The Waiting Game

November 15, 2024
Women of the queen's chamber illuminate Tudor England. British historian Clark takes a fresh look at the well-known history of Henry VIII by focusing on women chosen as ladies-in-waiting to each of Henry's wives. These women, enmeshed in intrigue, secrets, tensions, religious upheaval, and political machinations, serve as "intimate and underused witnesses to one of the most tumultuous periods of pre-modern history." The women's ranks corresponded to social status: "the 'ladies', usually peeresses; the 'gentlewomen', who might be the wives of knights or gentry; and the 'chamberers', the lowest status and most menial position, usually women of gentle but not aristocratic status." For most of the young women--such as Mar�a de Salinas, devoted lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon--their goal was to make a good marriage. For some, it was dealing with the lascivious attentions of the king. While a queen's ladies could be a comfort, "they were also a danger," Clark notes, when, "towards the end of a wife's pregnancy, the king's eye went roving." Functioning "as a connection between the queen and the world outside her privy chamber," they became astute observers of alliances and conduits of gossip. Some became proficient in spycraft, such as Elizabeth of Norfolk, who secreted a letter to Catherine under the peel of an orange. As Henry changed wives, the queen's ladies were pressed to choose sides. In Anne Boleyn's case, disloyalty proved fatal. The most noteworthy pieces of evidence about her adultery, Clark reveals, "were those provided by women." Clark conveys the sumptuous richness of Tudor life--banquet tables groaning under platters of meats, halls hung with costly tapestries, crimson gowns of velvet and satin--and also the risks--pestilence, miscarriage, childbirth, arduous travel, and betrayal. An authoritative and entertaining history.

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December 1, 2024

Clark (early modern history, Univ. of Chichester) writes about the ladies-in-waiting of the royal Tudor court. Included in the book are Mar�a de Salinas, who served Catherine of Aragon; Jane Parker, who played a role in the executions of two queens; and Anne Basset, who survived the reigns of four of Henry VIII's consorts. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2024 Library Journal

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2024
Scholar Clark mines the historical record to bring to the forefront the ""phalanx of pretty faces and velvet dresses ranged behind the queen"" in Tudor costume dramas in this fresh, enlightening look at Henry VIII's reign. She flips the familiar narrative--six wives, anxiety for a male heir, religious conflict, mounting treachery--to the distaff perspective, examining the experiences of the upper-class women who served Henry's queens, uncovering the considerable soft power they wielded despite restrictive legal and social norms. ""Confidantes"" and round-the-clock ""chaperones"" to the queen, ladies-in-waiting had valuable knowledge and influence to leverage. Some explicitly spied; some, by choice or coercion, were complicit in the downfall of four of Henry's wives. In an increasingly dangerous and volatile environment, ""vicious pragmatism"" and submission to a ""cultural script"" of female weakness were means for survival. Clark writes with well-researched authority, delivering a lively, accessible, and richly detailed read. While some may wish for a deeper analysis of the undervalued power of ""women's eyes and tongues,"" The Waiting Game is nevertheless a notable addition to Tudor history.

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