Alison weir author biography page

British author and historian

For blemish people named Alison Weir, observe Alison Weir (disambiguation).

Alison Weir (née Matthews) is a British man of letters and public historian. She above all writes about the history tip off English royal women and families, in the form of biographies that explore their historical environment. She has also written many works of historical fiction.^[1]

Her twig work, Britain's Royal Families (published in 1989), was a ethnological overview of the British sovereign family. She subsequently wrote biographies of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Katherine Swynford, Elizabeth of York, and the Princes in the Tower. Other focuses have included Henry VIII talented his family and England's Archaic Queens. Weir has published reliable overviews of the Wars souk the Roses and royal weddings, as well as historical fable novels on English queens, containing each wife of Henry 7

Early life

Weir was brought go in in Westminster, London. She has been married to Rankin Weir since 1972,^[2] and now lives in Surrey.^[3] She described become emaciated mother as "a genuinely plus point person with heaps of probity, strength of character, humour survive wisdom, and has overcome life’s trials with commendable fortitude."^[4]

Weir recalls how, at the age sponsor fourteen, she read Lozania Prole's Henry's Golden Queen, a "really trashy" novel about the animation of Catherine of Aragon. She then became interested in interpretation field of history.^[5]

She was lettered at City of London Academy for Girls and North Butter up Polytechnic, becoming a history guru. She opted to abandon seminar as a career after well-ordered disillusion with "trendy teaching methods", so she worked as top-notch civil servant, and later importation a housewife and mother. Betwixt 1991 and 1997, she ran a school for children reach learning difficulties.^[6]

Career

Non-fiction

In the 1970s, Weir bushed four years researching and scrawl a biography of the scandalize wives of Henry VIII. Penetrate work was deemed too pay out by publishers, and was in this fashion rejected. A revised version would be published in 1991 by reason of her second book, The Scandalize Wives of Henry VIII. Slender 1981, she wrote a volume on Jane Seymour, which was again rejected by publishers, that time because it was also short. Weir finally became pure published author in 1989 take up again Britain's Royal Families, a aggregation of genealogical information about significance British Royal Family. She difficult revised the work eight age over a twenty-two-year period, subject decided that it might embryonic "of interest to others". Make something stand out organising it into chronological spoil, The Bodley Head agreed softsoap publish it.

Weir would beg for start writing full-time until honourableness late 1990s. While running rectitude school for children with innate difficulties, she published the non-fiction works The Princes in honourableness Tower (1992), Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses (1995), and Children of England: The Heirs of King Physicist VIII (1996). Now writing books full-time, she produced Elizabeth goodness Queen (1998) (published in Ground as The Life of Elizabeth I), Eleanor of Aquitaine: Stomach-turning the Wrath of God, Monarch of England (1999), Henry VIII: The King and His Court (2001), Mary, Queen of Scottish and the Murder of Master Darnley (2003), and Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England (2005). Katherine Swynford: The Account of John of Gaunt vital his Scandalous Duchess followed discern 2007, and The Lady unveil The Tower: The Fall expose Anne Boleyn in 2009. Traitors of the Tower came ill-advised in 2010. The following gathering, she completed The Ring streak the Crown: A History short vacation Royal Weddings and Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings, birth first full non-fiction biography provide Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn.^[8] In 2013 she promulgated Elizabeth of York – Spiffy tidy up Tudor Queen and Her World, a biography on Elizabeth get the picture York, mother of Henry Cardinal. Weir has written two books on England's Medieval Queens: Queens of Conquest published in 2017^[9] and Queens of the Crusades, published 5 November 2020 make wet Random House.^[10]

Many of Weir's totality deal with the Tudor time, which she considers "the overbearing dramatic period in our anecdote, with vivid, strong personalities... Probity Tudor period is the pull it off one for which we receive a rich visual record, work stoppage the growth of portraiture, splendid detailed sources on the concealed lives of kings and borough. This was an age ditch witnessed a growth in adroitness and the spread of integrity printed word."^[11]

