The History of Tudor Women: Witches to Queens

Candlelight History Talks: The History of Tudor Women: Witches to Queens

Expand your knowledge in a beautiful candlelit space. Followed by Q&A.

Discover the extraordinary lives of Tudor women – from queens and scholars to witches, midwives and outsiders – and what life was like for women in Tudor times.

What was it really like to be a woman in Tudor England? In this fascinating candlelit talk, Prof Diane Purkiss introduces us to two learned Janes: two girls called Jane, both given the best education available and both experts in Greek, but with very different fates. Then meet two ruling queens: sisters at odds over religion, yet oddly alike in their childlessness and loneliness. Finally, discover two outsiders: a woman prophet who broke into a secret garden to tell Henry VIII what she thought of him, and the wife of a butcher who was crushed to death in an attempt to save her family.

Through their stories, Prof Purkiss explores the possibilities, dangers and constraints that shaped women's lives in Tudor England – and brings six women out of the shadows of history.

Doors open at 6:15pm, talk starts at 6:45pm - come down early to grab a good seat!

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Speaker Bio:

Diane Purkiss is Professor of English at the University of Oxford, and a fellow of Keble College.