The Tudors in Love is an interesting book that promotes an interesting premise of how 'courtly love" impacted the Tudor reign beginning in the 12th Century and ending in the 1600s. The author is very knowledgeable about the Tudors and their history. The book is told in six parts covering specific time periods and corresponding events. The stories covered include wars, religious struggles, mistresses, and illnesses. As successions take place, the author conveys how the next is effected by courtly love. Some of the examples are stronger than others, however, I liked the author's voice and all of the events related were interesting in there own right.

Thanks you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

I just didn’t buy the lens of courtly love as a way to re examine the tudors. The premise was plausible for Henry VIII and even Mary, but not for his father or Elizabeth. It just stretched and tried too hard. The book was well researched and well written and was a good read, but I got the sense that the author just wanted to write about H8 and his wives and should have just done that.

The Tudors in Love is a well written and researched book by Sarah Gristwood. The book is very interesting and an insight into the life and times of the Tudors. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The Tudors in Love stands as a history primer for readers wanting to encounter the royalty of England. Much is included on war, illnesses, succession, beheadings, taking mistresses and struggles with the Catholic Church. Courtly love appears to be a stretch throughout the book with references to Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot almost forced onto the page.

One intriguing aspect of the book is the mention of the Devonshire Manuscript compiled in the 1500s by three women in the court of Anne Boleyn with many verses written by Thomas Wyatt. A deeper delve into this manuscript and incorporation into the book would have added to its agency and perhaps made more of a connection with courtly love.

The Tudors In Love by Sarah Gristwoodis an in-depth look at the House of Tudor. The arranged marriages, the love interests and the general life in court. If you've read the fictional tales of Henry VIII or Mary, Queen of Scots, this is interesting information on the time period.

This book offers a sprawling story of the Tudor dynasty, but rather than go into every detail, that would inevitably take a much longer book, it offers a singular viewpoint, focusing on their love affairs and how that is reflected through their own perception of "courtly love" as first demonstrated in the Arthurian legends.

I found reading about the connections between current rulers and events and how that shaped the retellings of Arthurian legends to be one of the most interesting facets of the book, especially in how society viewed women, more specifically, women who wielded power. The book does tend to get a little meandering once we reach Elizabeth Tudor's rule, but that is mostly because a good deal of her supposed love affairs are all conjecture and there is no true knowledge of what the relationships with her closest favorites actually entailed.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Extremely well-researched and educational. The most comprehensive and in-depth book on this subject. A must for history nerds.

Sarah Gristwood's THE TUDORS IN LOVE is essential reading for anyone interested in this period of British history. Wonderfully researched and vivid--highly recommended.

Many thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the opportunity and pleasure of an early read.

I read this as an ARC from Netgalley.com.

The Tudors in Love by Sarah Gristwood is the first book I've ever read that focused on how Arthurian legend affected the life and relationships of the Tudor dynasty.

In an effort to legitimize their claim to the throne, the Tudors connected their ancestry to King Arthur and based much of their court life off of those legends. Courtly love is a game - and few played it better than the Tudors. Henry VIII was fond of jousting and the thrill of the chase, while Elizabeth I sought to be the unobtainable mistress men worshiped. (Courtly love being, at its core, about loving an idealized woman truly not in your reach).

I loved reading this book and I feel it gave me deeper understanding of how performative court life was in this era, as well as how the royals approached relationships with the people around them.

History fans rejoice! The Tudors in Love is a well-researched book exploring the history of the Tudor dynasty. The book is fascinating throughout, while providing information I wasn't yet privy to. I cannot recommend this enough to history fans!

The Tudors in Love is a great addition to the library of anyone interested in the period. Ms. Gristwood has done extensive research not only on courtly love in Tudor times, but those that came before. She explores her subject through various writings of the past such as legendary love stories like Guinevere and Lancelot and Shakespeare’s plays. The modern day feminist interpretation of some events doesn’t detract from the narrative, and the extensive bibliography gives armchair historians much to explore. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.

