A real treat for historical fiction and Tudor era fans, The Tudor Prophecy tells the compelling story of two young cousins, Hester Vaughn and Alice Grantmire, during a time of great violence and turmoil when Henry VIII was purging England of the old religion; anyone who did not reform was hung for treason. Many citizens either reformed or outwardly appeared to have reformed, but there were others who refused to turn their backs on their religion. Alice’s parents–Hester’s aunt and uncle–were among these brave few, and there were terrible consequences that followed; Hugh Grantmire was hung, his wife and dependents were forced from their home and sent penniless into their new life in a small cottage. That was just the beginning.
Before Alice and her family were cast out of their home, Hester had been sent back to Wales to see her father before his death, which launched her into her own set of troubles. And, when I say “troubles,” I mean dire, life-changing events.
A lot of research has clearly gone into this book; the setting, characters, and speech all ring true.
Faith is a major theme in the book. There’s the obvious Protestantism versus Catholicism of King Henry’s reign, but there is also the paganism that Hester runs into when she travels back to Wales, the main cause of her future troubles. “Hester could not escape the sense that she had crossed a threshold into a strange and terrible world–one that civilization passed by.”
As for Alice, she starts to question her faith when she witnesses the devastating effects of holding onto it at all cost. As she and her family struggle to support themselves, she grows impatient with her mother’s unwavering belief that God knows best and that He will provide, even though Alice sees no evidence of this happening. Instead, she and her nurse work hard to scrabble together enough money to keep them all in food and shelter as her mother prays and wastes away to nothing. “A surge of anger rose in her. Why had mother and father needed to be so obstinate? They had forfeited manor, fortune, and fair name, when a quick lie, a stroke of the pen, could have kept them comfortably at Hartbourne forever. Just like everyone they knew had done.”
The Tudor Prophecy highlights the violence against women that existed at the time as well as the unbearable suffering of so many people. Not only was hanging and beheading common, but so was burning people at the stake. “She knew that a merciful goaler would sometimes tie a pouch of gunpowder around the victim’s head so that when she or he was half-burned it would explode. Alice clenched her hands to stop them shaking, but they still shook. Her stomach churned at the thought that the best she could pray for was that William’s skull exploded to save him the excruciating agony of burning alive.”
This story is not all violence and suffering; Alice and Hester experience great friendship and even romantic love as the story goes on. These are lives that are precious, though, and may be cut off at any moment for a myriad of reasons, so they need to grab onto joy and love when they can. Even though they are young themselves–still in their mid-teens–marriage feels like it’s something to hurry towards before it’s too late.
But Julie Strong doesn’t want you to get too comfortable with the moments of joy–she makes sure there is always something around the corner. Especially with that killer ending.
About the Author
Julie Strong is a soon-to-be-retired family physician in Halifax, Nova Scotia; she has an ongoing shamanic practice where she addresses the spiritual causes of illness. Julie was born in Manchester, England, grew up in Wales, Australia, and Ireland, and emigrated to Canada in 1980.
About the Reviewer
Naomi MacKinnon lives in Nova Scotia with her husband, three kids, a dog, three cats, and a bunny. She works in the children's department at the beautiful Truro Public Library where she loves to read all the picture books and play with the puppets. She blogs about (mostly) Canadian and Atlantic Canadian books at Consumed by Ink.
Book Details
Publisher OC Publishing
Publication date Jan. 25 2025
Language English
Print length 460 pages
ISBN-10 1989833497
ISBN-13 978-1989833490
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