Book Review: ‘All Things Tudor’: A Magazine With Promise, but Lacks an Editor, Designer

"All Things Tudor" is focused on the Boleyn family. All Things Tudor Publishing

Deb Hunter, the creator of the successful “All Things Tudor” podcast, has begun a magazine by the same name. The third issue was recently released, which is the one I was asked to read and review.

The magazine is indeed all things Tudor, with a focus on the Boleyn family. The most famous member of the family was Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, who was executed relatively shortly after their marriage.

Contributing writers discuss not only Anne, but also her sister, her brother, and her father. Some of the authors’ names may be recognizable to readers, like Terence Hawkins, the British Museum, and of course the creator herself, Deb Hunter.

"All Things Tudor" magazine focuses on the Boleyn family, including Anne's sister Mary Boleyn. Public Domain

There are some provocative insights within some of the articles. Sasha Marks discusses an interesting angle regarding two surviving images of Anne Boleyn—or, what some claim to be images of the once-queen of England. Grace Beattie’s article entitled “The Maligned Cousin and Queen” about the fifth wife of King Henry VIII, Catherine Howard, who met a similar fate as Anne did, is also quite thought-provoking (though the magazine oddly goes back and forth between “Catherine” and “Katherine” for both Howard and Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife). There is a hint of presentism in the article, but not to the point where it is not useful. Beattie presents several logical points that should cause readers and Tudor enthusiasts to reconsider how Howard is viewed.

The final article of the magazine is more of a Q&A with three Tudor experts, Lauren Mackay, Estelle Paranque, and Gareth Russell. The three were, as the magazine notes, the “masterminds” behind PBS’s “The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family,” which aired August 2021. The discussion is led by Hunter and the three give their thoughts on the show, the Boleyn family, and more specifically the patriarch of the family, Thomas Boleyn—and they provide a different perspective about him than most Boleyn enthusiasts may have.

Articles That Aren’t (or Shouldn’t Be)

There were a few articles that I found misattributed. As I mentioned above, the final article is “more of a Q&A,” but in fact it isn’t. It is a transcript from one of the podcast’s episodes. Transcripts are typically used online for a website (like a podcast’s website or blog) or even in the content section of the podcast episode itself. The transcript seemed out of place, especially with the double introduction, the advertisement script (which I found perplexing), and the outro-conclusion with a full “thanks for listening” send off.

If a transcript was a must, then some simple editing would have been appropriate. Regardless, the article should have been turned into a Q&A piece, which would have flowed more smoothly, looked better, and could still have referred to the specific episode on the podcast.

There were several book reviews in the magazine that were not really book reviews. They were articles discussing particular subjects, but with hardly any mention of the books themselves. It would have sufficed to simply have the authors write articles on the subjects (or ask them to rewrite the book reviews as book reviews).

Still in the Editing Stages, but Promising

The most pronounced issue with the magazine is the lack of design between the covers. The front and back covers are fine, but what is printed within is amateurish at best. The magazine seems to be designed specifically for e-book reading, and it is obvious that the lion’s share of editing was done solely for that. There are still link lines under words and phrases, full urls, and other editing faux pas. There are no columns on the pages, just lines that stretch left to right. Images are haphazardly placed and often take up far too much room, which lengthens the number of pages in the magazine.

"Anne Boleyn in the Tower" by Édouard Cibot. Public Domain

At the end of several of the articles, there is a sources cited section. This is an oddity for a magazine. If sources must be cited within the magazine, it would be preferable to have them at the very back of the magazine, categorized according to articles and numbers.

Hunter has a successful podcast and it is very professionally produced (I’ve listened). Also, one does not host the guests she has without being reputable. For the magazine, the writers are fine and so are the topics (though the book review issue should be sorted). What is missing is both a capable editor and a print designer (even one with minimal experience), specifically the latter.

Hunter has a good thing going with the podcast, but the magazine should be revisited. Most new projects start off less than perfect. The magazine is only three issues in. That’s definitely early enough to make changes needed to keep readers engaged and the professionalism on par with the podcast.

‘All Things Tudor’ By Deb Hunter All Things Tudor Publishers, March 9, 2022 Magazine, Kindle: 58 pages