The Great Matter Monologues by Thomas Crockett

On paper this sounds like an interesting take on a fascinating period of British history, The Tudors has to be my favourite dynasty and this episode a particularly important one within the Catholic and Christian Church.

I was pretty excited to receive an advanced readers copy from Net Gallery and really looking forward to reading this as historical fiction is one of my favourite genres – however, upon finishing the book I felt it had been lacking in certain aspects.

Whilst the book itself contains a lot of historical information and left me with food for thought, in particular Why Henry, who had grown up with his extremely religious grandmother, Margaret Beaufort, had seemingly renounced his core religious beliefs and upbringing in such a short period of time, I couldn’t feel a connection to any of the characters.

The definition of a monologue is a long speech by one actor in a play or film, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast programme. This is where although I see what the author was trying to achieve, I felt each monologue delivered very little emotional input.

This could be because the characters in themselves were very two dimensional and I felt the storyline was marred with the authors own bias towards Anne Boleyn and favourism of Katherine.

I’ll start with Anne, who comes across as demanding, manipulative, arrogant and rude completely without any redeeming qualities. This automatically makes it difficult to understand why Henry, not only persued her but his subsequent actions. There is no insight into what made her so compelling for him, even in the long years before he finally married her.

Henry himself does not come across as a strong willed King. He is portrayed as a mere puppet being manipulated by the strings that Anne Boleyn controls. Everything that happens is never his fault, merely him acting on Anne’s latest paranoid whim. In stark contrast to his actions he speaks more fondly and with respect of Katherine than he ever does with Anne which although suits this narrative makes it even more difficult to try and understand his actions.

Katherine herself comes across more how she is portrayed in history, a strong willed queen who will never give up her title. She is loyal to God and her faith and truly believes that. No matter the price. As sad as her fate is, I found it pretty difficult to care by the end of the book, an opinion I don’t usually possess when talking about this subject.

I’m dissapointed in that the reasons behind Henry’s are only merely covered – his longing for an heir, his insatiable lust, his ego, his advisors even. Mentioned but never at the forefront of reasoning. The main idea is this was all Anne Boleyn s doing. Even down to the reformation. Again, Anne’s fault – a woman apparently so powerful in a time when women were the property of their fathers and husbands, a time in which even a queen can be dethroned by the will of her husband.

Don’t believe reviews that claim this is like reading a Phillipa Gregory book because unfortunately it isn’t, the lack of character in the main narrative attests to that.

In summary, this book could be explained simply as a blame game. Henry blames Katherine, Katherine blames Anne whilst Anne blames everybody but herself.

And the author.. Well he blames Anne Boleyn

The House of Dreams – Jordana Blasco

A bizarre yet gripping story, focusing on how one man’s grief, over the death of his mother, his regrets lead to depression and suicidal tendancies.

With a surreal, otherworldly element to the story in the mysterious treatment centre he, in final desperation, admits himself to a therapy centre offering new treatment s.

But when the therapy leaves him in a waking dream, powerless to discern what is reality and unable to contact the outside world, he’s left with two choices; escape, or remain a prisoner of his own grief forever.

The author has really captured the inner torment of both grief and depression in this story which stays with the reader for long after the book has ended.

It’s extremely thought provoking and there are times when as a reader you feel as confused as the main character… Its enjoyable, quite short and not very clear, so don’t expect any loose ends to be tied up by the end but this is just an example of how the human mind and its emotions works.

Pagan Portals – Persephone – Practicing the art of personal power.

A much more thorough book than it’s mere 9 chapters implies. Persephone, practicing the art of personal power combines examining the myth of Persephone, ancient Greek history and rituals and encourages the reader to reflect on their own personal journey by resonating with Persephone s tale.

It question s and challenges the reader – is Persephone a victim or a Victor in her tale? Exploring how she overcame her restrictions and transformed from maiden-mother to crone and how the reader can explore that in themselves.

With journal prompts and meditation exercises, the reader can journey into deep self exploration with Persephone as their guide gaining valuable insight into their self beliefs and challenges and how they can overcome them.

In my personal opinion, this is a very deep yet fascinating book that requires a lot of time to fully process and enjoy. It is educational yet self exploratory, not recommended for someone who would just be wanting to know more about the myth but a fantastic aid for those wishing to heal with the help of a goddess by their side.

Inside the Kray Family

A lot of books have been written about the Kray Twins over the years , from their biography “The Profession of Violence ” by John Pearson to their own accounts “My Story”, “Our Story”  and “Born Fighter” not to mention various other associates memoirs but I ve never read anything quite as personal as “Inside the Kray Family ” by  their cousins Joe Lee and Rita Smith.

Stripping away the glitz and the glamour , the legend and myth ,  it invites you right into the heart of an East End family through their permanently open front door as if you were their for a cuppa tea and a chat with your own relatives to reminisce about the past.

Its a side of the Krays and their family you havnt heard of before and brings to life exactly what their childhood was like but also of the strong family unit that surrounded them .

It gives insight into their mother, Violet s , harrowing and heartbreaking in places personal story  – of a girl falling in love with the wrong man , elopement,  estrangement from her family and then the devastating death of her daughter , only a few hours old , after a severe beating from her husband that caused premature labour and her subsequent depression afterwards to which the doctor shockingly advised get pregnant again quick or end up in the asylum ……

She chose to get pregnant again … and along came the twins. ….. 

