The Lisle Letters are the correspondence of Arthur Plantagenet, an illegitimate son of King Edward IV

Edward IV of England

Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...

 and an uncle of King Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

, and Plantagenet's wife, Honor Plantagenet, Viscountess Lisle

Honor Plantagenet, Viscountess Lisle

Honor Grenville was an English lady-in-waiting during the reign of Henry VIII. Honor was the daughter of Sir Thomas Grenville of Stowe in Kilkhampton, Cornwall and his wife Isabella. She was the wife first of Sir John Bassett of Umberleigh, Devon and then second wife of Arthur Plantagenet, 1st...

, with several courtier

Courtier

A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...

s and friends, including her daughters Anne

Anne Bassett

Anne Bassett was an English courtier of the Tudor period, whose charms attracted the attention of King Henry VIII.-Family background:Anne was born in 1521, the fourth child of Sir John Bassett and Honor...

 and Elizabeth

Elizabeth Bassett (maid-of-honour)

Elizabeth Basset was an English noblewoman who served at the court of King Henry VIII, and was briefly jailed for speaking against him....

. They are an important source of information on life at the court of Henry VIII.

Originally published as a six-volume set, a selection by Muriel St. Clare Byrne

Muriel St. Clare Byrne

Muriel St. Clare Byrne, born in 1895 , was a prominent historical researcher, specializing in the reign of Henry VIII of England. She gathered together and edited primary sources and published these, including the Lisle Letters, and the Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII, as well as...

 has also been published in one volume.

Editions

• The Lisle Letters: an Abridgement, ed. Muriel St. Clare Byrne & Bridget Boland, with Foreword by Hugh Trevor-Roper (University of Chicago Press, 1981) ISBN 0226088014

External links

• The Lisle Letters: an Abridgement online at books.google.com