Tracy Thomas

First doggy sunbathe of the year…🌞🐶

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 2

Tracy Thomas

Teddy is up close and personal to wish you a Happy Wednesday! 🐾

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 1

Tracy Thomas

I haven’t been around for quite a while, but here’s Teddy’s last photo from a professional photo shoot a couple of weeks ago.
I hope you all have a wonderful day!

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Tracy Thomas

9 months ago | [YT] | 0

Tracy Thomas

#BookTube: What I read in May 2025 ( Part 4)

Daughters of Chivalry: The Forgotten Princesses of King Edward Longshanks by Kelsey Wilson-Lee
Tantor Audio/Audible


Eleanora, Joanna, Margaret, Mary and Elizabeth.
These five women were granddaughters of Edward I, more commonly know as "Longshanks" due to his tall stature and Eleanor of Castile, and bar one, all used as pawns in marriages for political alliances across medieval Europe. Despite this, these women found a voice of their own, from making decisions on behalf of their husbands, to owning land and having incomes of their own. Some even married for love, defying convention, travelled extensively, and one gambled a fortune on dice. The book even goes into brief detail of the women's descendents making a mark on the world that we even know today.

This was a chance download as part of the Audible Plus catalogue (free titles available to Audible members, some for a limited time), and found it easy to listen to and understand, explaining the complexities of medieval etiquette, customs and royal life. The only negative is that the audio version should have pdf files with the family tree and illustrations that are in the book, (which I later borrowed from my local library), making the book more complete.

My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

#Audible #nonfiction #history #englishhistory #medievalhistory #England #EdwardLongshanks #EleanorofCastile #royalfamily #AudiblePlus #DaughtersofChivalry #KelseyWilsonLee

10 months ago | [YT] | 0

Tracy Thomas

BookTube: What I Read in May 2025 (Part 3)

Rizzio by Denise Mina (Paperback)

10 months ago | [YT] | 0

Tracy Thomas

#Booktube: What I read in May 2025 (Part 2)

The Life and Times of Prince Albert by Patrick Allitt (The Great Courses, Audible)

Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel, the younger son of the Duke and Duchess of the Germanic principality of Saxe- Coburg-Gotha, better known as Prince Albert, Prince Consort to Victoria, the first woman to rule in her own right right Queen Anne, is the subject of this short course written and presented by Patrick Allitt, who is a British born professor at the Emory University in the United States, and yes, I did look him up online!

Patrick starts on Alberts early life in what we now know as Germany, the meeting and marriage of Albert and Victoria, and how gradually he became Victoria's unofficial Private Secretary, as he could keep a level head during a tricky situation in the affairs of State. What is also explored how he stream lined the running of the Royal households, campaigned on social issues, especially those that concerned the military, with improving the conditions of soldiers and better medical care in the field hospitals.

Albert also embraced new innovations, and devised the Great Exhibition of 1851 to bring together the best of the world's finest under one roof, nurturing trade alliances with other countries. His relationship with his children is explored, seemingly loving his children very much, even more than Victoria, portraying to the public the value of family life, most notably, bringing the custom of the Christmas tree over from his homeland. No wonder Victoria felt his loss after his death in 1861, in which the"Cult of Albert" is also discussed, and how Victoria really never came out of mourning for him.

Like many of The Great Courses on Audible, the lectures are around 30 minutes each which makes listening to them easier, and this one runs for over 4 hours, though the time passed by easily, as it was interesting and easy to listen to. I enjoyed it very much, as I knew very little about Albert, so is great for those who want an introductory to his life. Please note: at the time of writing this was free for Audible members to listen to.

My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

#nonfiction #Audible #audiobook #history #Britishhistory #Victorianhistory #PrinceAlbert #QueenVictoria #TheGreatCourses #PatrickAllitt

10 months ago | [YT] | 0

Tracy Thomas

#Booktube: What I Read in May 2025 (Part 1)

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (Unabridged Audible Edition)


First published in 2001, this is the book that started the modern interest in Tudor history and selling a million copies since, the publishers claiming that it changed how historical fiction was written since. I bought the paperback version as soon as it was available in 2002, starting my interest in history, along with, I suspect, many others who, some, have made careers out of.

The story is told in the first person of Mary Boleyn, the younger sister of Anne, starting when she was 12 years old, newly married to William Carey and one of ladies to Queen Katherine. It then jumps in time a little and Anne is back home from the French Court, and along with their brother George, are becoming the favourites at the English Court, and Mary soon catches the eye of the king, Henry VIII. An affair ensues, and pushed along by her parents, Sir Thomas and Lady Elizabeth, and Mary's uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, she becomes the Kings official mistress. The wheel of fortune turns and while Mary is giving birth to her second child to Henry, his attentions turn to Anne, whom being determined on not being his mistress but his queen, the story charts her rise, altering English religious history, and Marys fading into the background, which ultimately will be her saving grace.


