Tudor Saga Books In Order

Publication Order of Tudor Saga Books

Chronological Order of Tudor Saga Books

”Tudor Saga” is a historical fictional novel series that was written by Victoria Holt, a British novelist otherwise known as Eleanor Alice Burford, Jean Plaidy and Philippa Carr, who lived between 1941 and 1993. The series has been based on the Tudor Dynasty, which actually in the period of 1485 and 1603, reigned England. In fact, if you are interested in any particular period in the history of Britain, chances are that Eleanor Hibbert had a novel about it under one of her names. The book series is fictional one, but gets to portray a historical side too. This particular series is composed of eleven thrilling episodes that give a full plot of the story.

The series’ first publication was “To Hold the Crown”. This series was published in the year 1982. This publication mainly focused more on the two wives of Henry VIII, Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyn. Henry had not been born to the Throne and had spent fourteen years in exile before returning to the Dorset coast, accompanied by a small army and winning the Bosworth Filed battle hence ending the war and launching the Tudor dynasty. Henry’s claim to the throne was tenuous. His marriage to the daughter of King Edward IV served as a unifying factor to the warring houses and also helped Henry get to secure the throne for him and the generations that were to follow. Despite the union being politically inspired, it ended up being a very romantic and lovely love story that led to the birth of seven children and years amounting to 20 in the years that followed. The second release was entitled “Katherine, the virgin widow”. This one was published earlier in the year 1961. Here, Katherine of Aragon was an object that was to be disposed of for Spain’s glory. Her parents sent her to England to be Arthur’s bride, the Price of Wales. But soon, her husband died, creating a worry on what would be Katherine’s fate and also what would be of England. She however was being waited for by Prince Henry, who solely had the power necessary and required to be able to restore the positions Katherine had lost as a result of the events that had ensued. The subsequent series see the introduction of new characters and so many twists and turns that altogether weave up a rather interesting series. The final product gets to showcase the countless affairs, the several handful of wives that the then King, King Henry VIII had throughout his reign that lasted nearly 40 years. This novel series also manages to bring a clear picture of the rift that existed between the leadership of the England Kingdom that resulted in the change in the religious landscape in England. The book series inspired a spin-off with a television version of the series being released. The first television premier took place on 1 April 2007, and went ahead to be the highest rated ShowTime series.

The series book is generally geared towards a rather more mature audience. Its composition of romance, charm and several quite violent acts seem to appeal to a more mature audience rather than the young. The writing depicts the scope of the novel series to be very vast and complex, with rich characterization that create a great fascination to the readers. One on reading the Tudor Saga series is able to traverse through the entire 40 year period in which the main character in the series, King Henry VIII ruled the British kingdom.

Victoria Holt yet proved to be a very amazing and creative writer and novelist in the history of writers through the publication of this book series. She is one of the best if not the best basing on the quality of work that she produced. She very successfully managed to creatively paint an almost clear and exact picture of the events that graced the period in which the novel series’ events take place despite the story being fictional. Her ability to successfully weave the History of the British Kingdom and her creativity to effectively produce a thrilling and content rich novel is nothing short of amazing and unique. Victoria Holt, otherwise known as Eleanor Alice Burford is also applauded for the level of detail and creativity that she used to come up with the Tudor Saga book series. The detail and creativity is very deep and very much to be admired.

Books are a very important means through which we can get to travel out of the present to a whole different world whether in fantasy or in history; in this case history. They help up get to learn new perspectives and get us to travel to a far off land while seated and relaxed in the comfort of our homes. The “Tudor Saga” series can also be described as a time vessel: it transports you to a the depths of history, as far back as the 1400s, giving you a very in-depth and detailed picture of the then times and the events that occurred during those times. The contexts of the books series is very realistic and one that we can very well relate to, making the series even more appealing to read. Right from the beginning, we see a clear path in which the series follows, how the various characters come and go inducing their charm to the story. Each character is important and for sure you will be invested in roles of each one of the characters presented and will definitely ache to find out what the destiny of each one of them is, and how they contribute to the establishment and build-up of the next novel in the book series. The book series is somewhat different and even better than the movies. I think some acts and characters are portrayed better when imagined as compared to when they are acted out. Victoria Holt’s “Tudor Saga” is nothing t you would want to live without reading. After completing the entire book series, you would not only have had the chance to travel back to the historical days of England, but also experience the much entertainment and surely develop more respect and appreciation of literature.

