is.

I’m Claire Ridgway, a Tudor history researcher and writer, and creator of the Anne Boleyn Files website. I started the Tudor Society in August 2014 for several reasons: I felt that the Tudors, that family of iconic royals, deserved a society to promote their history; I wanted to create a magazine that was Tudor history focused rather than covering centuries of history; I wanted to bring together Tudor historians and their readers from all over the world through talks and live chats because so many people miss out on hearing speakers due to geographical restrictions; I wanted to support new/young historians and authors in the field by helping them get their work out there; and I knew how much Ricardians love being part of a society and so wanted to offer a similar opportunity to Tudor history lovers.

As I wanted to bring together people from all over the world, it was important for the society to be online and easily accessible. Tudor Society members can enjoy:

Tudor Life, our monthly digital magazine, which is edited by historian Gareth Russell and which features articles by regular contributors with expertise in Tudor history, art history, music, cooking etc. and also guest articles by historians and authors

Monthly expert talks from Tudor historians and authors, followed by a live chat on the chatroom for members to get their questions answered in person and live

Weekly videos – In these Claire Chats videos I talk about Tudor topics, questions that have arisen, primary sources… you name it!

A weekly quiz – Tudor history focused of course!

Access to the archives – all the magazines, videos and expert talks that we have ever produced

We also have a private forum, primary sources pages, Tudor history articles, videos, ebooks… Lots!

I’m just in the middle of creating ebooks on each Tudor monarch for our members. These will contain, brief biographies, lists of primary sources, a recommended reading list, a family tree and a collection of articles on the monarch and his/her reign. I also have plans to have regular informal chat sessions on the chatroom about specific Tudor topics. It’s all go!

I’m hoping that I’ve created a place that Tudor history lovers can call “home”. On a personal level, I love being a part of it because I can share a question or something that’s been niggling me with the community and receive feedback from a broad spectrum of people with different views and areas of expertise.

It’s also heart-warming to know that I’m a part of bringing together so many people from all over the world to discuss Tudor history. We all know what it’s like to ‘talk Tudor’ and have our friends’ and families’ eyes glaze over, but now we have somewhere to go and talk about it to our hearts’ content .

Claire Ridgway

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About the Author

Claire Ridgway a full-time freelance writer and historian  from England. She now lives in Spain near the historic Alhambra. Claire is the author of several best-selling books, including The Anne Boleyn Collection, The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown and On This Day in Tudor History. You can find Claire at www.tudorsociety.com,
www.theanneboleynfiles.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter @AnneBoleynFiles.