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Bad Blood

 The Tudor era spawned the "Wolf Hall" novels (and plays and TV episodes), as well as the musical "Six." 


You have an increasingly loony king (altered by a jousting accident?) -- and he almost continuously discarded (and sometimes murdered) his wives.


One of the wives, Anne Boleyn, produced a spunky daughter, and it seems Henry VIII had little interest in the daughter. But she grew up to be one of the most powerful people in history -- Elizabeth I -- and her adult years have spawned their *own* series of literary works ("Elizabeth," "Elizabeth I," "Mary Queen of Scots," "Elizabeth: The Golden Age").


One big part of the Elizabeth story is her rivalry with Mary -- who lived up in Scotland and who seemed to be plotting (at times) to be the Catholic challenger to Elizabeth's throne.


But Mary also had her own craziness up in Scotland. She had an advisor (and lover?) named Rizzio, and various court figures wanted Rizzio out of the picture. Rizzio seemed to have gained too much power -- like Rasputin, in a later age, in Russia.


Apparently, Mary's husband arranged to have Rizzio killed *in Mary's presence* -- so that the murder might cause Mary to go into shock *and also die* .....I didn't kill my wife; you can't prove it; but, yes, she does seem to be dead.....


This scenario is calling out to be a novel -- and now, one of the Western world's great writers, Denise Mina, has tackled the challenge. 


The new book is called "Rizzio," and I've just started, but I've already encountered filicide, bad 1500s-era heating, tense tennis games, turrets, murmurings in dark chambers.


So this is my project for the next few days.

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