The Tudors. Who has not heard of them? King Henry VIII and his six marriages, Anne Boleyn (off with her head!) and all the other players. We have heard of them throughout history, read both fiction and non-fiction books about them, and if you are like me, may be watched The Tudors on Showtime. In this book, Sarah Gristwood looks at Courtly love and often uses the example of King Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot as examples of this.

She shows us how power, lust, power, romance, and marriage played out in court. The author provides examples of courtly love and some of the most famous players, including Anne Boleyn.

I found the book to be interesting as I have always been fascinated by this time and treatment of women. I won’t lie, during my reading, I often found myself thinking, I knew this, that was on the Tudors, lol. But I appreciated how the author examined courtly love and how it affected not only the individuals involved, the politics at the time, but history as well.

Those interested in history, the Tudors or the theme of courtly love, will enjoy this well researched and written book.

3.5 stars

#TheTudorsinLove #NetGalley

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is scholarly history of the Tudors also drawing on King Arthur and his times. Two of my favorite periods of history and definitely some of the most interesting.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this work in exchange for a honest review.
The author reworks history from the viewpoint of courtly love as a theme driving the historical characters. This does add a bit of a feminist touch the the story. I very much appreciated this point of view especially with respect to Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth 1.
The writing seemed more like a dissertation to me and was sometimes repetitive and yet hard to follow. I definitely felt I was reading for schoolwork. It is a long book and definitely not light reading.
The work also seems to presuppose some knowledge of the period and the characters involved.
Overall I did enjoy the book and its unique perspective, recommended for historians and those passionate about English history.
Publication date expected 12/13/22. Review to Goodreads now and later Amazon/B and N/Instagram upon publication

I don’t believe I have ever thought about courtly love, but now that I have, it makes sense. I think we have all been a bit in love with the Tudors and all of their many marriages and betrayals. It all seems romantic but much of it was convenience and alliances. Although did Henry VIII really have to kill his wife before marrying again? I mean, set her up somewhere. Death seems a bit extreme. To Henry, women seem to be disposable. This is odd since Elizabeth, his daughter, was hailed as a goddess!!

Ms. Gristwood has delved into the Tudors and their relationships thoroughly. Love, desire, power, all were in play. Did Henry really love Anne Boleyn as he declared? Maybe love meant something different then. But obsession is not love. Desire is not love.

Power and the lack of power were powerful motivators to fall in love. And the same things were powerful motivators to fall out of love.

A very good history of the Tudors and how we all look at love in all of its many forms.

NetGalley/December 13th, 2022 by St. Martin’s Press

Tudors in Love: Passion & Politics in the Age of England’s Most Famous Dynasty

Thank you to @stmartins, @netgalley @sarah for my e-ARC!

🔜 Coming December 13th, 2022

I’ve been fascinated by the Tudors for as long as I can remember so I was really excited when I got my e-ARC for this. I thought I had a basic understanding of some of the Tudor history but Gristwood showed me I barely scratched the surface!

I can’t fathom the amount of research that went into this biographical account. I really liked that the chapters were broken up by time periods. Gristwood uses citations from prior historians but takes it a step further by analyzing what’s known with what she’s discovered through her extensive research.

If you’re a history-buff, Tudor fan, or simply love the drama that the monarchy is then this is for you!

The Tudors in Love is an interesting book that promotes an interesting premise of how 'courtly love" impacted the Tudor reign beginning in the 12th Century and ending in the 1600s. The author is very knowledgeable about the Tudors and their history. The book is told in six parts covering specific time periods and corresponding events. The stories covered include wars, religious struggles, mistresses, and illnesses. As successions take place, the author conveys how the next is effected by courtly love. Some of the examples are stronger than others, however, I liked the author's voice and all of the events related were interesting in there own right.

Thanks you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

I just didn’t buy the lens of courtly love as a way to re examine the tudors. The premise was plausible for Henry VIII and even Mary, but not for his father or Elizabeth. It just stretched and tried too hard. The book was well researched and well written and was a good read, but I got the sense that the author just wanted to write about H8 and his wives and should have just done that.

The Tudors in Love is a well written and researched book by Sarah Gristwood. The book is very interesting and an insight into the life and times of the Tudors. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The Tudors in Love stands as a history primer for readers wanting to encounter the royalty of England. Much is included on war, illnesses, succession, beheadings, taking mistresses and struggles with the Catholic Church. Courtly love appears to be a stretch throughout the book with references to Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot almost forced onto the page.

