tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33546777388765763702024-03-11T23:34:51.995+00:00Confessions of a Ci-DevantMusings on history, life, popular culture, and art by historian Gareth Russell. All opinions, unless otherwise stated, are either my own or possibly Gabrielle de Polignac's. Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.comBlogger485125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-14758438840209688972021-08-21T12:45:00.008+01:002021-09-05T23:48:35.880+01:00Goodbye and thank youDear all,As it's been four years since I last contributed to this blog, this might be a service preached over a filled-in grave, but I wanted to say that Confessions of a Ci-Devant can be considered closed. Good Lord, I hate the name so much. It's like the email you pick for yourself in high school that you're stuck with, and as grateful as I am for the support, criticism, and encouragement over Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-66436033528041079722017-11-01T23:56:00.000+00:002017-11-02T00:00:15.201+00:00Adrienne Dillard reviews a new biography of Charles I
Leanda de Lisle's first book, After Elizabeth, was a fascinating account of the dying days of the Tudor dynasty and the subsequent transfer of power to the Scottish ruling house. Now, after best-selling accounts of the Grey and Tudor families, de Lisle has returned to the Stuarts, with a biography of King Charles I, the autocratic monarch whose reign ended in civil war, his execution, and the Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-84858384277455478292017-09-22T14:39:00.002+01:002017-09-22T14:48:46.335+01:00"Something Like Summer": Movie review
In 2011, American author Jay Bell released the first novel in what subsequently became a self-published phenomenon, winning fans across the world. Something Like Summer, covering twelve years in the life of Texan high school student Benjamin Bentley, has to date spawned seven sequels and two collections of short stories. (An eighth and final instalment is due later this year.) The Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-32772850382314024862017-04-21T14:26:00.000+01:002017-04-21T14:26:12.790+01:00My new book: a biography of Queen Catherine Howard
As readers of this blog will know, for the last few years I have been working on a biography of Henry VIII's fifth wife, Queen Catherine Howard. I am so very happy that 2017 is the year of its publication, with Simon & Schuster publishing Young and Damned and Fair in its US and Canadian edition, and HarperCollins publishing it for the UK and most of the Commonwealth. Young and Damned andGareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-49883974156998060232016-12-08T18:47:00.001+00:002016-12-08T18:47:20.110+00:00"The Shadow of the Cross" by Dmitry Yakhovsky
I am delighted to host new author Dmitry Yakhovsky on his book tour to promote his debut book, The Shadow of the Cross: Imprisonment. Along with penning the novel, Dmitry is also a very talented artist and I will premiering a piece of art that Dmitry thoughtfully created especially for Confessions of a Ci-Devant, this weekend. That second post will also offer a reader a chance to win a copy Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-21886239661911213602016-11-19T13:24:00.002+00:002016-11-22T15:49:58.474+00:00Kyra Kramer discusses Tudor England's "boy king"
As part of MadeGlobal's series of book tours, I have the pleasure of hosting a stop and guest post from medical anthropologist and author, Kyra Kramer. Her first book, Blood Will Tell, examined the torturous health of an ailing Henry VIII. Now, as part of Made Global's In a Nutshell series, Kramer has a new theory about the Tudor dynasty's medical issues, which she explores in her Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-55117750660964231172016-11-17T13:21:00.001+00:002016-11-17T13:21:15.328+00:00Samantha Morris's new book on Cesare Borgia
Today, I am very happy to host the first of two blog tours from Made Global. Today, we have a guest post from Samantha Morris, who has written on Cesare Borgia, the notorious yet fascinating Renaissance statesman, as part of Made Global's In a Nutshell series. Allegedly the inspiration for Machiavelli's The Prince, Borgia's achievements, fame and private life continue to attract interest, Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-40293675504327350442016-05-17T12:21:00.002+01:002016-05-17T12:21:42.854+01:00"A History of the English Monarchy" extract: Edward II and Piers Gaveston
As part of the series of extracts from my book A History of the English Monarchy: From Boadicea to Elizabeth I, this extract examines the love affair between the fourteenth-century's King Edward II and Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall. Like Gaveston's biographer, J. S. Hamilton, I think most of the attempts to insist the relationship was some kind of heightened fraternal bond devoid of a Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-18226849818231374662015-12-03T14:19:00.002+00:002015-12-03T14:19:33.984+00:00"A History of the English Monarchy" extract: The men of Wales
