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The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews - History
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Charles II’s Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza is now available for pre-order | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
Exciting News! The Freelance History Writer's debut book Charles II's Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza is now available for pre-order. Click on the links below and order your copy today. To order for shipping to the United States: From Blackwell's Booksellers To order for shipping to the UK and elsewhere in the…
“Firebrand” Movie Review | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
The film Firebrand was a complete disaster. It's hard to argue with about an hour and ten minutes of the movie but then it completely went off the tracks. On the positive: The acting was superb. Vikander played the role of Katherine Parr just right, being strong and assertive but scared to death of Henry.…
Book Review: “The Catskills: Its History and How It Changed America” by Stephen M. Silverman and Raphael D. Silver | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
The Catskills: Its History and How It Changed America Having been a scholar of Western European history for many decades, I had managed to convince myself that American history was boring not on the same level. Reading this book has demonstrated I have clearly been misguided. After seeing a delightful documentary about the Catskills, known…
New Book Coming Soon from The Freelance History Writer | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
The Freelance History Writer is pleased to announce a signed contract with a UK publisher and the submission of the manuscript for my first book. Looking for a publishing date of April 2025 for 'Charles II's Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza'. Will update when more information is available.
Book Review: “Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick” by Nathen Amin | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
My initial reaction of disbelief to the new ‘revelations’ regarding the Princes in the Tower has not changed, even after viewing the Channel 4 program on US Public TV. In fact, that program was just embarrassing. There is no doubt the documents discovered and viewed are authentic and from the time period in question. Of…
Book Review: “The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France” by Eric Jager | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
If you are a lover of medieval history, you will really enjoy this book. This is storytelling at it's best. Based on real events and the last medieval judicial duel to the death in France, the author gives deeply detailed insight into the personalities involved as well as information on the clothing, the armor, the…
Book Review: “The Brothers York: An English Tragedy” by Thomas Penn | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
Thomas Penn’s “The Brothers York: An English Tragedy” is chock full of revelations. His book on King Henry VII “The Winter King”details Henry’s creative accounting and this book does the same with King Edward IV. Penn breaks down the inventive financing Edward IV engaged in to raise funds for the government and for himself. …
Book Review: “Charles II: King of England, Scotland and Ireland” by Ronald Hutton | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
This biography of the Stuart Restoration King Charles II was recommended by the author of another book I was reading for research. He said it was the best biography on this king that he had found. That was enough of an endorsement for me. Mr. Hutton was a reader in History at the University of…
Book Review: “Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King’s Beloved Sister” by Heather R. Darsie | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
Everything you know about Anna, Duchess of Cleves, fourth wife of King Henry VIII, is incorrect. Even her name. She was called Anna, not Anne and was a Duchess in her own right. The author has found definitive, primary source, historical evidence that Anna’s birthday is June 28 (or no later than July 1), not…
Book Review: “Burghley: William Cecil at the Court of Elizabeth I” by Stephen Alford | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
This book has been on my shelf for some time and I've finally had a chance to read it. My knowledge of William Cecil and his role in Queen Elizabeth I's reign was moderate but I wanted to know more. He certainly loomed large as private secretary and as Lord Treasurer and it is clear…
Book Review: “An Unbroken Unity: A Memoir of Grand-Duchess Serge of Russia – 1864-1918” by E.M. Almedingen | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
Every now and then, it's possible to find a book that inspires and moves you and this book did that for me. While reading a biography of Princess Alice, mother of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the author mentions her aunt, Grand-Duchess Elizabeth as having a profound influence on Alice with her foundation of…
Book Review: “Isabella of Castile: Europe’s First Great Queen” by Giles Tremlett | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
The Freelance History Writer has previously reviewed two other biographies of Isabella of Castile: Here and Here. I’ve had this volume on my shelf for some time and having recently decided to do some research on Isabella, finally read it. Tremlett’s opening page has two quotes about this formidable queen. ‘No woman in history has…
Book Review: “Richer Than Spices” by Gertrude Z. Thomas | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
The subtitle of this book is "How a royal bride's dowry introduced cane, lacquer, cottons, tea, and porcelain to England and so revolutionized taste, manners, craftsmanship, and history in both England and America". How's that for a long subtitle? The book was published in 1965 by Alfred A. Knopf of New York. Portugal was…
Book Review: “The Mistresses of Charles II” by Brian Masters | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
This book was published in 1979. I had never heard of the author but his many works include books on a variety of topics including the aristocracy, French history, biography, positive thinking and serial killers. The subject of this volume is four of the mistresses of King Charles II. Charles was one of the…
Book Review: “The Waning of the Middle Ages” by Johan Huizinga | The Freelance History Writer Notes and Reviews
Personal note: This book was on my shelf of my father’s extensive book collection and I remember being intrigued by it as a young child. Perhaps it was just the cover which probably had some Flemish piece of art on it. Or maybe my interest in the Middle Ages began at an early age. Whatever…