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Miscellaneous Tudor Roses by Alice Starmore ISBN: 0-9625586-8-0 $23.95 / Broad Bay Co. / 1998 Tudor Roses is the 14th book published by Alice Starmore, a world-renowned designer of hand-knitted sweaters whose hallmark is complicated color patterning and/or cable work, coupled with a gift for dressmaking details. Tudor Roses, however, is the first time she has looked to historical figures for inspiration. The book itself is gorgeous. Shot entirely at Hever Castle, childhood home of Henry VIII's second wife Anne Boleyn, it is full of brilliantly conceived color photos. Twelve sweaters are featured, each named for a specific person in the Tudor family, and arranged in chronological order, beginning with Henry VII and ending with Elizabeth I. The designs are not meant to be historically accurate; rather they are modern clothes influenced by the personalities of the period. The book begins with an overview of the Tudor Dynasty, followed by a genealogical chart and the history of Hever Castle. For each sweater, Starmore has written a short biography of the subject, ending with which facets of their character she tried to incorporate into her design. For example, the Margaret Tudor sweater, arguably the most difficult to make, reflects Henry VIII's complicated sister. It is made entirely of panels of lace English roses and cabled Scottish thistles sewn together to suggest slashing. Each point of every slash is accented by a pewter button, 52 in all. For Henry VIII's other sister, Mary, renowned in her time as a great beauty with a gentle disposition, a sweet Fair Isle cardigan was designed in shades of rose and blue, featuring the Tudor rose and the fleur-de-lis. A V-neck cardigan was inspired by the fiery Anne Boleyn, in blood reds, blacks, and grays. The most interesting design, however, is also the most medieval in look: the Katherine Howard sweater. An exercise in using the shapes, colors and patterns of 16th century clothing, it is a knitted jacket with a pointed bodice, a peplum in deep reds and golds (also echoed in the sleeve cuffs), and a stand-up collar. The Tudors were a family full of contradictions; they were brilliant and obtuse, complicated and simple, devious and charming, and, unfortunately, not all of them are represented in this book. What would Starmore have designed for Mary I, the staunch Catholic daughter of Henry VIII or Katharine of Aragon, nicknamed Bloody Mary? And what would Edward VI, who died a teenaged King, have inspired? It is as interesting to wonder at the figures Starmore left out of the book, as it is to marvel at the creations she included. —Linda Ritchie Unger

Click here to order:Tudor Roses     To order Renaissance Magazine, click here. To order medieval tapestries and other period products, click here.