Tudor Secrets in Film, Fiction and Fact

August 21-23, 2026: Print the Legend. Location is Maynooth University , Ireland.

Carol McGrath, Joanna Hickson and Jenny Barden discuss Tudor secrets: those that have become distorted or erased by legend, and those buried in the past - until now!...

They will examine reinterpretations of the Tudors in film for TV and cinema, in particular the ‘Wolf Hall’ series and ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’, consider how these films have been informed by novels, how they continue to perpetuate and create myths, and the relevance of truth to entertainment.

Joanna’s recent research into the Seymour family, Carol’s into Thomas Cromwell, and Jenny’s focus on the Spanish Armada, will provide a platform for a lively look at the hook of secrets in the context of the relationship between fact and fiction, history and legend.

Carol will reveal Cromwell's methods of serving Henry VIII via an extensive spy network whilst keeping his own hands clean. Yet, he ended up on the scaffold. Joanna will examine why this ruthless king would seek solace in the lap of a country-raised woman and send the Garter King of Heralds to turn a Seymour into marriageable material as his queen. Jenny will probe the secrets of England’s success against the mightiest fleet to have ever sailed. Was it as simple as: ‘God blew and they were scattered’? Or were piracy, treachery and rivalry involved?

Along the way, the panel will refer to methods of research, compare their approach to bringing the past alive through storytelling, and the difficulties of conjuring up the lost voices of women in history.