Tudor Historical Fiction Archives - Historical Fiction of Paul Jariabek

Musician Mark Smeaton in King Henry VIII Court performing his last song for Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII (Tudor)

The Last Song – Historical Flash Fiction

In the opulent and treacherous court of Henry VIII, a low-born musician Mark Smeaton strums a defiant, treasonous melody. His song, a veiled confession of a love that should never have been, drifts through the hall—its meaning hidden to most. However, the King…

1555 Philip and Mary Shillings

Few artifacts capture the complex political and religious landscape of 16th-century England as vividly as the Philip and Mary shilling. Issued during the reign of Mary I of England and her husband, Philip II of Spain, these coins are a reminder of religious upheaval and intense power struggles that marked Francis Drake’s passage into adulthood.

Sir Francis Drake with his Coat Of Arms with the inscription of Sic Parvis Magna

Sic Parvis Magna Meaning

The meaning of Sic Parvis Magna is from small beginnings, greatness. This is the title of the first book of the historical fiction series Adventures of Francis Drake.

The cover of historical fiction novel The Heretic Wind by Judith Arnopp

Historical Fiction Book Review: The Heretic Wind By Judith Arnopp

In The Heretic Wind, author Judith Arnopp introduces us to Mary Tudor, the daughter of Henry the VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon, and the first English Queen in her own right. The book is a fictionalized biography of Mary I (Mary Tudor, whom John Foxe dubs “Bloody” Mary). The historical character is easy to hate… which is why this book is so wonderful—as Arnopp puts us into Mary’s head, we discover…