The Making of a Tudor

I must admit I am a fan of this historical era and Caroline Newark did not let me down! The novel revolves around Alice Nevell and her life in the times of Henry Tudor V. She must work to maintain her royal title to protect herself and her husband. In order to do so she reaches out to an older wise woman. This relationship is important and questions of witchcraft arrive because of it. We follow Alice as a lady, wife and mother. She is a well written fully realized character as is everyone in this book. The Making of a Tudor is well researched and beautifully written. I highly recommend this book.

The Making of a Tudor tells the story of Alice Nevill from her early days as a very young bride to her adult life. We see her navigate this new life, desperately trying to fit in the role of wife, lady and later on of mother. The story is very intricate, with many new characters and events, but easy to follow as we experience them through Alice's eyes. I would have really appreciated to see more of Alice's husband and to delve deeper into their relationship, since their marriage was such a crucial focus throughout the story. The writing style is very evocative and atmospheric, and a pleasure to read. If you are a fan of Elizabeth Chadwick's works, you are going to absolutely love this book, as the format and the way the story is told are very similar. The backstory of this book is also fascinating: after her mother's death, the author found a small red book tracing the female line of their family back to 1299. This led the author to imagine and write the lives of these women, some of whom became historical figures. I really enjoyed this book and I would 100% recommend it to anyone looking for an immersive and captivating historical fiction book. This certainly won't be the last Caroline Newark's book I read. Original review: https://www.netgalley.co.uk/book/230296/review/845307

As a big fan of historical fiction, I loved this novel, combining romance and intrigue with a good dose of historical accuracy. I didn't know much about the main character before the book but I realised how influential her family went on to be after doing some research. Fans of Phillipa Gregory would definitely enjoy this book. Original review: https://www.netgalley.co.uk/book/230296/review/777962

Although this is an area of history I am not particularly familiar with, this book has inspired me to read more about this time period. I loved the pacing of the book - it was full of intrigue, suspense and drama that didn't feel forced or overdone. I found the characters to be believable and really interesting to follow. For those who enjoy historical fiction by Philippa Gregory, or enjoy reading about the early modern/medieval period, I highly recommend reading this! Original review: https://www.netgalley.co.uk/book/230296/review/853267

I didn't realise until I finished this book the fascinating back story to the author's books. Not the history that they are based on, but rather that the author found a book when her mother died and found that it traced the female line back through history. Not only did she find out who the women who came before her were, but that they played an interesting role in British history. The Making of a Tudor tells the story of Alice Neville, mother of Warwick the Kingmaker. We hear her story from her early days of marriage as a young teenager and follow her as she finds her feet and role in life with her husband. The story is well told and imagined. I have to admit that I'm not entirely convinced that she would have been so naive as she appears in this story, but we don't know and that's how the author has seen her. Perhaps as a descendent, she has more of an insight. The only thing that did bother me slightly with this one was that it does jump quite a bit. There's a lot of ground to cover and while I'm not sure that it would have benefited if the plot hadn't moved on at times, it did leave it feeling slightly bitty at times. This was just a minor thing and didn't really affect my enjoyment of this story. This was a great read overall and one that I really enjoyed. Original review: https://www.netgalley.co.uk/book/230296/review/365255