Inside the Krays gives a fascinating insight into the family from the colorful characters of the grandparents Nanny and Grandad Lee ,  the history of mental illness in the family , and surprisingly shows that the twins actually had very good male role models in their life who worked hard jobs to provide for their families .

The dual narrative works well from cousin Joes older cousin and brother Charlies friends viewpoint of being very straight with the facts , with a hint of disapproval, telling it as it is contrasting with Rita as the  adored only girl who adored the twins as much as she adored them and how she was , I believe like the rest of the woman in the family as opposed to the men , protected from the rumours that dogged them.

Ritas story is extremely emotive and I was near tears during her final chapter as she describes her battle to believe , her denial ,  how the family were left broken when the truth finally came out and how no matter how much she was hurting and in pain , there was no way she could stop loving those boys….

Of all the Krays books I’ve read this definitely has to be up there with the best . If you are looking for truth …then this is the book to turn to as it provides many unseen photos and a few unknown facts .

The Tragic Bride by Jacky Hyams

Two days ago I blogged about Frances Shea and the truth behind the Myth.  I spoke about her niece Frances who s story could shatter all the illusions we’ve been given during the past fifty years.

Can you believe in all this time, despite having such a central role in the Krays story – only one book has been released regarding Frances herself ?

The book in question is entitled The Tragic Bride by Jacky Hyams.

Here is my honest opinion on the book and the stories it contains

With the resurgence of interest in The Kray Twins and more specifically Reggies wife Frances, hot on the heels of the movie Legend, comes the reissue of Jackie Hyams book detailing the relationship between Reg and his beautiful wife and her sad, untimely end by suicide.

This being the only book on Frances and therefore having the opportunity to reveal the woman behind the myth, I found myself strangely dissapointed.

Hyams paints a vivid picture of an post war east end childhood , similar to her own , that she believes Frances would have experienced. She rather vocally writes of Frances mothers dreams and aspirations for herself, her children and her family yet is rather bizarrely, for one writing such personal details, is sadly lacking in evidence to support her claims in this respect.

It is worth noting at this point that no members of the Shea family were contacted in research of this book apart from Frances brother, who had sadly passed away at this point and his former wife , who declined to comment on the past. However, they aren’t the only members of the Shea family who could and would provide details in the respect of Frances, what she was exactly like, and what truly happened.

Instead, Hyams relies on some fantastic resources research wise such as diary entries , birth records , school records , Home office notes, personal letters and a number of suicide notes in order to piece together a portrait of Frances.

Some are used successfully , through Frances school records we are told she was very intelligent, her diaries quoting Tennyson – a complete contrast to the gangsters moll portayed in other books, good looking arm candy with little brains.

Records such as birth and the home office ones tell us actual factual evidence of specifics at the time – where the family were living, the fact that Frances mother applied to have either Frances body moved from the infamous Kray Corner or at least Frances headstone changed to Frances Shea not Kray as expressly wished by Frances herself.

All good stuff. However, the rest of the resources she uses to try and prove what feels like an already established belief on her part.
In the introduction alone , she expressly states that through her research she has found out that Reggie was an obsessive, possessive , abuser and Frances was a tragic bride , an abused wife who took her own life in order to escape him.

She uses prison letters written to Frances to collaborate her statement but not fully transcribed and what is given is basically Reggie worrying she isnt taking slimming pills or going dancing with other men whilst he s in prison , showing concern for her well being and praising her for advice previously given. Hyams has taken this and described it as Reggie going insane whilst inside unable to control her rather than the more obvious a man worrying he may lose his girl to another.

Other examples of his control extend to statements from various sources of the Kray s – their cousin , their mothers hairdresser to various gangster associates who all turned against the Krays and gave evidence against them at their trial. But even those are contadictory.
Statements such as “ he wouldn’t allow her to have any friends” are followed in the same breath as “he paid for her and her friends to go to spain on holiday”
Confusing. As well as one minute a source claiming she couldn’t have an opinion on anything until Reggie did to if she liked something, reggie would like it to please her.

But the “evidence” that really is bizarre is that of Kray associate that claims Frances was a virgin bride based on her telling someone he didn’t lay a finger on her on honeymoon. Despite the fact that the source previously states that Frances never really spoke to Reggies men other than hello as it wasnt the done thing.

But for some reason Hyams runs with it , despite it being rather a disrespectful subject. Even using the phrase in Frances diary “ honeymoon sex 3 ” ( again quite a breach) and twisting it to her interpretation as honeymoon sex attempts. Even later when another diary entry detailing some abuses in regards to s (sex?) , she still runs with the Virgin Bride theory.

In fact she looks very closely into Frances lovelife , tracking down a former boyfriend who rather disrepectfully gives some colourful information and a inpatient at a special hospital for people with mental health issues speaks of innocent kisses and cuddles. Again, not really appropriate.

Frances struggle with mental health is brushed aside and not really considered despite interviews with a Psychiatrist on the krays payroll who conviently didnt have records going that far back …and opinions from modern day experts , Hyams didnt acknowledge the effect her medication let alone her illness would have had on her and her actions instead preferring to use sources “evidence” of a nervous shaky girl as being a result of Reggies treatment of her.

Instead of creating a book which gives a full insight into a beautiful woman who suffered a sad end, Frances isnt portrayed as a full person- just fragments of other peoples opinions.

What Hyams had missed is that Frances was a person – a daughter, a sister, an aunt not just the sensational tragic bride.

And that was the Frances I wanted to read about.

I’m not the only one either , over 2.5k members of   Frances Kray (shea)       group wish to know the real story of Frances , isn’t it time it was told ?!?