"Anne Boleyn: the most happy is an artist's book about the life of Anne Boleyn, specifically focused on the visual interpretation of her relationship with King Henry VIII"--Accompanying volume, unnumbered page 3.
A true and shocking ghost story about one of England’s most famous queens, Anne Boleyn. Witnessed on numerous occasions throughout the centuries at her historic home, Hever Castle, and the Tower of London, where she was executed, as well as many less familiar places you wouldn't necessarily expect to find her, Anne Boleyn’s Ghost is considered to be one of the most frequently seen ghosts in the United Kingdom. One day in 2009, a family visited Hever Castle on the five hundredth anniversary of King Henry the Eighth's accession to the throne. An outing full of twists and turns, their day at the castle had a few surprises in store for them. As they walked through the castle's ancient rooms, one of the family members – a budding photographer – unknowingly captured the ghost that has mystified so many individuals since her dramatic, and rather gruesome, end. It is Anne Boleyn like you have never seen her before. Her Ghost no longer dwells in the shadows but has appeared in her full glory in front of one, unsuspecting photographer's lens. Almost five hundred years after she was executed at the Tower of London, Anne Boleyn appears not a day older than the day she lost her head. This is the story of that family's eventful day at Anne Boleyn's historic home, Hever Castle, and the mysterious photographs they took...
Author Richard Jones takes you to 100 castles in the British Isles, from romantic ruins on sea-lashed headlands to splendid castles that have been transformed into luxury hotels.
No-one who knew the late Canon Pakenham-Walsh could accuse his of being a starry-eyed dreamer. At ninety he was as active mentally and physically as many a man little more than half his age. Coming from a man so knowledgeable and widely travelled, the extraordinary experiences related in this book are all the more impressive. The author had long been a keen student of the Tudor period, but had no previous experience of the psychic or the super-normal. They came to him without invitation or desire on his part, and spread over many years, they were recorded in writing in some detail, and add up to a truly astonishing story. Canon Pakenham-Walsh's narrative not only relates his experiences of how mediumistic contact was made with the spirits of Anne Boleyn, Katherine of Aragon and Henry VIII, it is also a powerful Christian morality tale of redemption transcending death.
A natural history of the supernatural from Roger Clarke, lifelong investigator into England's creepiest real-life ghost stories 'Is there anybody out there?' No matter how rationally we order our lives, few of us are completely immune to the suggestion of the uncanny and the fear of the dark. The subject of whether ghosts exist has fascinated some of the finest minds in history and it remains a subject of overwhelming interest today. This is the first comprehensive, authoritative and readable history of the evolution of the ghost in the west, examining as every good natural history should, the behaviour of the subject in its preferred environment: the stories we tell each other. What explains sightings of ghosts? Why do they fascinate us? What exactly did the haunted see? What did they believe? And what proof is there? Taking us through the key hauntings that have obsessed the world from the poltergeist of Cock Lane through the true events that inspired The Turn of the Screw and the dark events of Borley Rectory right up to the present day, Roger Clarke unfolds a story of class conflict, charlatans and true believers. His surprising castlist ranges from Samuel Johnson to John Wesley, and from Harry Houdini to Adolf Hitler. Inspired by a childhood spent in two haunted houses, Roger Clarke has spent much of his life trying to see a ghost. Written as grippingly as the best ghost fiction, A Natural History of Ghosts takes us on an unforgettable hunt through the most haunted places of the last five hundred years and our longing to believe.
The Tudor dynasty ruled from 1485 to 1603 and had a huge impact on England and Wales, not only on society but also on the British landscape. Henry VIII was a keen builder, building and renovating properties to serve as pleasure palaces, but his Dissolution of the Monasteries also led to historic properties falling into ruin. Tudor favourites spent their new-found wealth building lavish mansions or converting castles into sumptuous manor houses as statements of their success and to impress the visiting monarch. In Tudor Places of Great Britain, Tudor history author and founder of the Tudor Society Claire Ridgway guides the reader through properties linked to Tudor monarchs and prominent people of the time, from impressive palaces like Hampton Court Palace, through romantic monastic ruins and merchant houses, to unspoilt villages like Lavenham and Weobley. With over 175 listings, which include descriptions and highlights, full address and website details, Tudor Places of Great Britain is a comprehensive guide to British Tudor places.
