The Private Life of Thomas Cromwell

The Private Life of Thomas Cromwell written by Caroline Angus and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 272

Thomas Cromwell was King Henry VIII’s most faithful servant, the only man the king ever openly regretted executing. But Thomas Cromwell came to royal prominence late in life, and had 45 years of family, friends and experiences behind him before catching Henry’s eye.

Born a common boy at a time of significant change in England in 1485, Cromwell grew up in a happy, close-knit family, before heading to Europe for dramatic adventures. Returning to England a decade later, Cromwell emerged with the skills of a lawyer and merchant, with the European language skills and connections to match. Marriage, children, friends, family and manor homes all furnished Cromwell’s life, a man happy and settled in London. But more beckoned for the Italian-Englishman, when a special friendship with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey grew, along with the attention of the king.

The tragic personal loss affected Cromwell, hidden behind the more-recorded professional accolades. But friendships remained throughout time, changes in allegiance and even religion. Men who had met the young Cromwell stuck close to him through the years, and Cromwell never forgot a single loyal friend. Cromwell’s desire to support his son saw Gregory become brother-in-law to the king himself, only for more tragedy to harm the ever-growing Cromwell family.

Far from the seemingly dour, black-clad, serious man, Cromwell lavished those around him with gifts, parties, extravagant games, entertainments, animals and outfits. But the glamour and beauty of Cromwell’s life would come to a sudden end, leaving a trail of devastated men and women, and an extraordinary manor home, Austin Friars, scattered to the wind.

Using a wide variety of primary material, this exciting biography weaves a new narrative on the indefatigable Thomas Cromwell, illustrating him more vividly than we've known him before.

Thomas Cromwell has to be one of the most written-about men in history who wasn’t a King or from royalty. But he was a man who occupied an important position in history being almost Henry VIII’s right-hand man. In fact, the English reformation and closure of the monasteries was something he was strongly influential in. Cromwell was a highly educated man and we learn about his family, his influence in Europe and his ability to be fluent in a number of European languages. I found this book to be written very well with a lot of detail to the research but also written in a largely positive manner as he is seen as a rather decisive character in history. I really enjoyed this book, reading it in a few days but I would highly recommend it.

Great Escape Forger - The Work of Carl Holmstrom POW #221 An Artist in Stalag Luft III

Great Escape Forger - The Work of Carl Holmstrom POW #221 An Artist in

Stalag Luft III written by Susan Holmstrom Kohnowich and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 168

As one of many artists confined in Stalag Luft III, Carl Holmstrom’s superb artwork depicts life as a

Kriegie created with the perspective only a prisoner of war could draw upon as an eyewitness to

history. He spent the majority of his captivity in that camp made famous by The Great Escape, later

made into an award-winning film.

While a POW, he sketched his fellow prisoners and encouraged others to take up drawing as hobby, thus breaking the boredom of camp life. But his artistic ability proved to be even more important. Carl forged invaluable official German documents for escape purposes for other prisoners—work that was tedious and painstaking. Remarkably, he saved over 200 examples of his work by carrying them on the appallingly-arduous 1945 winter march through Germany when the camp was evacuated as the Russians closed in from the east

Post-war, Carl Holmstrom said, ‘The drawings were made during imprisonment and represent a sincere effort to portray to the American people and especially to the relatives of the prisoners, intimate glimpses of Kriegie life.’ His words proved to be prophetic.

His daughter, Susan Holmstrom Kohnowich, spent five years working on an expansion of Carl’s earlier self-published Kriegie Life book. Extensive research went into the write-ups under the drawings and the biographies of the men in the portraits. This superb book honours Carl’s exceptional artistic gift. Indeed, it has a strong claim to contain the finest collection of POW art to emerge from Nazi-occupied Europe.

I found this book the Great Escape Forger, to be stunning both in history and the huge amount of information to learn and the fantastic artwork throughout the book. Carl Holmstrom was a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft III which would later be made famous by the film the Great Escape. What the book does is take you through the everyday life of living in a POW camp from washing, cleaning, eating, social clubs and also the planning of an escape and all that would involve. People would need to do various jobs in order to support an escape attempt and Carl was responsible for forging German documents like passports, identity cards & papers. 

Susan Holmstrom Kohnowich has done her father proud with this book as it is put together well, and what we learn is closely partnered with some great artwork all drawn by her father. As someone who is an avid reader of history, I have learnt so much about life in a POW camp from this book. I would highly recommend this book for sure as POW camps are an interest of mine. This book has also made me want to find out more about the art of Carl Holmstrom, the pictures of the prisoners and camp staff at the back of the book are just brilliant.  

