The Waiting Game

The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens

De: Nicola Clark

Narrado por: Nicola Clark, Karen Cass

Every Tudor Queen had ladies-in-waiting. They were her confidantes and her chaperones. Only the Queen's ladies had the right to enter her most private chambers, spending hours helping her to get dressed and undressed, caring for her clothes and jewels, listening to her secrets. But they also held a unique power. A quiet word behind the scenes, an appropriately timed gift, a well-negotiated marriage alliance were all forms of political agency wielded expertly by women.

The Waiting Game explores the daily lives of ladies-in-waiting, revealing the secrets of recruitment, costume, what they ate, where (and with whom) they slept. We meet María de Salinas, who traveled to England with Catherine of Aragon when just a teenager and spied for her during the divorce from Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn's lady-in-waiting Jane Parker was instrumental in the execution of not one, but two queens. And maid-of-honor Anne Basset kept her place through the last four consorts, negotiating the conflicting loyalties of her birth family, her mistress the Queen, and even the desires of the King himself.

As Henry changed wives—and changed the very fabric of the country's structure besides—these women had to make choices about loyalty that simply didn't exist before. The Waiting Game is the first time their vital story has been told.

©2025 Nicola Clark (P)2023 The Orion Publishing Group, Limited

The incredible danger of life in the court of Henry VIII.

I liked the dispassionate tone of the narrative. I enjoyed the description of the dress code for the ladies in waiting. I was shocked at the prevalence of deaths in childbirth.

Meticulous historical account

The author provides a verifiable account of the lives of women that supported and participated in the royal court of Henry VIII. Brilliantly written and performed.

A Hidden History of Women

I adore anything that is focused on women’s history and so I was eagerly looking forward to listening to this one after a friend sent me the NYT review. If I could give it 4.5 stars I would. There were a few spots where the narrative dragged a bit or got somewhat convoluted with the number of women it profiled. But overall, it was wonderful to hear the personal stories of the women who filled King Henry’s court.

comforting, empowering

a familiar story but focusing on the women of the court. very pleasant audio. takeaway how well women could sway the others. give it a listen.

One of the best!

I read and listen to a lot of Tudor history. Much of it is factual but can be so very dry. Not this work!I never had to back up the audiobook because I had drifted to something more interesting,like is that picture straight. Flawless narration and well documented facts that were often new to me and the skill in crafting an historical work that flows like fiction,made this an informative and enjoyable listen.

Fascinating listen

It got a bit hard at times to keep all the Katherine’s and Elizabeth’s straight but it was worth it

History as a story

Great writing, love history told like this. the details were amazing. I felt like Inwas there.

Interesting

Liked the story-telling nature of the work. Very good historical book to listen to.

Loved this book!

I listened to this over a period of three days. so intriguing to hear all the details about characters that usually are only seen in the shadows.

Chapter 4

At the end of chapter 4, the author talks about a well known event where Ann Boleyn and Henry VIII are in a play. The ladies are womanly virtues while the men are vice. The author says western racism is the reason the virtuous are in white while those portraying vice are dark. I wonder if the author has taken an English lit course, read plays, or listened to music?? Good vs bad. Light vs dark. Themes in literature and storytelling since the beginning of time. Is the author severely ignorant or a race baiter or both? Won’t buy anything written by this person again. Also, I only listened to 4 chapters, there was a few times where this got convoluted and boring.