History, Fiction, and The Tudors: Sex, Politics, Power, and Artistic License in the Showtime Television Series

by William B. Robison (Editor)

Overview

This is the first book-length study of the award-winning historical drama The Tudors. In this volume twenty distinguished scholars separate documented history, plausible invention, and outright fantasy in a lively series of scholarly, but accessible and engaging essays. The contributors explore topics including Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, his other wives and family, gender and sex, kingship, the court, religion, and entertainments.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781137438836
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	02/11/2017
Series:	Queenship and Power
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	808 KB

About the Author

William B. Robison is Professor of History and Head of the Department of History and Political Science at Southeastern Louisiana University, USA. He is the author of articles on history and popular culture, co-author of The Tudors on Film and Television, and co-editor of the Historical Dictionary of Late Medieval England and Historical Dictionary of Stuart England.

Table of Contents

.Introduction William B. Robison.-.Chapter 1 Henry VIII in The Tudors: Romantic Renaissance Warrior or Soap Opera Playboy? William B. Robison.-.Chapter 2 Catherine of Aragon in The Tudors: Dark Hair, Devotion, and Dignity in Despair William B. Robison.-.Chapter 3 The Tudors, Natalie Dormer, and Our ‘Default’ Anne Susan Bordo.-.Chapter 4 The Last Four Queens of Henry VIII in The Tudors Retha Warnicke.-.Chapter 5 The Significance of the King’s Children in The Tudors Carole Levin and Estelle Paranque.-.Chapter 6 The King’s Sister(s), Mistresses, Bastard(s), and ‘Uncle’ in The Tudors [Tentative Title] Kristen Walton.-.Chapter 7 The King’s In-Laws in The Tudors Anne Throckmorton.-.Chapter 8 The King’s Friends in The Tudors [Tentative Title] Victor Stater.-.Chapter 9 Postmodern and Conservative: The King’s Ministers in The Tudors Robin Hermann.-.Chapter 10 A Cardboard Crown: Kingship in The Tudors Glenn Richardson.-.Chapter 11 The Tudors and the Tudor Court: Know Your Symptom Tom Betteridge.-.Chapter 12 The Dyer’s Hands Are Always Stained: Religion and the Clergy in The Tudors Caroline Armbruster.-.Chapter 13 Fact, Fiction, and Fantasy: Conspiracy and Rebellion in The Tudors Keith Altazin.-.Chapter 14 Crime, Punishment, and Violence in The Tudors Krista Kesserling.-.Chapter 15 Humanism and Humanitarianism in The Tudors Samantha Perez.-.Chapter 16 All That Glitters Is (Fool’s) Gold: The Depiction of Court Entertainment in The Tudors Carlie Pendleton.-.Chapter 17 Holbein and the Artistic Mise-en-Scène of The Tudors Tatiana C. String.-.Chapter 18 Fashionable Fiction: The Significance of the Costumes in The Tudors Maria Hayward.-.Chapter 19 Putting Women in Their Place: Gender, Sex, and Rape in The Tudors Megan L. Hickerson.-.Chapter 20 Incomplete Prescription: Maladies and Medicine in The Tudors Elizabeth Lane Furdell.-

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The highly readable essays by the distinguished scholars in this book compare the depiction of Henry VIII and his world in The Tudors with the historical reality. Covering not only the king and his wives, family, courtiers and ministers,. but also the political, social and cultural world in which they existed, this book will be of enormous value to teachers of history. It will also be of interest to those who have watched the television series and are curious to know what really happened.” (Thomas Freeman, Lecturer in History, University of Essex, and co-editor of “Tudors and Stuarts on Film: Historical Perspectives”)

“As a guide to the historical errors and distortions of the popular television series The Tudors, this book is unequalled in the breadth and depth of its coverage. Twenty expert contributors in twenty chapters examine in detail both what The Tudors got right and the many places where the real history was distorted or ignored. C. L. R. James, the great Caribbean historian, wrote, 'There is no drama like the drama of history.' It is a dictum that the contributors appreciate and the makers of The Tudors are shown to have clearly neglected.” (Ronald H. Fritze, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of History, Athens State University, and editor of “Historical Dictionary of Tudor England”)

“For better or worse, Showtime's The Tudors will define the way a generation of global television viewers visualizes and thinks about Henry VIII and his court. But what should we think about The Tudors? In this admirably wide-ranging volume William Robison and an international team of scholars of Tudor history carefully evaluate the series's strengths and weaknesses, its insights and moments of apparent madness. This is a comprehensive guide to The Tudors as both history lesson and popular cultural phenomenon.” (Greg Walker, Regius Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature, University of Edinburgh, and author of “The Private Life of Henry VIII: A British Film Guide”)