Raised to Rule ~ Martha K Hoffman

My reading on the 'Royalty' theme was Martha K. Hoffman's "Raised to Rule - Educating Royalty at the Court of the Spanish Hapsburgs, 1601-1634", as I decided to make a change from my first love ie the Tudors and Henry VIII.
It is a very comprehensive description of the teaching and moulding of Spanish royal children to make them ready for the role of ruler. These kids had no childhood as we know it, and the girls were given the title of 'enfanta' rather than 'princess' in the hope that a son would be born and keep the pesky women in their place! A bit dry at times and with more characters and family bloodlines than I could keep track of; but I did get interested in it, and  fascinated by the international politics that governed the choices of marriage partners etc.

However, I did return to the Tudors by reading Hilary Mantel's fascinating "Wolf Hall" and "Bring up the Bodies". The first tells the sad story of the attempts by Henry VIII to dethrone his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, when he became obsessed with Anne Boleyn; the second is the story of the downfall of Anne Boleyn after she failed to produce a male heir and allegedly had an affair. Well, they were all at it, weren't they? Top writing, great stories, and I loved them - just don't go looking for any happy endings!

Helen