The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor

December 7, 2015
The rumors about a romance between the young Elizabeth Tudor and her guardian, Thomas Seymour, have been the basis for novels, films, and speculation. Tudor historian Norton (The Illustrated Six Wives of Henry VIII) recounts the tale without adding anything substantial to it, consulting a plethora of primary sources but employing no scholarly discretion in using them. She treats hearsay as having the same authority as state documents. An entire chapter is spent repeating a folktale that was old when Elizabeth was born, that of a midwife called at midnight to deliver a baby for a masked noblewoman, hinting that the mysterious child was that of Elizabeth and Seymour. Many private conversations are quoted with no citations given at all, leaving one to assume that they are made up. Similarly, Norton states the feelings and motivations of her subjects, without supporting evidence. When the book isn’t trying to be titillating, it becomes tedious, chronicling every bickering exchange between Seymour and his older brother, the guardian of Edward VI. The events leading up to Seymour’s execution are jumbled and confusing. Norton might have been more successful at crafting a well-researched historical novel than she was with this botched attempt at history. Agent: Andrew Lownie, Andrew Lownie Literary Agency.