The Shelf of Solace

Nothing like reading about the Tudors to take your mind off your own misery. I started with Philippa Gregory’s Three Sisters, Three Queen. The novel is told in the voice of Margaret Tudor, who we first meet as a whiny, self-obsessed and envious little miss, jealous of her new sister-in-law, Katherine of Aragon and determined that she not be over-shadowed. Gregory cleverly provides reasons for Margaret’s sense of self-importance – she’s been brought up a Tudor and the Tudors are very aware that the Plantagenets had a strong claim to the throne. Margaret years to be as strong a woman as her grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, a domineering  and politically influential (and astute) woman. Margaret Beaufort gave birth to  her son at the age of thirteen – he was her only child, understandably when you think of giving birth at that age – which may go someway to explain her ambitions for him. In Three Sisters, Three Queens she certainly overshadows Margaret’s own mother – her approval is sought and her criticisms taken to heart, even if reluctantly.

Slowly – too slowly for some readers – Margaret Tudor grows up. She’s married to King James IV of Scotland and, after his death, becomes regent for her son, James V – a position that requires a lot of maneuvering and courage on her part. It’s easy to forget that Margaret’s very young throughout the early part of the book – she was twenty-three when she was widowed at the Battle of Flodden. Scarcely a year later she married Archibald Douglas – however unwise the marriage was she was only twenty-four.

Hardship steels her – though not to the point where the promise of some frocks can’t work screw her courage to the sticking point! By the novel’s end, I felt I’d witnessed a royal coming-of-age story told against the background of uneasy and unreliable sisterhood. I was ready for Hilary Mantel…

On a personal note, I’ve had a second lot of surgery and am recovering with the aid of Hilary Mantel, Ben Aaronovitch, knitting, calls from my children, here-and-now support from Keith and the constant vigilance of Winter, our dog. She has decided to be Convalescence Supervisor. Particularly when it’s her nap time.

I’m continuing to follow the prompts in The Book of Alchemy – some I love, others (looking at you giraffe-drawn-with-my-eyes-closed!) not so much. I am finding that I’m quite tired and although I start the day with excellent intentions of doing many things, I usually manage one or two only and feel relieved when I can complete those. Today it was walking Winter with Keith and chasing up some administrative stuff. I know I need to be taking everything more slowly but it’s a little frustrating.

On the other hand,  I’m not riding a horse at eight and a half months pregnant pursued by my enemies and not sure where my errant husband is or on whose side he really is. Say what you like about Margaret Tudor, she certainly didn’t have it easy. In her place I’d have been agitating for a few lengths of pretty cloth and the jewellery left to me by my grandmother. She was a woman who learnt to be firmly assertive about her self-worth – a lesson worth learning.