Book Review of Power Couples of the Tudor Era by Jo Romero

First of all, I would like to thank Jo Romero for sending me a lovely gift copy of her second book. I have known Jo for a long time now as we started history blogging at the same time and also have a keen interest in very similar historical themes, such as the Wars of the Roses and the Georgian period. Please do check her blog out at Love British History.

The Tudors is not really a period I tend to enjoy, although there is always the odd exception to that. However, looking at the period through the lens of 9 different and important couples helps to provide a very different slant on things. That is certainly what Jo Romero has achieved here.

The couples featured are: Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, Mary I and Philip of Spain, Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, Edward and Anne Seymour, Katherine Willoughby and Richard Bertie, Elizabeth of Hardwick and George Talbot, Margaret Douglas and Thomas, Lord Howard and Henry and Gertrude Courtney. Each couple has a chapter dedicated to them, which helps to break down the information in a manageable way for the reader. It also highlights the similarities and differences between each of the couples, although understandably, there is some overlap where the couples would have known each other. In setting out the book in this way, it enables the reader to come to their own understanding as to what makes each couple important in their own right, whether their match had been made for love, or not.

I have to admit that my favourite couple was Elizabeth of Hardwick, better known as Bess of Hardwick, and her fourth (and last) husband, George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. Yes I’m probably biased as both of them lived very close to where I do and I do a talk on the Babington Plot and Mary Queen of Scots, which references Mary’s time under their charge as a prisoner. I loved learning about the other couples too, some that I knew of before and others that I didn’t.

The chapter on Mary I and Philip of Spain is probably the chapter that has the newest take. Their joint rule has often been discussed as one set up to fail, for reasons of religion and the fact the pair spent their time looking after their own lands, rather than necessarily working together. However, Romero argues that whilst there is still a case for that, there were glimmers of the couple working well together. Philip did seem to take an interest in England’s navy, which may have influenced how he handled the Spanish Armada all those years later.

In order to be able to write a chapter on each couple, it is clear that this book is well researched. Not only that, but the author’s writing style also clearly portrays her passion for the subject and the couples she is writing about. At times, the narrative is fraught with danger, sometimes with the odd bit of humour. That certainly brings a human aspect to the stories of these couples, despite them living hundreds of years ago. It helps to make the writing style accessible to a wide audience.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone with an interest in the Tudor period. It certainly does the same as other books and highlight the fine line that anyone in the Tudor court had to tread with all political wranglings. That is something that there is no getting away from, but it certainly helps to highlight the individuals, albeit in their couples setting, and why they made an impact on the Tudor age. It adds a more personal and intimate level to a period that many of us feel we know enough about. Give this book a go and see if that changes your mind a little. You will certainly find it an informative and intimate read. I look forward to reading more by the author in the future.