Talking Tudors

Host Natalie Grueninger interviews historian and author Megan Coles about the spooky side of London: Elizabeth I sightings, headless apparitions at the Tower, Catherine Howard’s ghost at Hampton Court, and Megan’s own paranormal experiences in Westminster and the Churchill War Rooms.

Learn more about Megan Coles

https://linktr.ee/sighmegara?ltsid=70f8850d-546a-4758-b948-69d5992e90f7

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Host Natalie Grueninger interviews Dr Jane Bitomsky about her debut historical mystery, 'Death by Misadventure', and her PhD research into pregnancy and crime in early modern England.

They discuss the real-life coroner John Derrick, researching Bramley in the 1580s, sources and surprises from the archives (from medicinal mouldy bread to colourful euphemisms), and the challenges of writing accurate yet readable historical fiction.

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Historian and novelist Sarah Dunant joins Natalie Grueninger to explore the life and legacy of Isabella d'Este. Among other things, they discuss her upbringing in Ferrara, marriage into Mantua, patronage of the arts, signature fashion statements, and the extraordinary archive of over 33,000 letters that reveal her voice and political skill.

They also discuss Dunant's latest novel 'The Marquesa'.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SARAH DUNANT

https://www.sarahdunant.com

TAKEAWAYS

https://www.isabelladestearchive.org/

Explore the work of Andrea Mantegna, court artist to the Gonzaga family in Mantua.

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In this episode Natalie Grueninger interviews Susan Millard, rare books curator at the University of Melbourne, about the library’s recent acquisition of a 1494 edition of the Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches).

They explore the book’s author Heinrich Kramer, its printing by Anton Koberger, its role in witch trials and misogyny, the physical provenance and condition of the volume, and how it will be used for teaching and research.

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https://library.unimelb.edu.au/asc

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Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Dr Harry Spillane about the life, exile, and execution of William Tyndale, focusing on his groundbreaking translation of the New Testament and the challenges he faced from church and state.

The episode covers Tyndale's translation methods, the printing and smuggling of English Bibles, his clashes with figures like Thomas More and Henry VIII, and his lasting influence on English language and later Bible editions.

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Learn more about Dr Spillane

https://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/people/dr-harry-spillane

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https://datb.cerl.org/estc/

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Dr Megan J. Hall joins Talking Tudors to explore women's literacy and education in medieval England, tracing how reading and writing shifted from church-centred training to household and aristocratic learning between 1100–1300 and beyond.

They discuss educational settings and curricula for girls and boys, the role of saints and literary models, and how modern research reshapes our assumptions about women's intellectual contributions.

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VISIT DR MEGAN J. HALL'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE https://www.meganjhall.com/

COULD MEDIEVAL WOMEN READ? https://sites.nd.edu/manuscript-studies/2021/04/14/could-medieval-women-read/

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Host Natalie Grueninger and guest Dr Owen Emmerson examine a tiny Tudor portrait miniature held at the Royal Ontario Museum, exploring its possible attribution to Lucas Horenbout and the tantalizing theory that it may be the earliest depiction of Anne Boleyn.

They discuss dating, costume and jewel details, related inventories and court accounts from 1527–28, comparisons with a twin miniature at and why ongoing technical research may help confirm or refute the sitter’s identity.

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Host Natalie Grueninger interviews Dr Elizabeth Norton about her new book on Jane Seymour, exploring fresh archival discoveries that reshape our view of the queen. They discuss Jane’s likely birthdate, court career, political agency, household, material culture and wardrobe accounts, relationships with Princess Mary, and the myths about her religion and headwear.

The conversation highlights Jane’s skilful use of patronage, financial acumen, and soft power as queen during a turbulent period of the Reformation, and explains why her planned coronation never took place.

Learn more about Dr Elizabeth Norton

http://www.elizabethnorton.co.uk/

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Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with historian Rosemary Griggs about her new biography, 'Queen Elizabeth I's Governess: The Real Kat Ashley', which reexamines the life of Katherine Champanowne (Kat Ashley) and restores her place at the centre of Elizabeth I’s life.

Rosemary discusses her archival discoveries, the Champanowne and Carew family connections, Kat’s role in Elizabeth’s upbringing and court, her involvement in political scandals and imprisonments, and the influence and legacy she left during Elizabeth’s reign.

Learn more about Rosemary Griggs

https://rosemarygriggs.co.uk/

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Host Natalie Grueninger interviews historian Ebrahim Joseph about the surprising influence of ancient Persia, especially Cyrus the Great, on Elizabethan England. They explore classical and biblical sources, princely education, political advice, court drama (including The Wars of Cyrus), the Mary, Queen of Scots debate, and early contacts with Safavid Persia, showing how Persian models of charismatic and ruthless kingship shaped Tudor political culture.