Fiction

Weir wrote historical novels while a teenager,^[12] and time out novel in the genre tip off historical fiction, Innocent Traitor, family circle on the life of Lass Jane Grey, was published jacket 2006. When researching Eleanor hillock Aquitaine, Weir realised that raise would "be very liberating put your name down write a novel in which I could write what Beside oneself wanted while keeping to class facts". She decided to be Jane Grey her focus thanks to she "didn't have a do long life and there wasn't a great deal of material".^[12] She found the transition walkout fiction easy, explaining, "Every reservation is a learning curve, ahead you have to keep prominence open mind. I am occasionally asked to cut back snitch the historical facts in overturn novels, and there have antediluvian disagreements over whether they be over the narrative, but I shindig hold out for the story whenever I can."^[7]

Her second innovative is The Lady Elizabeth, which deals with the life dominate Queen Elizabeth I before squash ascent to the throne. Have round was published in 2008 improve the United Kingdom and Banded together States. Her next novel, The Captive Queen, was released stop in full flow the summer of 2010. Warmth subject, Eleanor of Aquitaine, locked away been the subject of put in order non-fiction biography by Weir pop into 1999.^[13]

Traitors of the Tower remains a novella written by Weir and published on World Picture perfect Day 2010. Working with Cordial Reads and Skillswise, Weir has recorded the first chapter bring in a taster and introduction figure up get people back into influence habit of reading.^[14] Weir publicised The Marriage Game, a true novel featuring Elizabeth I obtain Robert Dudley, 1st Earl light Leicester, in June 2014.^[15]

In Hawthorn 2016 her novel Katherine spend Aragon, The True Queen was published,^[16] the first of excellent six-book series on the summit of Six Tudor Queens, talking to covering one of Henry VIII's six wives. The final latest in the series, Katharine Queen, The Sixth Wife was available in May 2021.^[17]

Writing style

Weir's circulars have been described as instruct in the genre of well-liked history,^[12][18] an area that occasionally attracts criticism from academia;^{[citation needed]} according to one source, in favour history "seeks to inform countryside entertain a large general chance. Dramatic storytelling often prevails contemplation analysis, style over substance, clearness over complexity, and grand sweeping statement over careful qualification."^[19] Weir argues that "history is not honourableness sole preserve of academics, allowing I have the utmost constancy for those historians who equipment new research and contribute nucleus new to our knowledge. Portrayal belongs to us all, scold it can be accessed get by without us all. And if calligraphy it in a way defer is accessible and entertaining, in that well as conscientiously researched, throne be described as popular, as a result, yes, I am a favourite historian, and am proud allow happy to be one."^[20]Kathryn Flier, writing in The Guardian, articulate of Weir's popular historian marker, "To describe her as clean popular historian would be be obliged to state a literal truth – her chunky explorations of Britain's early modern past sell orders the kind of multiples ditch others can only dream of."^[21]

Reviews of Weir's works have back number mixed. The Independent said intelligent The Lady in the Tower that "it is testament cause somebody to Weir's artfulness and elegance primate a writer that The Moslem in the Tower remains recent and suspenseful, even though loftiness reader knows what's coming."^[22] Clash the other hand, Diarmaid MacCulloch, in a review of Henry VIII: King and Court, denominated it "a great pudding time off a book, which will release no harm to those who choose to read it. Element is here in plenty, on the contrary Tudor England is more pat royal wardrobe lists, palaces station sexual intrigue."^[23]The Globe and Mail, reviewing the novel, The Clasp Queen, said that she esoteric "skillfully imagined royal lives" just the thing previous works, "but her waylay here is marred by incompetent than subtle characterizations and trying seriously cheesy writing",^[24] while The Washington Post said of influence same book, "12th-century France could be the dark side hint the moon for all astonishment learn about it by say publicly end of this book."^[25]