My most recent book A History of the English Monarchy covers the English Crown from Roman rule to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, when the monarchy began to shift into a British institution. Over the next few weeks, I'm posting short extracts from each of the book's seven chapters.The book's third chapter is called Diluted Magnificence and it focuses on the Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-43421004816036641882015-12-02T14:25:00.000+00:002015-12-02T14:53:14.049+00:00Blog Tour: Claire Ridgway
I am delighted to welcome Claire Ridgway to the blog as part of her tour for her new book, Tudor Places of Great Britain. Claire Ridgway is the author of the best-selling books George Boleyn: Tudor Poet, Courtier and Diplomat (co-written with Clare
Cherry); On This Day in Tudor History; The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown; Sweating Sickness: In a Nutshell and both instalments in The AnneGareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-28478382110167968832015-12-01T16:30:00.000+00:002015-12-02T14:30:11.066+00:00December edition of "Tudor Life"
Keith Michell as Henry VIII and Jane Asher as Queen Jane Seymour (1972)
The December edition of Tudor Life magazine, for members of the Tudor Society, is out. Sadly, the Australian actor Keith Michell, famous for his three on-screen performance as Henry VIII, passed away less than two weeks ago, which makes Roland Hui's article on Michell's work in Henry VIII and his Six Wives (1972) all theGareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-55283424411792705232015-11-27T13:01:00.005+00:002015-11-27T13:05:38.310+00:00"A History of the English Monarchy" extract: The Queen in the Silver Saddle
My most recent book A History of the English Monarchy covers the English Crown from Roman rule to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, when the monarchy began to shift into a British institution. Over the next few weeks, I'm posting short extracts from each of the book's seven chapters.The book's third chapter is called From Scotland to Spain and it focuses on the early PlantagenetGareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-63406551965951350582015-11-23T14:57:00.000+00:002015-11-23T14:57:29.691+00:00"A History of the English Monarchy" extract: The Empress and the Sleeping Saints
My most recent book A History of the English Monarchy covers the English Crown from Roman rule to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, when the monarchy began to shift into a British institution. Over the next few weeks, I'm posting short extracts from each of the book's seven chapters.
The book's second chapter, God, Life and Victory, covers the years from 1066 to 1154 by focusing Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-45614316439735788112015-11-19T18:07:00.000+00:002015-11-19T18:16:26.398+00:00"A History of the English Monarchy" extract: Lord of Warriors and Ring-Giver of Men
My most recent book A History of the English Monarchy covers the English Crown from Roman rule to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, when the monarchy began to shift into a British institution. To mark almost a year since it was released, I'm posting short extracts from each of the book's seven chapters, over the next few days.
The book begins with Conquest: The violent birth of the Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-89440984879056240562015-11-15T23:39:00.003+00:002015-11-15T23:39:40.320+00:00Dominic Pearce on the Civil War Queen
I am delighted and excited that Dominic Pearce's biography of Henrietta Maria of France, wife of King Charles I, is available now from Amberley. Henrietta Maria's marriage coincided with the clash between parliamentarianism and absolutism in Britain, with the Queen's extravagance, Catholic faith and French upbringing cited by her husband's opponents as some of the causes for the civil war Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-72774869096823395522015-11-14T20:15:00.000+00:002015-11-14T20:27:07.349+00:00Marianne Bereft: A Reflection on the early public reaction to the Paris terrorist attacks
A historian is always caught somewhere between pedantry and pragmatism. In reaction to last night's massacres in Paris, thousands of people have taken advantage of a Facebook app that allows them to alter their profile picture to be superimposed by the colours of the French flag. The gesture, which allows users to show their solidarity with victims of terrorism, utilises the tricolore, a flagGareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-51691208532422208972015-08-05T22:19:00.000+01:002015-08-05T22:19:33.213+01:00Tudor coronations
