On 11 April 2012, I had the pleasure of meeting historians Ian Mortimer and Marc Morris for an informal talk on their newly released books. Whilst I am a fan of history, I am afraid to say that the Norman Conquest is not within my area of historical knowledge, thus the 45 minute talk given by Marc, although humorous was slightly lost on me I am afraid to say. I was here to see Ian Mortimer famously known for his book 'A Time Travellers Guide To Medieval England'.
Ian's latest book was designed in the same pretence of his Medieval one, only this time it is based (as it's title suggests) on the Elizabethan period. Listening to Ian Mortimer it is clear to see that his book covers many topics within the Elizabethan period, from bearbaiting to the Gloriana herself. It was easy to see also that Ian was highly taken with this period of history, from the way he spoke about it.
After a glass of wine I plucked up the courage to ask him a question. My question was thus:
"I noticed that you quite significantly jumped from the two periods. I was just wondering why you chose to focus on Elizabeth rather than the other well-known Tudor monarch Henry VIII? Surely, The period within history that he reigned over brought many changes, and was periodically as interesting as Elizabeth's."
His answer was relatively simple and shocked me he disliked Henry VIII greatly, and would only write a book on his negatives, involving comments of courtiers, nobles, and ambassadors who disliked him greatly.
Ian was then kind enough to sign my copy of 'A Time Travellers Guide To Elizabethan England'. I can't wait to read it.
Rachel
No comments:
Post a Comment