As with most historical fiction, it's primary purpose is to entertain, so I'd would take it what it is, fiction loosely based on fact. Research is out there that Anne could have been the younger of the two, their father Thomas and Uncle Norfolk weren't pushing the sisters to garner the Henrys attention as depicted in the book, I could go on with other instances, but I invite you to do research to make your own conclusions.‪@HistoryCalling‬


This was supposed to be the unabridged edition of the book, but I know from reading the book many times that some passages are missing, such as the Duke of Norfolk being one of the last of the aristocracy to have serfs and an accident involving Anne's dog at court, done out of spite, I loved this recording which brought the book to life even more, with Vanessa Kirby reading it magnificently. She makes Anne deliciously full of dark humour, impulsive and forthright, which I have always imagined her to be, Mary, the cautious and thoughtful one, with her father and uncle the pushy parent and relative.


My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5



#fiction #Audible #historicalfiction #TheOtherBoleynGirl #PhilippaGregory #Tudor #MaryBoleyn #AnneBoleyn #HenryVIII #Englishhistory #VanessaKirby

10 months ago | [YT] | 0

Tracy Thomas

#Booktube: What I read in April 2025 (Part 3)

The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory

The year is 1543 and a 30 year old recent widow called Lady Latimer has caught the eye of the aging Henry VIII, and she has no choice to accept his offer of marriage. She is well aware of the fate of his previous wives and his penchant for disregarding them when they have failed to please him, and has to walk a fine line of keeping him on her side to avoid the same fate.

Katherine Parr has already been twice married and the last thing she wants is another sickly and aged husband, especially one that has an evil and short temper, but she can't refuse as he is the King of England. After some misgivings she is throws herself into bringing all the Kings estranged children together, the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth(or Ladies, depending on the Kings mood) and his young heir, Edward, to make them into a family. Katherine also finds freedom in writing of the Holy Bible and other religious works into English, guiding the King and his country away from the exclusivity of the old church Henry broke away from years earlier, but her enthusiasm for the new ways of praying almost gets the better of her.

I first read this in 2016 (thanks to my meticulous record keeping) in hardback borrowed from my local library, and this time I listened to the audio version from Borrow Box which brought the book to life even more. The story is told in the first person, which I prefer, as I read Jean Plaidy who covered the same ground before Philippa Gregory, but Philippa has the advantage of new information becoming available with better technology techniques and new finds since Jean wrote her books. I recommend listening to the audio book first of all, as it makes the story so much better.

My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

#books #audiobook #BorrowBox #Tudor #monarchy #history #Englishhistory
#HenryVIII #England #KatherineParr #PhilippaGregory #TamingoftheQueen
#BiancaAmato #Kings #Queens

11 months ago | [YT] | 0

Tracy Thomas

#Booktube: What I read in April 2025 (Part 2)

Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man by Siegfried Sassoon

First published in 1928 as the first in the trilogy of George Sherston and covers the late Victorian, the Edwardian era with the first six months of the First World War. It’s written in the first person and it is said that it semi autobiographical, loosely based on the life of Sassoon himself, as he was a keen country sportsman and enlisted in the army, which he used this experience to write poetry for which he is better known for.

This was actually an impulse purchase from a charity shop as I liked the cover but was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the story, perhaps as I have an interest in Victorian and Edwardian history and can use my knowledge to conjure up the image the author intended, though many of the original audience would remember the latter days of Queen Victoria, King Edward and the raw memories of WWI.

This book depicts a country on the brink of the norms of society people knew such as the rigid class system, loyal servants and grooms and village cricket matches every week in summer, (though I know of few local communities that still do this), that you can smell the horses, leather saddles and the dampness of the autumn air.

As for the subject matter, fox hunting is a controversial subject today but knowing people who have farms, foxes are threat to their livelihoods but being an animal lover I can see the others side, so my advice for any historical novel is try and look at it from the perspective of that era when attitudes were a lot different and not try to change history but go forward and be better.

One last note: the audio version of this that I came across on Audible is abridged, so I recommend the actual physical book version.

My rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

#books #fiction #paperback #Edwardian #Victorian #FirstWorldWar #WWI #trilogy #SiegfriedSassoon #GeorgeSherston #MemoirsofaFoxHuntingMan

11 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 0