LEARN MORE ABOUT EBRAHIM JOSEPH https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/people/ebrahim-hanifehpour-0

Read ‘Honour and Deceit in The Warres of Cyrus, Classical Persia, and Elizabethan Politics’ by Ebrahim Joseph

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X26101745

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Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Dr Lauren Working about her book 'A Golden World' and how voyages to the Americas reshaped 16th‑century England. The episode traces Atlantic influences on London life, art, fashion and trade through objects and people brought back from the New World.

Examples include the flood of pearls and emeralds, the rise of tobacco and new fashions, live exotic animals and the crucial Indigenous knowledge behind many colonial practices. The conversation emphasises that Tudor England, even without a formal empire, was transformed by ongoing Atlantic encounters.

Learn more about Dr Working

https://www.york.ac.uk/english/people/laurenworking/

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Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Dr David Grummitt about the December 1460 events commonly called the Battle of Wakefield. Dr Grummitt argues the episode was a small ambush and murder of Richard, Duke of York and his son rather than a large pitched battle, and explains the primary evidence behind this interpretation.

The episode also covers the immediate Lancastrian response, the march to the Palm Sunday battles of 1461, and how later Tudor chroniclers and historians transformed these events into a more dramatic mythology.

READ DR GRUMMITT & PAUL DAWSON'S ARTICLE

https://oro.open.ac.uk/105170/

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Host Natalie Grueninger welcomes Catherine Williams to the podcast to discuss Tudor poetry.

Follow Catherine Williams on Instagram

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TAKEAWAY

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/

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Host Natalie Grueninger welcomes Dr Ashley Douglas to discuss her new book, 'With My Own Hand: The Secret Life of Marie Maitland, Scotland's Sixteenth-Century Sappho'. They discuss the life and poems of Marie Maitland, a 16th-century Scottish scribe whose Maitland Quarto contains early sapphic verse.

The episode explores Marie's family and court connections, her role as her blind father's secretary, the manuscript's anonymous female poems, and the wider significance for women's and LGBT+ history in Reformation Scotland.

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Host Natalie Grueninger and Dr Owen Emmerson examine Thomas Boleyn’s November–December 1526 financial accounts, revealing the family’s substantial landholdings, household expenses, and wide social networks just before Anne Boleyn’s rise.

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In this episode Natalie Grueninger interviews Dr Valerie Schutte about her upcoming cultural biography of Anne of Cleves. They re-examine long-standing myths about Anne's appearance, birthdate, and role in Tudor politics, by returning to contemporary sources and continental perspectives.

The conversation also covers Anne's portrayal in art (including Holbein’s portraits), surviving books and dedications, the politics surrounding her divorce from Henry VIII, and how her reputation has evolved across centuries. Schutte's book is published July 3, 2026.

Visit Dr Schutte's official website

https://tudorqueenship.com/

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Natalie Grueninger interviews Cait Murphy-Hurrell about Edmund Spenser's 'The Faerie Queene', exploring the poem's rich allegory, its portrayal of villainous women and otherness, and how Spenser reflects Elizabethan politics, religion, and his experiences in Ireland.

Check out Cait's Substack!

https://caitmurphyhurrell.substack.com/

Visit 'The Renaissance Academy'

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Host Natalie Grueninger interviews historian Amy McElroy about Desiderius Erasmus, exploring his mysterious early life, education, travels across Europe, and key works such as 'Praise of Folly' and his Greek-Latin New Testament.

The conversation covers Erasmus’s influence on Tudor education and humanism, his relationships with Thomas More and Martin Luther, and his complex legacy as a Catholic reformer and leading Renaissance scholar.

This episode of Talking Tudors was made possible by 'Simply Tudor Tours'. Check out their new Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I Tour!

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Professor Nandini Das explores how Tudor and Stuart England were shaped by movement, exchange, and diverse individuals—artists, scholars, missionaries, and sailors—whose lives challenge the idea of a sealed island nation.

Through four vivid case studies (the court miniaturist Levina Teerlinc from Bruges, the roaming thinker Giordano Bruno, the missionary Thomas Stevens in Goa, and William Adams in Japan), the episode reveals how identity, belonging, and nationhood were negotiated across borders in the 16th and 17th centuries.

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Host Natalie Grueninger talks with historian Jessica Carey-Bunning about her book 'The Wives of Henry VIII', presenting fresh archival research and new perspectives on each queen.

They discuss Catherine of Aragon’s finances after annulment, Anne Boleyn’s use of dress and image, Jane Seymour’s complex reputation and faith, Anne of Cleves’ later life, Catherine Howard’s queenship, and the contested danger faced by Catherine Parr.

Carey-Bunning urges listeners to question traditional narratives and to return to primary sources to better understand the messy realities of Tudor court life.

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