The August edition of Tudor Life, a members e-magazine which I have the privilege to edit, is now available via the Tudor Society. 22nd August is the Feast of the Coronation of the Virgin in the Church calendar, which gave me the idea for an issue themed around coronations - along with articles from our regular contributors, including an analysis of Elizabeth I's iconic coronation portrait Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-40538858428312879912015-06-15T12:28:00.001+01:002015-06-15T12:30:11.455+01:00Lady Cecily Stonor of Stonor Park
The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Oxford, where the distribution of Catholic literature helped expose Lady Cecily's devotion to her faith
A few months ago, I fell into a conversation about heroism and whether it still serves a purpose. In his biography of Anne Boleyn, published in 2010, Professor George Bernard dismissed the idea, quoting the Communist playwright Bertolt Brecht's Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-46793883917102205672015-06-14T00:06:00.001+01:002015-06-14T00:07:07.945+01:00Edits, writing, research and trips
Beautiful Portballintrae on the Northern Irish coast, where I've been doing a lot of my writing
I have just returned from a flying three-day visit to London to carry out research for my next book, Young and Damned and Fair, a biography of Queen Catherine Howard. It was a macabre but fascinating trip, which gave me the opportunity to look at some of the original documents concerning CatherineGareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-19169577195261703972015-04-20T13:39:00.004+01:002015-04-20T13:39:35.502+01:00"Mary Boleyn" competition - winner!
British actress Charity Wakefield as Mary Boleyn in the television series Wolf Hall (2015)
The competition to win a copy of Sarah Bryson's new book "Mary Boleyn" has closed, and congratulations to Ines Eusebi, who correctly answered that the Christian or given name of Mary's mother was: Elizabeth.
There were over a hundred responses, and the names of everyone who gave the correct answer Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-43203740881197089602015-04-13T14:43:00.000+01:002015-04-13T14:47:18.131+01:00"Mary Boleyn" by Sarah Bryson: giveaway and a look at Mary in popular culture
I am delighted to host a guest article from writer Sarah Bryson, who has just published her new book Mary Boleyn, a biography of Elizabeth I's longest-surviving aunt. The book has been released by Made Global, as part of their "In a Nutshell" series that provides short but thorough accounts of historical people, issues, and phenomenon (Claire Ridgway's instalment on the horror of the "Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-80940982527017179512015-03-26T20:48:00.000+00:002015-03-26T20:48:05.192+00:00A History of the English Monarchy
Henry V at Agincourt. Throughout the book, I am fascinated by the ways in which the legends of Camelot fuelled the monarchy's veneration of martial victory.
I am very excited to say that my new book A History of the English Monarchy: From Boadicea to Elizabeth I was released this week by MadeGlobal Publishing. I've been writing about the monarchy on this blog for a few years, so it was Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-30117019490531720722015-01-31T11:16:00.004+00:002015-01-31T11:22:06.274+00:00A few days in Oxford
Good morning! This was my view as I emerged from work yesterday afternoon. I am back in Oxford, carrying out some research for my biography of Catherine Howard, Young and Damned and Fair, which will be out next year. I'm so happy to be back here, working in the Bodleian again. When I was an undergrad here, I had my own preferred place to work, and the habit has stuck. My current nook of Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-62359462172799240872014-12-29T22:34:00.001+00:002014-12-29T22:40:02.952+00:00My Top 10 Books of 2014
Good evening!
This was a great year for books, I think. The year started of well for fans of the sixteenth century with Lauren Mackay's fantastic biography of the diplomat Eustace Chapuys, which I reviewed and loved. If you're interested in the Tudor court or in the world of diplomacy, do pick up a copy. Since then, I've brought these books to New Haven, Oxford, London, Portballintrae and Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354677738876576370.post-25407294722080545712014-12-05T12:49:00.000+00:002014-12-05T12:49:17.375+00:00The ghosts of Versailles
Stephanie Dale as Marie-Antoinette (seating) with Rebecca Lenaghan as Gabrielle de Polignac
This December, I have been working on a revival of my play The Gate of the Year, the storyline of which is based on the outbreak of the French Revolution. Beginning with the final Christmas at Versailles in 1788 and moving on to three weeks after the fall of the Bastille in 1789, the play updates to Gareth Russellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09102113677858015813noreply@blogger.com0