Get ready for a shameless plug…
If you have some spare time this summer to get lost in Tudor history – and is there really anything better than that (the beach, c*cktails….no, we want Tudor history!)? – then here are my very biased recommendations for Tudor things to do:
- Enrol yourself on a history course – As you probably know, I’m involved in MedievalCourses.com which offers online history courses for you to do from the comfort of your very own armchair/deck chair or up a mountain/on the beach… For those who just want to focus on the Tudors, there’s my course on The Life of Anne Boleyn, Gareth Russell’s course The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and Toni Mount’s courses The English Reformation: A religious revolution and The Roles of Medieval and Tudor Women. There are also other interesting history courses on offer. Find out more at MedievalCourses.com
What’s great about these courses (well, I think it’s great), is that you can start them whenever you like, finish them whenever you like, and they’re completely online. - Get your pencil crayons out and get colouring! – One project I completed this year was The Life of Anne Boleyn Colouring Book. Don’t worry, I didn’t draw the pictures, I just wrote the text and left the artwork to the very talented Dmitry Yakhovsky. It is suitable for children and adults alike, and each colouring is accompanied by text telling Anne Boleyn’s story. I’m so pleased with how it came out. Dmitry did a fabulous job. My publisher, MadeGlobal Publishing, also has two other history-themed colouring books available: The Wars of the Roses Colouring Book by Debra Bayani and Dmitry Yakhovsky, and The Tudor Colouring Book by Ainhoa Modenes. Colouring is so relaxing and it’s even more enjoyable when it’s linked to Tudor history.
I’ve also written some non-fiction Tudor history books, don’t you know? Just look up Claire Ridgway on Amazon! - Get involved in the Tudor Society – What with the monthly Tudor focused magazine Tudor Life, monthly expert talks, regular live chats/debatesin the chatroom (2 per month), weekly video talks, weekly quizzes, articles and resources, downloadable e-books…. There’s plenty to keep you busy! Find out more about becoming a member at https://www.tudorsociety.com/pricing.
This month’s expert speaker is Matthew Lewis on the Survival of the Princes of the Tower, then in August we have Sarah-Beth Watkins on Margaret Tudor, Julian Humphrys on Tudor Cambridge in August and then Lauren Mackay on Thomas Boleyn and George Boleyn in October.
Check out a sample of August’s Tudor Life magazine here. Full members can also access all of the Tudor Society archives going back top 2014 – that’s a lot of magazines and talks! - Get lost in the Anne Boleyn Files archives – This site has been going since February 2009, so there are thousands of articles to read on here.
- Go to a Tudor place or Ren Faire and take some photos for the Anne Boleyn Files Tudor Calendar Competition – Find out more here.
