Book Launch Guest Post by by Amy McElroy, Author of Women's Lives in the Tudor Era

Available from Amazon UK

and Amazon US

Women in the Tudor age are often overshadowed by their male counterparts. Even those of royalty were deemed inferior to males. Whilst women may have been classed as the inferior gender, women played a vital role in Tudor society.

I'm pleased to welcome author Amy McElroy back to The Writing Desk to talk about her new book, Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era:

Tell us about your latest book

When writing Educating the Tudors, I became even more interested in the role women played in Tudor society. I found it fascinating how women were relied on for many aspects of life by the men in their lives but were still largely treated as inferior subjects. I wanted to delve into the ways women spent their days, the different milestones in their lives and how they contributed to society. 

The end result is Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era. I have tried to follow the life stages from birth through to death, focusing on stages which changed their lives. These stages include adolescence, marriage, motherhood and widowhood amongst others and each meant a change to a woman’s status as well as the expectations placed on her. I did not want to focus solely on the well-known Tudor women, though they are of course included, but wanted to compare the experiences of classes to provide a view of everyday life.

 
Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era will be out in February 2024 but is already available for pre-order and I am so grateful for the team at Pen & Sword for the beautiful cover, I love it.

What is your preferred writing routine?

I still work full-time so my writing routine usually consists of evenings and weekends. I usually try to do all my research first so I can start writing once that is done, but I usually end up down a rabbit hole or two even after I think I have finished researching! If I don’t have much time, I may do something different such as updating my bibliography, searching for images, or adding to my index to save me a job at the end.

What advice do you have for new writers?

Choose a subject you are genuinely interested in so it does not really feel like ‘work’. I would also say find your own rhythm, it is very easy to hear authors writing thousands of words a day and panicking but we are all individual. All progress is progress, so even if you choose to write 100 words a day, that’s ok too. All that matters is that you enjoy it.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

I have found social media to be great, especially Twitter, which I can thank you for introducing me to! There is such a wonderful history and book community on there and now developing on threads, it is brilliant! I also had the wonderful opportunity to appear on an episode of the Talking Tudors Podcast with the lovely Natalie Grueninger, that was completely unexpected and an amazing experience as I am a regular listener myself and quite often buy books from listening to episodes.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

I would not necessarily say it was unexpected but it still surprises me that married women were not allowed to write a Last Will and Testament without the permission of their husband. A large portion of society didn’t need a will as they didn’t have much to leave but seems bizarre that a woman could not dispose of her own property how she wished to without consent. Also, I find it interesting that many women who did leave a will sought to ensure their female relatives were provided for, rather than leaving their goods to their male heir. Women often bequeathed their female relative’s money, clothing and even livestock.

What are you planning to write next?

I am currently researching and writing for my third book, Mary Tudor, Queen of France. The younger sister of Henry VIII is absolutely fascinating and I only hope I can do her justice. Following that I will be moving on to a book about Desiderius Erasmus but that is a while off yet, though I do find myself researching him whenever I have a little free time.

Amy McElroy

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About the Author

Amy McElroy was born in Liverpool and lived there until she moved to the Midlands for university where she studied Criminal Justice followed by Post-Grad Law. Amy is currently a civil servant, working full-time alongside her writing. She also has a blog where she reviews historical fiction and non-fiction. Amy’s first book, Educating the Tudors, was published in January 2023 and focuses on the education of all classes, the subjects they learned and who taught them. Her second book, Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era is out February 2024 and she is currently writing her third book, Mary Tudor, Queen of France. Amy also has a fourth, Desiderius Erasmus, in the pipeline, with a few more ideas up her sleeves for the future.
Amy enjoys seeing her family back in Liverpool, especially her little furry assistant in the form of cavapoo Cooper, and visiting her dad in Spain, especially in the summer. You can find out more about Amy at her blog - https://amymcelroy.blog/ and follow her on Facebook and Twitter @AmyMc_Books