Tudor Historians Day

West Horsley Place has 1000 years of history, but perhaps it's most fascinating stories are from the Tudor period, we are a forgotten Tudor palace after all. To delve into this turbulent, dramatic and resonant period of our history we are delighted to welcome four renowned authors to our Tudor Historians Day.

During the day there will be a chance to meet the authors and have your books signed. Two talks will take place in the morning and two in the afternoon - in the lunch break you are welcome to explore the charming Manor House and formal gardens.

Alison Weir: The Lost Tudor Princess

Royal Tudor blood ran in her veins. Her mother was a queen, her father an earl, and she herself was the granddaughter, niece, cousin and grandmother of monarchs. Some thought she should be queen of England. Margaret Douglas was a prominent and important figure in Tudor England, and yet today, when her Tudor relations have achieved almost celebrity status, she is largely forgotten. Her story deserves to be better known, for hers was an extraordinary life that spanned five Tudor reigns - a life packed with intrigue, drama and tragedy.

Dr Alison Weir is the top-selling female historian in the United Kingdom, and has sold over 3 million books worldwide. She has published twenty-one history books, including Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Lady in the Tower and Elizabeth of York, and thirteen historical novels. Her latest biography is Queens of the Crusades, and her latest novel is Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown.

A selection of Alison's books on Henry VIII and the Tudor court will be available to purchase for signing.

Sarah Gristwood: Tudors in Love

A BBC History Magazine Book of the Year

In this groundbreaking history, Sarah Gristwood reveals the way courtly love made and marred the Tudor dynasty. From Henry VIII declaring himself as the ‘loyal and most assured servant’ of Anne Boleyn to the poems lavished on Elizabeth I by her suitors, the Tudors re-enacted the roles of devoted lovers and capricious mistresses first laid out in the romances of medieval literature, but now with life-and-death consequences for the protagonists. The Tudors in Love dissects the codes of love, desire and power, unveiling obsessions that have shaped the history of this nation.

Sarah Gristwood studied at Oxford and began work as a journalist. She has appeared in most of the UK’s leading newspapers and magazines. Turning to history, she wrote two bestselling Tudor biographies, Arbella: England’s Lost Queen and Elizabeth and Leicester; and the eighteenth century story Bird of Paradise: The colourful career of the first Mrs Robinson which was selected as Radio 4 Book of the Week. Her most recent non-fiction books are Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth-Century Europe (2016) Blood Sisters: the Women Behind the Wars of the Roses (2012) and The Story of Beatrix Potter (2016). She has also published two historical novels, The Girl in the Mirror and The Queen’s Mary. She is currently working on a new history, The Tudors In Love (OneWorld/UK and St Martin’s Press/US).

Nicola Tallis: The Crown of Blood

Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same.

These were the words uttered by the seventeen-year-old Lady Jane Grey as she stood on the scaffold awaiting death on a cold February morning in 1554. Forced onto the throne by the great power players at court, Queen Jane reigned for just thirteen tumultuous days before being imprisoned in the Tower, condemned for high treason and executed.

In this dramatic retelling of an often misread tale, historian and researcher Nicola Tallis explores a range of evidence that has never before been used in a biography to sweep away the many myths and reveal the moving, human story of an extraordinarily intelligent, independent and courageous young woman.

Dr Nicola Tallis has a first class BA (Hons) in History from Bath Spa University, and an MA in Public History from Royal Holloway College, University of London. She received her PhD at the University of Winchester. Nicola has been passionate about English history all of her life, and has worked as a curator, lecturer, and historical researcher. She is a regular contributor to historical magazines and television programmes. Nicola’s debut, Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey, is the result of five years of research on the Grey family. She is since the author of four further books – Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester, Uncrowned Queen: The Tumultuous Life of Margaret Beaufort, Tudor Rebel, All The Queen’s Jewels 1445-1548: Power, Majesty, and Display, and Young Elizabeth: Princess. Prisoner. Queen.

Melita Thomas: The King's Pearl

Although Henry VIII doted on Mary as a child, calling her his ‘pearl of the world’, her determination to side with her mother, Katharine of Aragon, over the annulment of her marriage to Henry, caused a huge rift between father and daughter. Bullied and side-lined, Mary was eventually browbeaten into total obedience. In this talk, Melita Thomas will provide fascinating insights into this complex relationship, looking at Mary’s happy childhood, her defiant fight to maintain her claim to be Henry’s legitimate daughter, as both Anne Boleyn and the king tried to break her spirit, to her triumphant return to court life, where she played a hugely important role, before becoming monarch in her own right.

Melita Thomas has a Master’s in Historical Research from the Institute of Historical Research. Her dissertation focused on the mediaeval queens of England and their relationship with the City of London. She is a doctoral candidate at University College London (UCL), working on the social and political networks of Mary I. Melita is the author of history books, 1000 Tudor People, The King’s Pearl, and The House of Grey, and is the editor and principal content provider for the online resource, Tudor Times.

Important Information:

Ticket cost: £40

Tickets includes all four talks, plus access to explore the manor house at lunch time

Event timings: Open 10 am - 4.30 pm

Melita Thomas: The King's Pearl 10.05am

Nicola Tallis: The Crown of Blood11.30am

Sarah Gristwood: Tudors in Love 2pm

Alison Weir: The Lost Princess 3.25pm

Venue: Barn

Hot drinks & light bites are available to buy from our pop-up partner coffee van. Please note that there is no other catering on site. You are very welcome to bring a picnic.

Suitable for 16+ (under 18s must be accompanied)

Event organiser is West Horsley Place.