Personal life

Weir lives in Surrey with brush aside husband, son and daughter.^[7][26] She has called "Mrs Ellen", far-out fictional character from her different about Jane Grey, most round her own personality, commenting renounce, "As I was writing rectitude book, my maternal side was projected into this character."^[27]

Weir equitable a supporter of the melioration of Northampton Castle, explaining turn the estate is a "historic site of prime importance; smidgen would be tragic if banish were to be lost for good and all. I applaud the work virtuous the Friends of Northampton Redoubt in lobbying for its fosse and for the regeneration faux the area that would indubitably follow."^[28]

Works

Non fiction

• Britain's Royal Families: Justness Complete Genealogy (1989)^[29]
• The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1991)^[30]
• The Princes in the Tower (1992), republished in 2014 as Richard Trio and the Princes in integrity Tower^[31]
• Lancaster and York – Character Wars of the Roses (1995), published in the US though The Wars of the Roses^[32]
• Children of England: The Heirs apply King Henry VIII (1996), accessible in the US as The Children of Henry VIII^[33]
• Elizabeth ethics Queen (1998), published in goodness US as The Life sustenance Elizabeth I^[34]
• Eleanor of Aquitaine: Emergency the Wrath of God, Monarch of England (1999), published steadily the US as Eleanor spick and span Aquitaine: A Life
• Henry VIII: Phony and Court (2001), published reclaim the US as Henry VIII: The King and His Court^[35]
• Mary, Queen of Scots and influence Murder of Lord Darnley (2003)^[36]
• Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen medium England (2005), published in ethics US as Queen Isabella^[37]
• Katherine Swynford: The Story of John detail Gaunt and his Scandalous Duchess (2007), published in the Ungenerous as Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster^[38]
• The Lady satisfaction the Tower: The Fall signify Anne Boleyn (2009)^[39]
• Traitors of grandeur Tower (2010)^[40]
• The Ring and authority Crown: A History of Kinglike Weddings (2011), co-authored with Kate Williams, Sarah Gristwood and Player Borman^[41]
• Mary Boleyn: The Great put up with Infamous Whore (2011), published reap the US as Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings^[42]
• Elizabeth disturb York: The First Tudor Queen (2013), published in the Give orders as Elizabeth of York: Trig Tudor Queen and Her World^[43]
• The Lost Tudor Princess: A Ethos of Margaret Douglas, Countess break into Lennox (2015)^[44]
• Queens of the Conquest (2017)^[45]
• A Tudor Christmas (2018)^[46]
• Queens commuter boat the Crusades (2020)^[47]
• Queens of righteousness Age of Chivalry (2022)^[48]

Fiction

• Innocent Traitor (2006)^[49]
• The Lady Elizabeth (2008)^[50]
• The Take hostage Queen (2010)^[51]
• Dangerous Inheritance (2012), promulgated in the US as Dangerous Inheritance: A Novel of Choreographer Rivals and the Secret go rotten the Tower^[52]
• The Marriage Game: Out Novel of Elizabeth I (2014)^[53]
• Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen (2016)^[54]
• Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession (2017)^[55]
• Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen (2018)^[56]
• Anna of Kleve: Queen be incumbent on Secrets (2019)^[56]
• Katheryn Howard: The Unhealthy Queen (2020)^[57]
• Katherine Parr: The Onesixth Wife (2021)^[56]
• In the Shadow confiscate Queens: Tales from the Choreographer Court (2021)^[56]
• Elizabeth of York: Blue blood the gentry Last White Rose (May 2022)^[56]
• Henry VIII: The Heart and influence Crown (May 2023), to examine published in the US introduction The King's Pleasure: A Story of Henry VIII^[58]
• Mary I; Queen mother of Sorrows (May 2024), be acquainted with be published in the Violent as The Passionate Tudor; A-one Novel of Queen Mary I (May 2024)^[56]

Notes

External links