This collection of short stories has definitely made me want to pick up the Six Tudor Queens series. In In the Shadow of Queens, Alison Weir introduces us to various figures who were part of or adjacent to the Tudor court during the lives of Henry VIII’s six wives. There’s some really interesting perspectives here, and Weir’s author notes add some excellent context. We see life in and outside the court, the scheming and machinations that ruined some of these women, the way Henry changed from when he took the throne to the end of his life. The stories are arranged in chronological order, grouped under each queen with the queen’s timeline provided before the relevant stories. Some do start earlier than the queen’s reign, some go past the end, but all give really interesting insights and perspectives on the Tudor era.

Weir has cleverly woven how different people – individuals, fractions – saw the queens themselves, but there’s often a nice balance. The first story focuses on Arthur, Henry’s older brother and the heir to the throne, leading up to his betrothal to Katherine of Aragon. The final story is about the mishandling of Katherine Parr’s remains, ending with the author herself hoping she has done justice to these women, following the completion of the final book in her series. It’s a beautiful ending, though the story itself, while enlightening, has this awful undercurrent with the way her body is treated in death. Still, it’s a really strong way to end the collection as a whole.

Something that really stood out was how in the background Henry VIII was, while the queens, whether they play a central role in the story itself or not, really take the lead, truly casting a shadow – as the title implies – over the characters and stories themselves, and revealing how much they impacted Henry, his choices, and the Tudor era as a whole.

I imagine this would be a great bonus collection for fans of the series, and as for me, it’s made me really want to pick up Weir’s Six Tudor Queens, so if you like historical fiction and are intrigued by the Tudors, I really feel this is a book worth picking up.

A great collection of short stories. It tells stories that we haven’t heard before. As expected the writing is very good. A perfect addition to the six Tudor queens series

Alison Weir is such an amazing author, I’ve read lots of her books and absolutely love them. Tudor history is a big love of mine

‘Behind every great king stands a queen. And behind every queen, the whole court watches on...’

My thanks to Headline Books an eARC via NetGalley of ‘In the Shadow of Queens: Tales from the Tudor Court’ by Alison Weir. My apologies for late feedback.

This book is a collection of thirteen short stories to accompany and expand on Weir’s Six Tudor Queens series of historical novels, one for each of King Henry VIII’s queens.

Although I have not read Weir’s Six Tudor Queens I am familiar with her fiction and nonfiction and rate her highly as both a novelist and historian. Weir opens the collection with an informative Introduction that places the stories in their historical context.

I enjoyed this collection very much and would recommend them to anyone interested in Tudor history and especially in the lives and motivations of those men and women who were active on the sidelines of the royal court. Reading ‘In the Shadow of the Queens’ has inspired me to read the novels themselves.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I love this author and was thrilled to be able to read this
It doesn't disppoint

Loved it

Absolutely brilliant! There's something about the way the author writes that makes the words flow easily, and the pages turn themselves!

Such a clever concept. Stories around the people who were in the lives of Henry VIII’s queens. Based on meticulous research these stories where brilliant a real must for any fan of historical fiction

I had looked forward to reading this, as I have previously read and enjoyed other books by this author.
However, although the short tales in this collection are as well-researched as ever, I do not feel that they quite worked as Historical fiction, or as a mingling of fact and fiction, because the characters weren't sufficiently well-rounded for me to engage with them. I had no real sense of them having inner lives and, though there were plenty of facts about them, I got absolutely no sense of them as flesh and blood people who had actually existed.
Perhaps because of my lack of engagement and empathy, thrilling and tragic events in which they were involved lacked impact.

I am afraid that I was somewhat underwhelmed by this book.

This is a collection of thirteen short stories and novellas written by Alison Weir over the last few years to accompany her Six Tudor Queens series of novels. The stories were released as individual ebooks one by one as they were written, but are now available all together in one volume.

I have read all six of the full-length novels in the Six Tudor Queens series, each one exploring the life of one of the wives of Henry VIII. These short stories fill in the gaps between the novels, providing more insights or looking at things from a different perspective. They are arranged in roughly chronological order, starting before Henry’s marriage to Katherine of Aragon and ending after the death of Katherine Parr. I had already read one of them – The Tower is Full of Ghosts Today, about a Tower of London tour guide with a strange resemblance to Anne Boleyn – but the rest were all new to me.

Several of the stories are written from the perspectives of members of the Tudor dynasty whose voices weren’t heard in the main series. Arthur: Prince of the Roses, about Henry VIII’s ill-fated elder brother Arthur Tudor, The Unhappiest Lady in Christendom, narrated by the future Mary I, and The Princess of Scotland, about Henry’s niece Margaret Douglas, all fall into this category. Others provide more background and depth to the stories of the six wives themselves – for example The Chateau of Briis: A Lesson in Love explores Anne Boleyn’s years at the French court as maid of honour to Queen Claude and her potential link with a tower at Briis-sous-Forges called the Donjon Anne Boleyn.

The stories that were of most interest to me were the ones that follow characters on the periphery of the Tudor court or those who are living ‘in the shadow of queens’, as the title suggests. I particularly enjoyed reading about the court painter Susannah Horenbout, sent to Cleves to investigate the background of a potential bride for the King, and Lady Rochford, wife of George Boleyn, who was instrumental in the downfalls of both Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard. Naturally, given the time period and subject matter, some of the stories are quite sad, involving executions, imprisonments, betrayals and infant deaths. If you’re of a squeamish disposition, be aware that the final story, In This New Sepulchre, describes in graphic detail the shocking desecration of Katharine Parr’s tomb and corpse.