Perfect for any history fan. The Tudors in love is an in-depth analysis on Tudor relationships with an interesting slant. I adored this.

I love the Tudor dynasty, it may be my favorite time period to read about and I go back to all the time. So when I see a new book about the Tudors I always want to read it. The book had new information on the Tudors that I hadn't heard of before and I enjoyed going through this book. Sarah Gristwood has a great way of relating information in a interesting and unique way. I had a lot of fun reading this and wanted more once finished.

Having an interest in English history and having just finished Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies, I was keen to read more Tudor history. I was pleased to be approved to read The Tudors in Love through NetGalley as part of the St. Martin's Press influencers program.

This is a very dense history and the research is thorough, with plenty of source material covered. I enjoyed that this wasn't just a simple discussion of love and marriage in the Tudor clan, but a detailed look at the history of chivalry and courtly love. It takes you though the tales of Guinevere and Lancelot and how they corelated to how historical women were viewed and treated. I also appreciated the look at Elinor of Aquitaine.

Overall, this is not necessarily an entertaining read--one must have a certain interest in this period--but it certainly is a fascinating one.

I enjoyed "The Tutors in Love." The Tutors are compared to the love between King Author, Guinevere, and Lancelot. The biggest theme of love was to be flowery and heartfelt as the true "courtly love" of the age of old. The book was well thought out and gave plenty of examples of how the Tudors were looking for this example of real love.

I did recommend this book to friends and coworkers, but cannot recommend it to my students, they are not old enough to understand the concepts and, I am sure< do not have the background to understand the points being made.

I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.,

3.5 rounded up
Interesting and informative. Liked it far more than I expected to. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I have read other reviews - and I might be one of the only ones, but I wasn't a fan of this book. I found it dense, and boring, and not what I wanted from it.

This was an interesting take on the story of the Tudor dynasty. I was impatient to actually get to the Tudors during the Part I backstory of medieval troubadours and romances (admittedly necessary backstory for those who are unfamiliar with the genre or late medieval English history), but the book did not disappoint when we finally did get there.

The author did a good job of balancing telling the acknowledged political highlights of the Tudor dynasty with presenting interpretations of the dynasty vis a vis courtly romance. As with most treatments of the dynasty she lingered longest on Henry VIII and Elizabeth, both of whom provided ample evidence that can be interpreted this way. I would have loved to see more on Jane’s inversion of gender norms during her nine day rule (e.g. she used the golden plates even before Mary did) or a more nuanced discussion of Mary I’s marriage, but those are minor quibbles. The one thing that did genuinely surprise me was the one-line dismissal of Mary, Queen of Scot’s third marriage as merely being indecently hasty, instead of delving more into the story of Darnley's murder and Bothwell's kidnapping of Mary prior to their marriage - all of which reflects many of the tropes this book is focused on. That seemed like an important missed opportunity. But this is a book that is ultimately about the Tudors, not the Stuarts, and on that front it does a good job of telling an old story from a new angle.

I have read probably 25 or so books on British history, particularly on the Tudors and the Plantagenets. I find the history fascinating reading. I love reading about Edward IV and Elizabeth of Woodville, Richard III, the boys who probably died in the Tower etc! The first and foremost author of this material is undoubtedly Alison Weir. Her books bring these people to life for me; yet, this very well researched and lengthy book by Sarah Gristwood, THE TUDORS IN LOVE, takes a bit of a different backslide into all their stories, devoted and decidedly inspired to all of them, by Love! Blind love, victorious love, painful love, depressed and forlorn love, and love forever with and without. It is truly fascinating...... love's scope and perseverance. Certainly, not a book for the faint of heart, it is a wild and thorough ride through the annuls of Tudor history, no detail is left unturned!
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived...all in the name of LOVE!
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc....what is Ms. Gristwood going to take on next? I can't wait to see!

Excellent - well researched book on how the Legend of King Arthur played such a part in shaping the Tudor dynasty. Loved this and the depth and the somewhat feminist revision of history