True Crime Coming Soon ...

 True Crime Coming Soon...

As some of you may know you can find me on Youtube with my history book channel, well I am now starting up a second channel based on True Crime and books about crime. So watch this space for more information soon.

The Welsh Gold King - The Life of William Pritchard Morgan

The Welsh Gold King - The Life of William Pritchard Morgan written by Norena Shopland

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 240

In 1864, a poor Welsh boy, William Pritchard Morgan, emigrated to Australia to make his fortune. He returned a wealthy lawyer and aspiring politician, having used his riches to invest in gold mines and develop new techniques of recovering gold. His political aims were unsuccessful in Australia: the newspaper Morgan used to promote himself was involved a sensational trial against another editor; and a man was even shot whilst bringing in his votes - so Morgan claimed. He returned home, ready to tackle the mining of Welsh gold.

After ousting the key players of the 1860s Little Gold Rush, Morgan soon took over Gwynfynydd, one of the area's most lucrative mines, and stood as an independent MP for Merthyr. He boasted of a fantastic seam of gold, so great he would pay off the national debt… a hero overnight, the Welsh Gold King took the title of Merthyr's MP.

Despite the massive successes of his mines, the government taxed Morgan hard and almost crippled his business, so he refused to pay. When the government tried to shut him down, the public rose to his defence, and Morgan was sued in an avidly watched trial that could change mining in Britain forever.

The Welsh Gold King bestowed gifts on many well-known people, including royalty, and promoted the tradition that all royal brides wear wedding rings of Welsh gold. He gave golden prizes – some of which caused great controversy – and his liberal politics were a forerunner of Labour views that were hard for many of his contemporaries to agree with.

Yet another book I have looked forward to reading, but with slight embarrassment, because I have lived in West Wales for 20 years, yet I have never heard of William Pritchard Morgan. So it was a delight to dive in and read this book, which didn’t leave me disappointed at all. Morgan was a bit of rags to riches story from Monmouthshire, one of these men that moves abroad, makes his money, and who then wants come back to his country to improve things there. Morgan would make his fortune in gold from Australia and as a lawyer, he would then return back to Wales and would open up his own gold mine with some marked success. This was an interesting and revealing book and actually, one I think would interest a lot of people here in Wales, certainly a less celebrated character.

Robert Baden-Powell - A Biography

Robert Baden-Powell - A Biography written by Lorraine Gibson and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 256

A conflicted character - militarist and pacifist, macho man and drag artist, elitist and socialist - he was one of the 20th century’s most influential and, latterly, controversial Englishmen, finding fame not once, but twice – and for two very different reasons.

Before donning his trademark shorts, the man known for inventing the Scouts is hailed a hero of the Second Boer War, the first military conflict covered in great detail by the media.

Reports of his unconventional methods of holding a Boer army at bay, despite being woefully outnumbered, at the South African town of Mafeking, make global headlines and when he returns home to England, hordes of adoring fans pack London’s streets, waving flags and declaring him the Hero of Mafeking.

The same ingenuity, reconnaissance skills and spectacular eccentricity that win him this military acclaim become the foundations of his second mission, that of saving Victorian boys from poverty and despair, and himself from having to grow up, by teaching them scouting.

This book examines Baden-Powell’s dual personality, or his ‘two lives’ as he called them, including his difficult childhood with a domineering and unaffectionate mother whom he loved even after she forced him into the army at 19, dashing his dreams of becoming an artist.

It looks at his military career and his love of drama and at why protesters wanted to topple his statue on Poole Quay in the pandemic summer of 2020.

It also considers a recently-discovered telegraph that adds fuel to the speculation over the nature of his relationship with a fellow-soldier that endured for 30 years - until he married a 22-year-old woman in secret when he was 55.

I should point out from the start of this review that I was in Scouting since I was 8, as a youth member and leader and only left a couple of years ago at 45. So you could say I already knew most of what was said in this book and taught bits of the information to the members I led. But I would say Baden Powell was an unusual character but someone who I would say was a decent man, and most of today's thoughts about him are down to modernist revisions of him. You will always get people who will always put their own views and opinions on people, which then distorts the actual person. This book I found to be very detailed, balanced and just a good read, that paints Baden Powell in a remarkably accurate light. I very much enjoyed the ‘war years’ information about the book and after he set up Scouting in 1907, this was quite well known and publicised quite often promoted through Scouting even to this day. A really good read and one of the better biographies I have read of the man.