My favourite story in the collection was probably The Curse of the Hungerfords, which introduces us to Agnes Cotell, the second wife of Sir Edward Hungerford, who becomes involved in a 16th century murder case. Her narrative alternates with that of Anne Bassett, whom many people believed would become one of Henry VIII’s wives, although obviously that never happened. Weir keeps us waiting to see how the lives of these two women are connected and I thought this could easily have been developed into a longer novel, which would have allowed for more depth and detail.

I haven’t discussed all of the thirteen stories here, but I hope I’ve given you a good idea of what the book contains. I would have been disappointed if I’d paid for some of these stories individually in the e-short format, but as a collection I found this a worthwhile read. If you’ve read some or all of the Six Tudor Queens series it works well as a companion volume, but it’s not essential to have read any of those books before reading this one.

I love Alison Weir, and this collection of stories did not disappoint. I've loved the Tudor Queens series, and these stories were the perfect capstone to the series. Each story has a unique voice and tone, and is well researched without going the way that so much historical fiction goes - focusing too much on the "facts" and not enough on making them interesting. These stories blend the two perfectly.

I really enjoyed this set of stories!

Whilst these are available in the majority as individual books too, there is an extra book within this set that hasn’t been released and a few added extras from Alison too as you go through

Anyone who follows my blog will know that I do love my history books, both nonfiction and fiction and I also love an Alison Weir book and the Tudor period too so I was delighted to be able to read this one – it will be one that I get the hard copy for to add to my bookcase too

The characters in the different books were well developed and I loved the interaction. The books run in order through Henry’s queens and the books are easy to read and you can dip in and out after reading one or two. This is a must read for any Alison fans out there and also anyone with a passion for Tudor fiction books too

It is 5 stars from me for this one, a really nice set of books and thoroughly enjoyable!

Presented as fiction, but these tales are true. Alison Weir has written short stories featuring different wives, ladies-in-waiting of Henry VIII's court. Some incidents are familiar, some new to me. They are well-researched, well-written and a good addition to the genre.

Recommended to anyone interested in this period of history.

With thanks to NetGalley and Review for an ARC.

Tales from the Tudor Court by Alison Weir - a collection of short stories.

As a fan of Alison Weir’s writing I was intrigued to read these short stories about a diverse range of characters set in the Tudor period.

The book wasn’t really for me. I prefer a book that I can get engrossed in. The short story aspect of this novel meant that I didn’t enjoy it as much as Alison’s previous novels. However the stories where interesting and I could not fault her creativity.

This would be the perfect book for someone who either likes short stories or due to time constraints can not settle to read a long novel.

Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to read this book. I would recommend it to fellow historical fiction readers.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading In the Shadow of Queens. It is a series of short stories and incredibly easy to read

In the Shadows of Queens by Alison Weir

Behind every great king stands a queen. And behind every queen, the whole court watches on.

A great collection of short stories of the wives of Henry v111. As I have a fascination for Anne Boleyn I particularly enjoyed those ones.
Alison Weir is a queen herself ( when it comes to writing anything based on the Tudors ) and this book was no different.
Long may she reign.

In the Shadow of Queens is a collection of short stories by Alison Weir originally written to accompany her Six Queens series of novels . Gathered together here for the first time, the collection comprises thirteen tales in total , largely set during the Tudor Era with a couple of interesting exceptions. Those familiar with Weirs work as a historian will know to expect stories rich in vivid historical detail populated by fictionalised versions of real life historical figures. The idea of writing stories about those who viewed huge historical events from the sidelines as it were, is a clever one, allowing the reader a unique perspective on stories with which they are probably already familiar. I really appreciated the inclusion of the author's notes , particularly when they clarified what was fact and what was fiction. As I often find with collections of short stories , some were stronger than others, but all were well researched and well written.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Always 5 stars for Alison Weir. She always manages to add something new no matter how many times over the years, the subject has been covered. This is a delightful selection of novellas written to accompany her 'Six Wives' series. I have almost read everything Alison Weir has written, both fiction and non-fiction, so I am a bit biased. Her fiction still shows detailed research and the stories are always based in truth. Thanks to Netgalley.

These are a collection of short stories relating to the wives of Henry VIII, though not necessarily at the time they were married to him.

I found the stories readable, but I’m afraid the format of them being a collection of short stories relating loosely to Henry VIII was not for me and I found it difficult to invest in them.

Thanks to the author and publisher as well as NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

The Tudor court and its aftermath are brought back to life in these shocking tales of hope, betrayal, and deceit.

We witness glimpses into the other side of royal life, far removed from the pomp and pageantry. These

beautifully woven stories are imaginative and brutal., with just a little tenderness.

A rivetting book. that I enjoyed immensely.

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Short stories are not normally something I enjoy. Tudor history is, however, and this set of stories about women linked with the Tudors was a fascinating insight into life in Tudor times, especially at Court. The author has provided some background information on the 6 wives of Henry VIII, and notes on each individual woman featured in this collection of novellas, helping to show what is conjecture and what is based on historical fact and research.
The stories begin in the times of Arthur, Prince of Wales, the first husband of Katharine of Aragon, and continue through until the tragic death of Katharine Parr, Henry's sixth and last wife, who remarried after his death, and whose story here includes what happened to her grave centuries later.
The women of the stories are brought to life, sometimes with a modern writing style and sometimes in a more stylised Tudoresque style. It could be described as 'faction,' a clever blend of fact and fiction,
Not a demanding read, but an enjoyable one.