Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England and France

We’re back! This season is themed: Women In Towers And the Assholes Who Sent Them There. And where else to begin than with the long, weird saga of Margaret of Anjou (1430-1482)! Her story has les twists and les turns enough to make you say oh mon dieu! 

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Christopher Marlowe (with Allison Epstein)

It’s a super special!

Author Allison Epstein (A Tip For The Hangman) joins us to share the wildly interesting saga of Christopher Marlowe, the 16th century playwright/SPY. What was his deal, what’s his connection to FRANCES HOWARD, and how will our first-ever male subject (!!) score on the scandilicious scale??

You can pre-order Allison’s book at Bookshop.org (for the book or eBook) and Libro.fm (for the audiobook with British narrator!!) and learn more about her at her website allisonepstein.com and follow her on socials @rapscallison

Also, click here to read the scandilicious Baines Note written about Marlowe

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Lettice Knollys, Countess of Essex and Countess of Leicester

Lettice Knollys (8 November 1543 – 25 December 1634) was the first cousin once-removed of Queen Elizabeth I (on the Boleyn side). Lettice was also basically the Queen’s younger, prettier lookalike which you know Elizabeth didn’t like. And THEN Lettice secret sexy married to the Queen’s boyfriend, dirtbag Robert Dudley, and that’s just the BEGINNING of this remarkable woman’s tits out life. How many people named “Robert” are in this story? A LOT. And how will Lettice score on the scandilicious scale???

References: 

Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous Life of the Countess of Leicester: The Romance and Conspiracy That Threatened Queen Elizabeth’s Court by Nicola Tallis

Other stuff: 

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How To Lose A Queen In Nine Days: Anne Stanley, Countess of Castlehaven

Anne Stanley (May 1580 – c. 8 October 1647) was a descendant of Mary Tudor through Eleanor Brandon. Following the death of the three Grey sisters, she became a potential heir to the English throne. She testified against her second husband, the Earl of Castlehaven, in a rape trial, setting the precedent that a wife could give evidence against her husband. The scandal of the trial ruined her reputation, ensuring she would never inherit the throne from her relative Elizabeth I.

References:

A House in Gross Disorder: Sex, Law, and the 2nd Earl of Castlehaven by Cynthia B. Herrup

“Such Daughters and Such a Mother”: The Countess of Derby and her Three Daughters, 1560-1647 by V.J. Wilkie

Other stuff:

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How To Lose A Queen In Nine Days: Lady Mary Grey

Lady Mary Grey (c. 1545 – 20 April 1578) was the youngest sister of Lady Jane Grey. Through her grandmother, Mary Tudor, she had a claim on the crown of England. Mary did her best to stay out of trouble, but her secret marriage to a non-royal landed her in a world of trouble.

References:

The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Tragedy by Leanda de Lisle

Other stuff:

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How To Lose A Queen In Nine Days: Lady Katherine Grey, Countess of Hertford

Katherine Seymour, Countess of Hertford (25 August 1540 – 26 January 1568), born Lady Katherine Grey, was the younger sister of Lady Jane “Nine Days Queen” Grey. Following the execution of her older sister, Katherine was seen as a potential new heir to the throne/a royal rival to both Queen Mary I and Elizabeth I. But Katherine didn’t care about all of that, she was all about her secret sexy marriage to Ned Seymour, which would prove her undoing. Also, she had a pet monkey.

References: 

Elizabeth’s Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen by Tracy Borman

Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey by Nicola Tallis

Devices and Desires: Bess of Hardwick and the Building of Elizabethan England by Kate Hubbard

The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots: Elizabeth I and her Greatest Rival by Kate Williams

The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Tragedy by Leanda de Lisle

https://www.britain-magazine.com/carousel/tudor-of-the-month-katherine-grey/

https://tudortimes.co.uk/guest-articles/love-and-loss-lady-katherine-grey

https://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2012/03/born-in-tower-crimes-of-lady-katherine.html 

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Lady Jane Grey, or, How To Lose A Queen In Nine Days

Lady Jane Grey (c. 1537 – 12 February 1554) was kinda the first-ever woman to rule England, except she was technically a girl and technically sort of didn’t actually rule? Hence this whole season-long discussion. Anyway, this week is LJG’s time to shine!! Learn about how and why she sort of reigned for nine days, how and why she was executed, and most importantly: how will she score on our scandilicous scale?? 

References: 

Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey by Nicola Tallis

The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Tragedy by Leanda de Lisle  

Lady Jane (the movie, starring baby Helena Bonham Carter and baby Cary Elwes!!)

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How To Lose A Queen In Nine Days: Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk

Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk (16 July 1517 – 20 November 1559), was an English noblewoman. As the daughter of Mary Tudor and niece of Henry VIII, she was of royal lineage and in the line of succession. She was also the stepdaughter of Katherine Willoughby, and the mother of Lady Jane Grey, Lady Katherine Grey, and Lady Mary Grey. But mostly as the Kris Jenner of her age, she was a behind-the-scenes power player who dedicated her life to maintaining her family’s prestige even in the face of great odds.

Also apparently she’s long had a bad reputation among historians, almost definitely undeserved!!

References: 

Elizabeth’s Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes who shaped the Virgin Queen by Tracy Borman

Henry VIII: The King and His Court by Alison Weir

Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey by Nicola Tallis

The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Tragedy by Leanda de Lisle

The Death and Burial of Frances, Duchess of Suffolk by Susan Higganbotham

The Maligned Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk by Susan Higganbotham

Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk (The Freelance History Writer)  

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Anne Askew

Anne Askew (1521-1546) was one of the earliest-known female poets to compose in the English language, the first Englishwoman to demand a divorce, and wound up the only recorded woman to be tortured in the Tower of London. She died via explosion when one of her supporters hid gunpowder in the pyre for her execution by burning. An icon! 

References: 

The Queen and the Heretic: How Two Women Changed the Religion of England by Derek Wilson  

Anne Askew Sentenced to Death (The Anne Boleyn Files) 

Anne Askew (Spartacus Educational) 

Anne Askew: Dangerous Convictions (Dangerous Women Project)  

The Examinations of Anne Askew  

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How To Lose A Queen In Nine Days: Catherine Parr

Catherine Parr (1512-1548) is best known for surviving being the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII. She had three other husbands, one of whom was worse than even Henry; she was held hostage; she broke new ground for women writers in England; she was a member of the Renaissance Reformation Girl Squad, AND ALSO she was the guardian to (and role model for) Lady Jane Grey.  

References:

Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr, the Last Wife of Henry VIII by Linda Porter

Catherine Parr: Wife, Widow, Mother, Survivor, the Story of the Last Queen of Henry VIII by Elizabeth Norton 

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