The Tudor Queens’ Midwife: The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog tour.
In the glamorous, glittering and dangerous court of king Henry VIII and his queen Katherine of Aragon, the desperate desire for a healthy male heir overshadows all. Plagued by a series of miscarriages the queen is left grappling with the weight of her singular duty to provide a son for the Crown. Amidst this turmoil the queen turns to Sarah Menendez, the most highly skilled midwife in England. Sarah, exiled from her homeland and concealing her true identity must serve the queen and battle her deepest fears. As Sarah strives to save the queen from the perils of childbirth, the specter of her own past threatens to unravel the carefully crafted identity Sarah has created for herself and her young daughter.
In a world where power, politics and religion collide, Sarah finds herself entangled in a web of intrigue and deadly danger. The fate of the queen’s unborn child, the survival of the midwife and her daughter, and the stability of the kingdom hang in the balance. Sarah Menendez must employ all of her skills, cunning and courage to protect those she holds dear as well as the life of the queen and her unborn child.
The Tudor Queens’ Midwife is a gripping tale of secrecy, sacrifice and religious turmoil amongst the most opulent court the world has ever seen.
“—push, push, push!” I encourage her. Finally, the head is birthed into my hands, and I have her pant while I help the shoulders emerge; I do not want her to tear. All is going beautifully, and the next pain sends the little boy shooting into my hands. I lift him up and place him in his mother’s arms.
Katherine is crying and saying, “Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus!” over and over. Maria is crying, too, and all of the ladies come over to see the new little prince.
Emunah hands me the knife, and I tie the cord and make the cut that will separate the baby from his mother. The little boy is alert and looking up at Katherine. He does not cry; he is a perfect little king already.
While the brand-new prince is being admired, Emunah and I step away and go to examine the placenta. Everything looks perfect.
Maria de Salinas is selected to go and fetch the king.
“Your Majesty, we should clean you up and make you presentable for when the king comes,” I say.
The queen hands her precious bundle over to one of the ladies to hold and admire. Katherine takes my hand, looks deep into my eyes, and says, “Sarah, you have been an angel sent from heaven. I thank God you were my midwife on this day. We will never forget this,” she promises.
“I am ever your servant, Your Majesty, you know that,” I respond modestly, but I am deeply touched by her words.
I help her to stand up while Emunah places several linen towels upon the clean white sheets on the large tester bed, while two members of Katherine’s ladies-in-waiting help her to brush and arrange her hair and put on a beautiful black satin nightgown before Katherine is settled back into the big bed.
The little prince is handed over to me to clean and dress in swaddling bands and an exquisitely embroidered white linen gown and matching cap. The baby is placed into the queen’s arms, and the two of them together are beautiful beyond words. Many of the ladies have tears shining in their eyes when the door to Katherine’s chamber is opened, and the king, flanked by two of his gentlemen, steps into the room.
The king’s larger-than-life presence fills the room as if he is something more than a mortal man. He is dressed in scarlet velvet trimmed in white ermine fur, with gold tissue peeking through the slashings on his sleeves and doublet. A heavy gold and ruby chain is draped across his enormous chest and shoulders. He is at Katherine’s bedside in two long-legged strides. All of Katherine’s ladies immediately sink into deep curtsies.
The king removes his plumed velvet bonnet and hands it to Charles Brandon. There are tears streaming down his cheeks as he kneels beside the queen.
“You have made me the happiest man in all of Christendom on this day, my queen, my love,” he sobs. “Let me see this prince, our son!” Henry gathers the tiny infant into his arms as he stands up. Henry then addresses me, “Words cannot express our gratitude, Madame Midwife.”
After we have risen, Charles Brandon then steps forward with a heavy leather purse and hands it to me. Emunah and I curtsy again to the king, with faces lowered and eyes firmly fixed on the floor in front of us.
I say, “You honour me, Your Highness. I only seek to do my very best for Your Majesties.”
Henry’s words echo his queen’s when he says, “We shall never forget this.”
Maria de Salinas is looking over at us with an expression in her hard, glittering black eyes which is difficult to discern. I lower my own eyes and look down at my feet.
Emunah and I stay frozen in place until the king turns away from us and addresses his two gentleman friends, “Is this not the fairest and most princely child you have ever seen in your life?”
“Verily, Your Majesty, I have never seen his like before,” says Charles Brandon in reply.
Emunah and I rise and silently walk backward and then turn to gather our things together from the sideboard on the opposite end of the room. Emunah holds the satchel of birthing supplies while I quietly approach the queen.
“Your Majesty, I will depart now and come again on the morrow to check on you,” I say.
“Sarah, I can never repay you for what you did today. Only God can reward you; for no gift on this earth can compare to the son you have delivered to us on this day.”
Katherine then takes off one of her jewelled rings and presses it into my palm. “Thank you, Sarah.”
I curtsy low to the queen, and my daughter and I back out of the room.
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4jzxyk‘
Brigitte Barnard is an amateur historian of Renaissance English history and an author of the trilogy The Tudor Queens’ Midwife, of which the first book in the series is available. She is currently writing a non-fiction book about Tudor midwifery for Pen and Sword publishing house.
Brigitte is a former homebirth midwife, and she lives at home with her husband and four children. She also raises Cavalier King Charles spaniels. Author Links: Website: http://thetudormidwife.com/Twitter: https://x.com/TheTudorMidwife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetudormidwife
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