One intriguing aspect of the book is the mention of the Devonshire Manuscript compiled in the 1500s by three women in the court of Anne Boleyn with many verses written by Thomas Wyatt. A deeper delve into this manuscript and incorporation into the book would have added to its agency and perhaps made more of a connection with courtly love.

The Tudors In Love by Sarah Gristwoodis an in-depth look at the House of Tudor. The arranged marriages, the love interests and the general life in court. If you've read the fictional tales of Henry VIII or Mary, Queen of Scots, this is interesting information on the time period.

This book offers a sprawling story of the Tudor dynasty, but rather than go into every detail, that would inevitably take a much longer book, it offers a singular viewpoint, focusing on their love affairs and how that is reflected through their own perception of "courtly love" as first demonstrated in the Arthurian legends.

I found reading about the connections between current rulers and events and how that shaped the retellings of Arthurian legends to be one of the most interesting facets of the book, especially in how society viewed women, more specifically, women who wielded power. The book does tend to get a little meandering once we reach Elizabeth Tudor's rule, but that is mostly because a good deal of her supposed love affairs are all conjecture and there is no true knowledge of what the relationships with her closest favorites actually entailed.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Extremely well-researched and educational. The most comprehensive and in-depth book on this subject. A must for history nerds.

Sarah Gristwood's THE TUDORS IN LOVE is essential reading for anyone interested in this period of British history. Wonderfully researched and vivid--highly recommended.

Many thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the opportunity and pleasure of an early read.

I read this as an ARC from Netgalley.com.

The Tudors in Love by Sarah Gristwood is the first book I've ever read that focused on how Arthurian legend affected the life and relationships of the Tudor dynasty.

In an effort to legitimize their claim to the throne, the Tudors connected their ancestry to King Arthur and based much of their court life off of those legends. Courtly love is a game - and few played it better than the Tudors. Henry VIII was fond of jousting and the thrill of the chase, while Elizabeth I sought to be the unobtainable mistress men worshiped. (Courtly love being, at its core, about loving an idealized woman truly not in your reach).

I loved reading this book and I feel it gave me deeper understanding of how performative court life was in this era, as well as how the royals approached relationships with the people around them.

History fans rejoice! The Tudors in Love is a well-researched book exploring the history of the Tudor dynasty. The book is fascinating throughout, while providing information I wasn't yet privy to. I cannot recommend this enough to history fans!

The Tudors in Love is a great addition to the library of anyone interested in the period. Ms. Gristwood has done extensive research not only on courtly love in Tudor times, but those that came before. She explores her subject through various writings of the past such as legendary love stories like Guinevere and Lancelot and Shakespeare’s plays. The modern day feminist interpretation of some events doesn’t detract from the narrative, and the extensive bibliography gives armchair historians much to explore. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.

Perfect for any history fan. The Tudors in love is an in-depth analysis on Tudor relationships with an interesting slant. I adored this.

Having an interest in English history and having just finished Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies, I was keen to read more Tudor history. I was pleased to be approved to read The Tudors in Love through NetGalley as part of the St. Martin's Press influencers program.

This is a very dense history and the research is thorough, with plenty of source material covered. I enjoyed that this wasn't just a simple discussion of love and marriage in the Tudor clan, but a detailed look at the history of chivalry and courtly love. It takes you though the tales of Guinevere and Lancelot and how they corelated to how historical women were viewed and treated. I also appreciated the look at Elinor of Aquitaine.

Overall, this is not necessarily an entertaining read--one must have a certain interest in this period--but it certainly is a fascinating one.

I enjoyed "The Tutors in Love." The Tutors are compared to the love between King Author, Guinevere, and Lancelot. The biggest theme of love was to be flowery and heartfelt as the true "courtly love" of the age of old. The book was well thought out and gave plenty of examples of how the Tudors were looking for this example of real love.

I did recommend this book to friends and coworkers, but cannot recommend it to my students, they are not old enough to understand the concepts and, I am sure< do not have the background to understand the points being made.

I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.,

3.5 rounded up
Interesting and informative. Liked it far more than I expected to. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I have read other reviews - and I might be one of the only ones, but I wasn't a fan of this book. I found it dense, and boring, and not what I wanted from it.