Gènere: female
Nacionalitat: UK
Llocs de residència: Canterbury, Kent, England, UK
Professions: historian
Biografia breu: Amy Licence is an historian of women's lives in the medieval and early modern period, from Queens to commoners. Her particular interest lies in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century, in gender relations, Queenship and identity, rites of passage, pilgrimage, female orthodoxy and rebellion, superstition, magic, fertility and childbirth.

Amy has written for The Guardian, the BBC Website, The English Review, The London Magazine, The Times Literary Supplement and is a regular contributor to the New Statesman and The Huffington Post. She has been interviewed for BBC 5 Live and Irish Newstalk radio and made her TV debut in 2013, in a BBC documentary on The White Queen. You can follow Amy on twitter @PrufrocksPeach or like her facebook page In Bed With the Tudors. She also has a personal blog authorherstorianparent.blogspot.com

Amy lives in the medieval city of Canterbury, England with her husband and two sons. [from Amazon.com Author page, retrieved 8/11/2014]

Membres

Ressenyes

Anne Boleyn: Adultery, Heresy, Desire de Amy Licence

On first impression, this seemed a thoroughly researched indepth analysis of Anne Boleyn's life, her role in the pivotal events of Henry VIII's reign, and her tragic end. The first part of the book certainly gave that impression as it went into Anne's earlier years spent in foreign courts in some detail. However, it started to sag when it reached the point where Anne returned to England, although the suggestion that the letters Henry sent her actually show a kind of bullying and psychological pressure where he used his status as King to push her into a relationship with him was interesting.

One problem is that the writer tends to use people's names without making it clear which particular Catherine/Elizabeth etc she means and given the propensity for the same first names to be used in families of the time it is occasionally unclear as to who she is talking about. While reading it I was also struck by the high incidence of type setting mistakes - lots of missed words and mis-spellings - to an extent surprising in a book from a mainstream publisher. It was quite distracting.

The book was particularly disappointing in the final chapters about Anne's downfall. That part was rushed over in a surprisingly skimpy manner which contrasted to the detail in earlier sections, e.g. about Henry's and Anne's progresses around England; the places they stayed at and the people who hosted them etc.

Since reading the book I've looked at some reviews which have pointed out that there are loads of historical mistakes which completely undermines the reliance I can base on its factual content except where I can recall them from previous biographies. So all in all I found it a bit disappointing and can only award an OK 2 stars.… (més)

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kitsune_reader | Nov 23, 2023 |

False Mistress: Anne Boleyn plots to become… de Amy Licence

Thomasina Marwood is newly returned to court and service to Queen Catherine. However the King's great matter is progressing and the Queen is distraught. She hopes that the arrival of Cardinal Campeggio will help to stop her husband's plans but his progress is slow. Thomasina is caught in a plot to throw her sister Cecilia in the way of the King as a means to distract him from Anne Boleyn but Cecilia's success comes at a great cost to her cousin Ellen.
This is shaping up to be a very good series of books. The device of using Thomasina as an insight into the machinations of the Tudor divorce is a really good one but now three books in and characters are starting to develop. Thomasina is still a bit of a goody-goody but the political plot is still engrossing despite how many times it has been covered in literature.… (més)

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pluckedhighbrow | Oct 1, 2023 |

Troubled Queen: A gripping saga set in the Anne… de Amy Licence

1528 and Thomasin Marwood is working as part of the household of the Queen of England. The household is loyal to their mistress but very tense, Henry the King is infatuated with a woman called Anne and rather than just keep her as his mistress he wants to repudiate Queen Catherine. Catherine is beyond childbearing years and Henry needs a son to carry on his succession so his political allies are trying to get him a divorce. Anne is already acting above her station and Thomasin is caught in the intrigue.
As far as historical fiction goes this is a great setting, the King's great issue is examined from the perspective of those loyal to Catherine which is different to the usual viewpoint. The tone is very anti-Boleyn but in line with the thoughts and feelings of many of the populace at the time. So far so good. My only slight quibble with this novel was the character of Thomasin who seems a little bland and her romantic exploits somewhat saccharine but for every extended dance or illness section there is a really good examination of the history!… (més)

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pluckedhighbrow | Jan 11, 2023 |

Living in Squares, Loving in Triangles: The Lives… de Amy Licence

I thought this fairly compact book did a good job in covering Virginia Woolf's life and putting her in the context of her friends and relatives and the kinds of lives they lived.

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mari_reads | Hi ha 2 ressenyes més | Oct 3, 2022 |

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