“A sumptuous historical novel anchored by its excellent depiction of Jane Seymour, Henry the VIII’s third queen . . . This is a must for all fans of Tudor fiction and history.”—Publishers Weekly Ever since she was a child, Jane has longed for a cloistered life as a nun. But her large noble family has other plans, and as an adult, Jane is invited to the King’s court to serve as lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon. The devout Katherine shows kindness to all her ladies, almost like a second mother, which makes rumors of Henry’s lustful pursuit of Anne Boleyn—also lady-in-waiting to the queen—all the more shocking. For Jane, the betrayal triggers memories of a haunting incident that shaped her beliefs about marriage. But once Henry disavows Katherine and secures Anne as his new queen—forever altering the religious landscape of England—he turns his eye to another: Jane herself. Urged to return the King’s affection and earn favor for her family, Jane is drawn into a dangerous political game that pits her conscience against her desires. Can Jane be the one to give the King his long-sought-after son, or will she be cast aside like the women who came before her? Bringing new insight to this compelling story, Alison Weir marries meticulous research with gripping historical fiction to re-create the dramas and intrigues of the most renowned court in English history. At its center is a loving and compassionate woman who captures the heart of a king, and whose life will hang in the balance for it. Praise for Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen “Bestselling [Alison] Weir’s impressive novel shows why Jane deserves renewed attention [and] illustrates Jane’s unlikely journey from country knight’s daughter to queen of England. . . . From the richly appointed decor to the religious tenor of the time, the historical ambience is first-rate.”—Booklist (starred review) “Deft, authoritative biographical fiction . . . a dramatic and empathic portrait of Jane Seymour.”—Kirkus Reviews
National Trust houses are bursting with ghost stories. The spirits of former owners, staff, even pets haunt their former homes and walk hand-in-hand with those living there today. Simply walking into an historic house can be enough to make you shudder, such is the intensity of the sense of the past. The figure of Elizabeth, Duchess of Lauderdale wanders solemnly through Ham House in Surrey, sometimes haunting the Chapel, sometimes accompanied by the ghost of her beloved spaniel, while Anne Boleyn is reputed to drive up to Blicking Hall in Norfolk in a coach driven by a headless horseman, and carrying her own head in her lap. At Hinton Ampner in Hampshire the Ricketts family who lived there in the mid-eighteenth century spoke of 'something curious, something inexplicable about the house', with the whole staff's sleep interrupted by a cacophony of chilling shrieks, groans, muffled conversations, running footsteps and banging doors. At Lyveden New Bield in Northamptonshire, an isolated ghostly shell of an unfinished building, local people and National Trust staff have both glimpsed a long-faced, bearded gentleman at one of the upper bay windows, yet the building has no floors, so how could he be suspended at that height? The ruins of Corfe Castle in Dorset, Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumberland and Rievaulx Terrace and Temples in Yorkshire are similarly alive with ghoulish tales. This is a very special ghost book. Sian Evans has interviewed the people who work and live in the buildings today and gathered together information on sightings of ghosts that only they could provide, while her research into past ghost stories brings alive the characters of previous owners. Tracing the origins of the myths and legends that have grown up around mysterious old places, and comparing them with the very contemporary accounts of those people who actually spend their waking - and sometimes sleeping - hours there yields some surprising results. Most people love a ghost story, even if they claim not to believe in the supernatural. But for many staff, volunteers and tenants of the National Trust, the job is sometimes a matter of balancing the normal with the paranormal.
Malorie is a normal teenage girl when she heads to London to visit her estranged father, hoping to build a relationship with a dad she barely knows. Unexpectedly, Malorie stumbles upon a life-changing adventure. While on tour of the Tower of London, Malorie wanders into a hidden room and uncovers an ancient-looking pearl necklace with a golden letter B pendant. The long hidden pendant belonged to Anne Boleyn, who was once Queen of England and was eventually beheaded by her own husband. Malorie begins to see what seems to be the ghost of Anne when she touches the pendant. Malorie soon learns that not only is Anne’s spirit attached to the necklace, but also that Malorie must help Anne seek out her husband, King Henry VIII, in order to pass on. With the assistance of her father, Malorie embarks on a journey to track down King Henry VIII’s ghost. Will they find him, or will the ghost of Anne Boleyn torment Malorie forever?