The Real Queen Charlotte, Inside the real Bridgerton Court

The Real Queen Charlotte, Inside the real Bridgerton Court written by

Catherine Curzon and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

Known to millions as the imperious matriarch of Bridgerton’s court, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was still a teenager when she was chosen to be the bride of King George III. Shy, innocent, and sheltered, the orphaned princess and her youthful groom carried the hopes of a nation on their shoulders.

The placid and unassuming young couple symbolised a new beginning, but soon those hopes began to sour. Charlotte and George’s marriage lasted for nearly 60 years and produced more than a dozen children, but it was beset by unrest at home, war in the colonies, and the king’s encroaching madness.

As the royal couple battled against their critics, their political opponents, and sometimes even their own family, Charlotte learned what it really meant to be queen. Locked in a bitter struggle with her eldest son for the king’s future and with her daughters for their freedom, the timid young girl grew into an insular and domineering woman that few dared to cross.

Shouldering the burden of family disputes, ambitious courtiers, and the care of the man she adored, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz presided over one of the most tumultuous eras that the monarchy has ever seen. As tragic as it was glittering, this is the story of her extraordinary life.

I should say that I have never seen Bridgerton and only know little about Queen Charlotte, I offered to review this book purely because I like the writings of the author Catherine Curzon. I have read a number of her books and they are always comprehensive and very well-detailed, and yet an easy read. Queen Charlotte was unfortunately overshadowed by the life and health of her husband, and her sons. I actually think this was something she wanted or became used to as she actually came from a small family and she was dwarfed by marrying into a larger, much more prominent family. Plus she was more of a family woman and she cared more for her family than anything else, at a time when royals were seen as the stars of that period. I enjoyed reading this book and loved learning more about a woman who the world doesn’t get to know much about. Yet another excellent book from Catherine Curzon.

Forgotten Heroes of the Battle of Britain

Forgotten Heroes of the Battle of Britain written by Dilip Sarkar MBE and

published by Air World Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 344

Lasting sixteen weeks during the momentous year of 1940, the Battle of Britain ended

with the Luftwaffe having failed to achieve the decisive victory that Hitler had demanded.

Whilst the technical details of the aircraft and weapons involved are, of course, crucial

to our understanding of the events that summer, the Battle was fought by human beings

– and it is that human experience and contribution, to this author, is the most important

thing to acknowledge, record and share.

Nearly 3,000 Fighter Command aircrew fought in the Battle of Britain, immortalised by Churchill as ‘The Few’. Of these, 544 lost their lives that blood-stained summer and 700 more would die before the Second World War ended – a victory very likely impossible had The Few not held out in 1940.

The names of some of these young men, aces such as Douglas Bader, ‘Sailor’ Malan and Eric Lock, were well-known to the free world at the time – and certainly the legless Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader remains, even today, the best-known British fighter pilot of the war. However, the vast majority of The Few remained anonymous, owing partially to Air Ministry policy and equally a desire to play down their august achievements. Since the Second World War, the memoirs of a number of the Few have been published, privately and commercially, and books have been written about others.

The record is a rich legacy, overall – and yet, if we investigate the Battle of Britain further, we find many forgotten heroes, no less deserving of recognition. This book, therefore, seeks to explore the lives and contributions made by certain of these men, to give currency back to their brave deeds. In truth, the list of deserving subjects is virtually endless; those included in this book are individuals whose stories have crossed the author’s path at some stage during his long career – and which he feels are truly ‘Forgotten Heroes'. 

Having done a lot of reading about the Battle of Britain in recent months, I was looking forward to reading this book especially as it concentrates on the less publicised pilots in the Battle of Britain. This book was a really good and fascinating read, I really enjoyed learning about new characters to me, the bravery and strength of these men is extraordinary and this book really does show how this country owes them an awful lot. The book was good in that it wasn’t just a retelling of events, I quite enjoyed all the comments and additions by the family members and friends which added love and meaning to the stories. Another part of the book I enjoyed was the coverage of tactics and flying during the battle, clearly showing the skill and thought that had to go into being a fighter pilot.

I enjoyed the book immensely and judging by the thorough bibliography at the back of the book, Dilip Sarkar MBE is clearly a leading expert on the subject, and one to take notice of. The book contains some great photos and there are lots of personal family photos throughout the book. I would most definitely recommend this book as one of the best I’ve read in a while and an easy read. This will have your attention until the end, and highlights some great characters I enjoyed learning about.