The Gunpowder Plot, Jane Austen Investigates and Tudor Fritters
Coming at you a few days later than usual, this newsletter is packed with lots of curly-leaved autumn vibes, terrible tales and Tudor snacks…
Writing
I’m an avid reader of The Historians magazine and I’m really proud to have contributed a feature article for this month’s issue. And while your bonfire night might have been all about toasted marshmallows, sparklers and fireworks, I explore its dark side: crippling torture, political and social destabilisation and a chilling plot to abduct a child. It’s the side of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot that we don’t always hear. Read for free or you can order a print copy via The Historians website.
Over on the blog, I posted up a new recipe for these Tudor Spinach Fritters, which are pretty gorgeous, proper comfort food. They’re based on a recipe from 1585, the height of Elizabeth I’s reign. I also recreated, with no modern tweaks whatsoever, a genuine recipe from 1545 for Fryed Fishe. It’s simple, tasty and quick to cook. Add it to your weekly meal plan and give your family a Tudor dinner. They’ll never know!
I also rounded up some spooky reading suggestions for these darker, cooler nights and Danielle Burton from A Voyager of History blog wrote a great guest post review of Jane Austen Investigates: The Abbey Mystery by Julia Golding.
Book reviews in October included Alison Weir’s biography of Mary Boleyn: ‘The Great and Infamous Whore’, a look at the lesser-known Boleyn sister, her children and historical legacy. I also read and reviewed John Callow’s The Last Witches of England, a really fascinating read all about the cases of the last women to be tried for witchcraft in England, which centre around Bideford in Devon in 1682.
Have a subject you’d like to see me tackle on the blog? Email me.
Reading
Apart from John Callow and Alison Weir I also read Dan Jones’ The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings. It’s a short book, but atmospheric, spooky and a little bit weird. It was a ghost story written down by a monk in the fifteenth century and Dan Jones has woven it into a modern ghost tale. Well worth a read. I also listened to the audiobook of 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire by Rebecca Rideal. I loved the beginning of it, which gives you a drone-like swoop over Charles II’s London. It was interesting learning about the challenges that the king faced during 1665 and 1666. I’ll write up a full review later, so keep an eye on the blog.
Medieval England, with all its Edwards and Henrys I must admit, has been a bit of a struggle for me to fit everything together and understand it all fully. So my new read is Dan Jones’ The Plantagenets. Loving it so far.
Sketching
I was busy with private House Portrait commissions, which I always love doing, and I held a small table-top exhibition at Reading’s historic Town Hall towards the end of the month. I really enjoyed meeting people and chatting to others in the creative community in Reading who came by to say hello. Thanks to Sintassi for organising and Creative Locale for inviting me to take part.
I also went for fish and chips at a beautiful twelfth-century pub in Tidmarsh, Berkshire and drew it as a memory in my sketchbook and also drew a sixteenth century building in Reading on London Road.
This month I have some events going on, including putting the finishing touches to an exhibition piece based on the theme ‘Grounded’ which will be on display at the end of November at a group exhibition I’m taking part in, with other artists, in Caversham. Tickets to the charity night are available here. I’m also hoping to do some live sketching in some historic places while the weather is still mild-ish. You can keep updated on all my sketches on my Instagram.
A meeting of two queens, 400 years apart? Hauntings at Windsor Castle
Medieval gunpowder fired out of a cannon
Polished balls found in 5,500 year-old Neolithic tomb in Scotland
Thanks for reading! Stay in touch with me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and I’ll see you again in December for a special festive edition of the newsletter. Stay well!