Please
give a warm Coffee Pot welcome to historical fiction author, Carol McGrath. Carol is going to share
with us today her inspiration behind her latest book.
The
Woman in the Shadows:
Tudor England through the eyes
of an influential woman
A
powerful, evocative new novel by the critically acclaimed author of The
Handfasted Wife, The Woman in the Shadows tells the rise
of Thomas Cromwell, Tudor England's most powerful statesman, through the eyes
of his wife Elizabeth.
When beautiful cloth merchant’s daughter Elizabeth Williams is widowed at the age of twenty-two, she is determined to make herself a success in the business she has learned from her father. But there are those who oppose a woman making her own way in the world, and soon Elizabeth realises she may have some powerful enemies – enemies who also know the truth about her late husband.
Security – and happiness – comes when Elizabeth is introduced to kindly, ambitious merchant turned lawyer, Thomas Cromwell. Their marriage is one based on mutual love and respect…but it isn’t always easy being the wife of an influential, headstrong man in Henry VIII’s London.
The city is filled with ruthless people and strange delights – and Elizabeth realises she must adjust to the life she has chosen…or risk losing everything.
When beautiful cloth merchant’s daughter Elizabeth Williams is widowed at the age of twenty-two, she is determined to make herself a success in the business she has learned from her father. But there are those who oppose a woman making her own way in the world, and soon Elizabeth realises she may have some powerful enemies – enemies who also know the truth about her late husband.
Security – and happiness – comes when Elizabeth is introduced to kindly, ambitious merchant turned lawyer, Thomas Cromwell. Their marriage is one based on mutual love and respect…but it isn’t always easy being the wife of an influential, headstrong man in Henry VIII’s London.
The city is filled with ruthless people and strange delights – and Elizabeth realises she must adjust to the life she has chosen…or risk losing everything.
‘A
delicate and detailed portrayal, absolutely beautifully done.
Captivating.’
Suzannah Dunn.
‘An intriguing and compelling portrayal of a woman who lived in the shadow of one of Tudor England's most powerful men. Elizabeth Cromwell's world and that of her enigmatic husband, is brought to life in this engaging narrative.'
Tracy
Borman, Historian.
‘Step into the intimate world of Thomas Cromwell as seen through the eyes of his wife, Elizabeth.’
Anne O’Brien
‘A delicious frisson of dangers slithers through every page of the book. Enthralling.’
Karen Maitland.
‘Rich, vivid and immersive, an enthralling story of the turbulent Tudor era.’
Nicola Cornick.
Author’s Inspiration
The
Woman in the Shadows is set in early Tudor London. It tells the
story of Elizabeth, wife to Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII’s notorious
advisor during the 1530s. Elizabeth died in 1528 so the novel’s remit is 1513
to 1527. I provide a feasible story for Elizabeth Williams, a widow when she
married Thomas in 1514. Its backdrop is the merchant class, daily life for a Tudor
middle class woman, the King’s desire for a son to carry on his dynasty, Thomas
Cromwell’s personal ambitions, their children, and wider family life. Plot
ingredients include frightening echoes from her first marriage and Thomas’s
possible betrayal. Can their marriage survive?
I have loved History from an early age. My inspirations
include Jean Plaidy’s novels and those of Anya Seton which I read as a teenager
along with classics, lots of those, from Dickens to Jane Austen. For years, as
well as being an avid reader, I scribbled and wrote poetry. I taught History and
English. Later, as my children grew up, I found time to attend creative writing
courses provided by Oxford University’s Continuing Education programme. I have
always been interested in Women’s History and looking at Historical events
through a female protagonist’s perspective and my novels mostly reflect this
interest.
On an MPhil programme at Royal Holloway, I wrote a 40k
thesis on How Romance Tempers Realism in
Historical Fiction. In the first chapter, I analysed Wolf Hall by Hilary
Mantel. This wonderful book later inspired The
Woman in the Shadows. I was curious about Thomas Cromwell’s marriage. I
wanted to know more about Elizabeth and his domestic life. The book is
meticulously researched but includes informed speculation as well. I read extensively
about the Tudor Merchant Class and a middle-class City woman’s life during the
period, particularly that of widows who could run businesses and did. Elizabeth
was a cloth merchant’s daughter and a widow. I invented a cloth business for
her and also the story I attached to her first husband which haunts the
narrative.
I kept to historical fact, where this exists, particularly
those facts concentrated on Thomas Cromwell whilst seeking a strong narrative
drive for the novel. Importantly, a degree of the book’s interest lies in background
detail concerning the everyday life of the era such as pageantry, the cycle of
the year, guilds, upward mobility, and rituals associated with marriage, birth
and death during this period. I explore the Humanist movement which influenced
Thomas Cromwell and became convinced that Cromwell was interested in religious
reform after a visit to Rome in 1517. Read the book and find out more, and
Elizabeth’s view on the dangers that reform involved. Cromwell was a
Renaissance man who loved all things Italian, had a phenomenal memory, was
devoted to family and who trusted close friends and family. I posit that
Elizabeth was educated, plausible since she hailed from the wealthy merchant
class and her family had court connections. Thomas Cromwell never remarried
after her death in 1528. His will of 1533 refers to a Jane Cromwell, possibly
an illegitimate daughter who was born circa 1520.
The
Woman in the Shadows took several years to research and write. I enjoyed
inhabiting Elizabeth Cromwell’s possible life and I hope to return to the family
in a future project. Currently, however, I have returned to the medieval period
for the first in a Trilogy set during the Magnificent Thirteenth Century.
I live near Oxford so History is all around me in buildings
and fabulous museums. It seeps from the landscape and is part of whom I am. I
love to incorporate a sense of place into the novels. This feeling for place
and character inspires me more than anything.
Links
for Purchase
About
the author
Carol
McGrath studied History at Queens University Belfast, has an MA in Creative
Writing from The Seamus Heaney Centre, Queens University Belfast, followed by
an MPhil in Creative Writing from University of London. The Handfasted Wife, first in a trilogy about the royal women of
1066 was shortlisted for the RoNAs in 2014. The
Swan-Daughter and The Betrothed
Sister complete this best-selling trilogy. The Woman in the Shadows, a novel that considers Henry VIII’s
statesman, Thomas Cromwell, through the eyes of Elizabeth his wife, was
published on August 4th, 2017. Carol is working on a new medieval
Trilogy, The Rose Trilogy, set in the High Middle Ages. Carol was the
co-ordinator of the 2016 Historical Novels Association Conference. Oxford in
September 2016 and reviews for the HNS.
Useful Links
Thank you for sharing your inspiration with us! Fabulous!!
ReplyDeletethank you for the opportunity. I appreciate it. Carolx
ReplyDeleteAny time! It was great to have you on the blog!!
DeleteCircumstances could be very difficult for history's women. They must have been so strong.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post and thanks for the introduction!
ReplyDelete