Rosemary Griggs – författare

The name ‘Kat Ashley’, Queen Elizabeth’s ‘Governess’, is well-known to fans of Tudor history. Katherine Champernowne, later John Astley’s wife, joined Elizabeth’s household before the future queen turned three. Later she became Elizabeth’s ‘governess’, trusted with the upbringing of the King’s younger daughter. Formidably well-educated for a woman of her time, reports suggest Katherine did an excellent job. When Elizabeth came to the throne, one of her first actions was to name Katherine as Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber, a highly influential position within the court of a female monarch.Over nearly three decades, the two women developed an unshakeable bond. Katherine served loyally during dangerous and uncertain times, enduring several spells of imprisonment. Her death in 1565, left the Queen devastated. Despite this, Katherine’s true character remains largely unknown. There has even been widespread confusion about her identity and parentage. Yet the clues are there. Katherine was not from an obscure background in rural Devon, as is sometimes claimed. Her family ties placed her amongst influential figures close to the royal court and amongst scholars, humanist thinkers, and advocates of religious reform.Focussing on Thomas Seymour’s inappropriate behaviour towards Elizabeth while she was in the household of his wife, Catherine Parr, has led historians to conclude that Katherine showed poor judgement. Fictional portrayals and on-screen depictions often show Elizabeth’s governess as a gossipy, middle-aged nanny.This biography offers a fresh perspective on Katherine’s significance in Elizabeth’s youth, and challenges traditional interpretations to produce a believable picture of the woman Queen Elizabeth I valued so highly.

THE COFFEE POT BOOK CLUB, BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2022 - SILVER MEDALS in each of the following categories - Women’s Historical Fiction, Historical Romance and for books set in The Tudors, The Stuarts, and The Commonwealth of EnglandFew women of her time lived to see their name in print. But Katherine was no ordinary woman. She was Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother. This is her story.Set against the turbulent background of a Devon rocked by the religious and social changes that shaped Tudor England; a Devon of privateers and pirates; a Devon riven by rebellions and plots, A Woman of Noble Wit tells how Katherine became the woman who would inspire her famous sons to follow their dreams. It is Tudor history seen though a woman’s eyes.As the daughter of a gentry family with close connections to the glittering court of King Henry VIII, Katherine’s duty is clear. She must put aside her dreams and accept the husband chosen for her. Still a girl, she starts a new life at Greenway Court, overlooking the River Dart, relieved that her husband is not the ageing monster of her nightmares. She settles into the life of a dutiful wife and mother until a chance shipboard encounter with a handsome privateer, turns her world upside down.…..Years later a courageous act will set Katherine’s name in print and her youngest son will fly high.

1571, and the beautiful, headstrong daughter of a French Count marries the son of the Vice Admiral of the Fleet of the West in Queen Elizabeth’s chapel at Greenwich. It sounds like a marriage made in heaven…Roberda’s father, the Count of Montgomery, is a prominent Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion. When her formidable mother follows him into battle, she takes all her children with her.After a traumatic childhood in war-torn France, Roberda arrives in England full of hope for her wedding. But her ambitious bridegroom, Gawen, has little interest in taking a wife.Received with suspicion by the servants at her new home, Dartington Hall in Devon, Roberda works hard to prove herself as mistress of the household and to be a good wife. But there are some who will never accept her as a true daughter of Devon.After the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, Gawen’s father welcomes Roberda’s family to Dartington as refugees. Compassionate Roberda is determined to help other French women left destitute by the wars. But her husband does not approve. Their differences will set them on an extraordinary path…