Julie Strong
Author | Shamanic Practitioner | Lecturer
Julie Strong, a Halifax-based writer, launched her debut novel, The Tudor Prophecy, on January 25, 2025. The novel is an epic story of resilience and destiny which takes place during the oppressive, especially to women, reign of Henry VIII. It echoes our present time and shows how only love and courage can undermine the power of despots.
The Tudor Prophecy
Synopsis
England, 1541. An ailing Henry VIII reigns from a contested throne. In parallel story lines, The Tudor Prophecy follows two young women, Lady Alice Grantmire and Hester Vaughan, cousins who each suffer greatly from the King’s unjust decrees. Lady Alice and her mother are evicted from their estate and take residence in a cottage where they earn a subsistence selling herbal remedies—until they are accused of witchcraft. After being molested by the King, Hester is summoned to her estranged father’s home in Wales. There she becomes betrothed to a Welsh bard whose mentor has visions foretelling the ascendancy of Henry’s second daughter, Elizabeth. When Hester encounters the eight-year-old Lady Elizabeth, the two forge a relationship whereby Hester can persuade the future queen to temper her own rule with mercy. This epic, literary tale—a Game of Thrones meets Little Women—is also for readers who enjoyed the Wolf Hall trilogy by Booker-Prize winner Hilary Mantel.
Sitting in History
Julie is sitting with her book The Tudor Prophecy, in the very chair Princess Elizabeth sat in on November 18, 1558 — the day she presided over her first Council meeting as Queen of England at Hatfield Old Palace, Hertfordshire.
