I spent seven years (2014-21) researching and writing my first book, 

Predestination.

I wove a fictional tale around actual historical events, locations and people. Of course it is a work of fiction, so the characters’ thoughts and specific deeds are of my own invention.

I find Tudor history endlessly fascinating and I wanted to share that fascination with you, and have a conversation. 

Despite my interest, I struggle with keeping track of the all dates and names, maybe you do too? What I found was, if the dry facts are enmeshed in a human story, then they start to make more sense, and I can remember them better.

Example: Henry VIII was worried about his dynasty (his lack of male heirs) so swapped* his original wife for a newer model (* repeat 5 times). We can all remember that, even though we will probably still struggle with the exact dates.

In this blog I aim to delve into the historical events, locations and people, that Dr John Dee, Jack, Kat and their friends find themselves experiencing. 

My hope is that this will provide a deeper and more immersive experience for us all to enjoy, and maybe, just maybe, remember the names and some of the dates as we go. 

If you have a Tudor-themed photo to share I would love to see it on the blog, expanding our collective understanding of the period: a location, character, or artefact.

Until then, happy reading.

Julian

PS Since starting this blog, my single book, Predestination, has expanded to a whole series, and this website has expanded with spill-over material from my reading and researching. Additionally, I have published a handy iOS app that I built to keep track of the characters and places. Links in the website menu. Take a look… they’re all freely available for your enhanced enjoyment. JAD.