‘Twas the Night Before Tudor Christmas by Laura Loney Illustrated by Kathryn Holeman

"Anne longed for a taste of a sweet, scrumptious food, Some rose-scented marchpane would secure her good mood..."

 

What happens when King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn bump into the Lord of Misrule late on Christmas Eve? Find out in this Tudor-themed retelling of Clement Clarke Moore's classic Christmas poem.

 

'Twas the Night Before Christmas is far more than a poetry book. It includes more than 30 original Tudor-inspired activities, games, ideas and recipes to bring a twist of Tudor to your modern Christmas! And it's sumptuously illustrated by Kathryn Holeman.

Publisher: MadeGlobal Publishing  |   Source: Kindle Unlimited  | Rating: 4.5 

This was a cute, quick read. It’s a re-telling of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas with a Tudor-twist. It’s set during the marriage of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and it gives a brief look at life at Christmastime in the Tudor court. The book also contains a brief bio on the Tudor Dynasty, Tudor-inspired (modern) recipes, games, craft ideas, and different ways to have a Tudor-inspired Christmas.

When I first heard about this one, I was curious and debating on buying the hardback or the paperback for my Tudor collection. I ended up picking this up via Kindle Unlimited and I have to say that, while this was a cute and fun book, I don’t think it’s one that I need in my collection. While it is fun for adults, it’s geared for children and it doesn’t really add anything to my shelf.

I do think the retelling is nice but I feel like it was a stereotypical version of Henry VIII. It shows a larger, crankier Henry obsessed with having a male heir. 1535 was the last year Henry and Anne shared a Christmas and Henry was still quite fit at this time (it wasn’t until his jousting accident in January 1536 that he started putting on weight), so it would have been nice to see that version of him.

Who should pick this book up?

❆If you’re someone that homeschools and has younger kids, this book would be great.

❆If you’re someone wanting to showcase historical Christmas traditions, again, this would be great.

❆If you know a kid that’s interested in the Tudors or if you want to share your love of the Tudors with your kid, then this is a must have.

Overall, the author was definitely someone in the Boleyn camp, and while that’s fine (all Tudor enthusiast and scholars end up picking a camp at some point) I feel like Henry VIII could have been represented a bit better, especially since he was still in his younger days during his marriage to Anne. I feel like it’s easier for authors of fiction to lean towards this stereotypical version of Henry rather than have to actually paint a true picture of him in his earlier days. Believe it or not, Henry was actually quite the partier during his first two marriages and it would have been nice to see a more jovial representation of him.

If you’re a Tudor enthusiast, I don’t know if this book would be a must have, unless you just wanted to add something cute to your collection.