Eleanor Alice Burford was a British writer who penned more than 200 historical novels. A majority of these novels were published using her pen name, Jean Plaidy. Throughout her career, she managed to sell more than 80 million copies. Due to the different subject matters in her books, Eleanor Alice Burdford opted to use different names. Apart from Jean Plaidy, her other best-known pen names include Philippa Carr that she used to sell more than 3 million copies and Victoria Holt used to sell more than 56 million copies. Some of her lesser known pen names include Ebur Ford, Ellalice Tate, and Kathleen Kellow.

Tudor Saga Best Books

To Hold the Crown

By uniting Lancaster house and the House of York, King Henry VII was able to put see The War of the Roses off. He accomplished this feat by marrying, Elizabeth of York. Despite the fact that he is later on blessed with two sons, King Henry VII still feels as if he is going to lose his throne. Thus, he decides to form an alliance with the rulers of Spain, while at the same time fighting off the rebels who were supporting the claimants of the throne. When his son, Arthur marries Kathrine of Aragon, King Henry starts to feel a little bit secure. However, what he does not know is that disaster is looming just around the corner. With that said, To Hold the Crown is an excellent background to the early life of Arthur, the first husband of the Spanish Princess, Katherine of Aragon as well as his brother who would later on become King Henry VIII as well as their sisters Margaret and Mary.

It is apparently clear that their father had lots of work to do to ensure that the throne remains in their family especially from the pretenders who had used the disappearance of the Princes to meet their own needs. Furthermore, the readers also get to see the diplomatic challenges that surround the marriages and overseas alliances, thereby making To Hold the Crown an interesting read. Henry VII was an extremely cold man who had sown very little emotion even to his wife as well as his children. Thus, it comes as no surprise that people loved the vibrant Henry much more. In this installment, Henry VIII is portrayed as a spoiled child who is selfish and many at times sulk for not having glory and power.

Murder Most Royal

Murder Most Royal is the fifth installment in the Tudor Saga book series. If there is an author who has mastered the art of penning down British historical fiction, then it must be author Jean Plaidy. Originally published in the year 1949, Murder Most Royal is a witty and engaging novel that brings the period as well as the characters to life in an exceptional way. Murder Most Royal is a page-turner that will undoubtedly keep the readers up until late at night. Plaidy has managed to bring to life several multi-faceted characters such as Anne Boleyn. Anne is an extremely passionate and intelligent woman who is capable of loyalty and true love. However, there are several times that Anne can be ruthless, especially when she acted against Katherine of Aragon as well as Princess Mary.

However, in the book, we get to see that Mary is filled with so much hatred, especially towards Queen Anne. There is a gruesome passage, where Mary describes how she would love to torture Anne to a much slower death. In Murder, Most Royal King Henry VIII is portrayed as the extremely cruel and egotistical monster that he was. However, there are moments that the readers get to witness his passionate ardor for the dark-haired beauty whose polished manners and vivacity was acquired during the time that she spent with the French Royal Family. As expected, this love eventually turns venomous, when Queen Anne bears a daughter to him. Nonetheless, the real villain is this narrative is one Thomas Cromwell. Thomas creates a dastardly and malicious conspiracy to annihilate Queen Anne and in the process leading to the torture of one Thomas Smeaton.

It is extremely great to read the sympathetic portrayal of one Catherine Howard. Catherine’s life is traced from her days when she was a child, the death of her mother and when she relocated to the mansion owned by her step-grandmother. The Lady in the Tower. In the Lady in the Tower, we meet with Anne Boleyn, who happens to be one of the most popular wives of King Henry VIII. Henry was more than determined to marry Anne Boleyn, which in turn led to the separation of Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. Being a greedy man that he was, King Henry wanted the wealth of the church to be declared his property. The book begins as Anne is incarcerated in the London Tower as she reflects upon her life. Author Jean Plaidy then takes the readers back to a time when Anne was only seven years of age.

Anne had traveled to France to serve in the house of Princess Mary, who was the sister to Henry VIII. Plaidy gives the readers colorful details with regards to Anne’s experiences. Mary, Anne’s beautiful sister, becomes the mistress to Francois, the new king of France. However, due to her lack of discretion at the French court, she is sent back to England in dishonor. Mary was not only too trusting but also quite simple, which in turn made it a little bit difficult for her to hide her discretions at the French court. Later on, Mary Boleyn became King Henry VIII, mistress. Mary was angry with King Henry, who was attracted to Mary. He was more than determined to make her his mistress, despite her refusal.

In the year 1533, King Henry VIII secretly married one Mary Boelyn. Immediately after the wedding, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury pronounced King Henry VIII first marriage null and void. Within the same year, Anne Boleyn was declared queen. Nonetheless, due to circumstances that were beyond her control, she became unpopular and had so many enemies. On June 1533, Anne gave birth to Elizabeth. However, because Henry was a selfish and cruel man who was looking forward to having a son, got tired of Anne.