Anne Askew

Available for over a year

Bettany Hughes tells the stories of remarkable women denied their families by the march of history. Destined to live the life of a rural housewife in Tudor England, Anne Askew married and had two children. But a new religious faith, Protestantism, came between her and her staunchly Catholic husband. Her new-found faith tore her family apart, causing her to leave her children to follow her God and to enter the deadly games of the Tudor court. Bettany follows her transformation from mother to martyr. Image: The Protestant martyrs Anne Askew, John Lascelles and others about to be burnt at the stake at Smithfield, with a large crowd surrounding them; illustration to John Foxe's, 'Acts and Monuments' ('Book of Martyrs'). Woodcut with letterpress. British, 16th century. © The Trustees of the British Museum.