Comments and Suggestions Received.

Mr. Taylor.  With both of us working from home now, we also have more time to read. We both finished your Betty Boop series. Wonderful. I must say, well researched. Mae Questel and Helen Kane were wonderful people. Great job. Thomas and Dolores, Butte Montana. 

Dear James. Home schooling has made us use online sources more now. Your entire Tudor series helped both of our middle school children with their reports. They wanted to use Wikipedia, but I made them research further to discover how inaccurate Wikipedia is. Thank you from all of us. Henry Sinclair, Dallas. 

Our 12-year-old daughter is receiving home school for now. Her assignment was a report on a Tudor figure. She chose Lady Jane Grey. Her teacher did not know about the 1594 letter you discovered. Because of the additional research my daughter did to find your resource, she received an ‘A’. Glad to know there are a few quality scholars left in this ‘misinformation age.’

Mr. Taylor. I am completing my senior year at university and chose a Tudor figure to write about. Lady Jane Grey intrigued me. I reviewed all that was available until I read your book. You discovered something no one else had. That proves to me that you went that extra mile to ensure as much could be told about her over others lack of research time. Thank you. Sandra, Mississippi. 

James. I have 15 biographies to my credit. 3 of which are from English Renaissance period. I found your 1594 letter from Lady Jane Grey refreshing in what is often a very over written and stuffy subject. Wonderful to see a rare person who still does research from libraries and not armchairs. Thank you, great job. 

Working from home now allows me more time to read. I recently read your book about Lady Jane Grey with a certain amount of trepidation. ‘Oh, another book rearranging some facts and publishing it.’ Well, I was very surprised to see the 1594 letter from Jane to Queen Mary. No one else that has written about her discovered that. I reviewed your citation source. Very nice Mr. Taylor. Glad to see someone adhering to old school research.  Dr. Denny Schmitt. M

Published information on Lady Jane is scant and contradictory; here, primary sources including Jane's own letters illustrate the drama of a high-born, high-minded and intelligent young lady sacrificed on the pyre of ambition by her kin. The teenaged Lady Jane faced her shocking fate with shocking fortitude; her own performance is inspirational, while some of those around her showed themselves to be the very embodiment of treachery and betrayal. The result is a complete and accurate study of Lady Jane Grey and her short reign, through primary and secondary sources, that will stimulate new questions in the mind of readers and researchers alike.

James continues to receive critical acclaim for uncovering a rare and over looked letter from Lady Jane to Queen Mary that all other authors and historians have not discovered. A recent newspaper included this:

'Mr. Taylor unveils information not seen or shared since 1594 in this book. 7 years of hard work and research produced a fabulous rewards.'

“Taylor succeeds in furnishing insights into the remarkable mind of this young, 16th-century Protestant noblewoman” & “serious students of English history will relish the new material offered here”

Publishers Weekly, Jan 2005. 

"Mr. Taylor’s hard work and diligent research has provided new information about Lady Jane Grey not seen in over 400 years. His literary contributions to historical research and studies is a valuable asset." Detroit Free Press. 2008.

ISBN: 978-0-87586-334-4-Biography

DA345.1.D9D63 2004

Algora Publishing, New York. 2004

Edward Courtenay, the twelfth Earl of Devonshire, walked a fine line that separated treason and loyalty to the crown. Although he spent over half of his life imprisoned in the Tower of London, he was considered a possible marriage partner for Mary Tudor. He was released from prison but ended his days adrift on the continent. Here, James Taylor has pieced together the story of his dramatic life through remnants of correspondence and documents from the era. This volume was prepared in consultation with current Earl of Devon.

ISBN: 978-0-87586-473-0-Biography

DA347.1.D48T39 2006

Algora Publishing, New York. 2006

Thomas Wyatt the Younger, born into a Catholic family with a history of loyal service to the Crown, was a supporter of Queen Mary — until she decided to marry Philip II of Spain. Wyatt had seen the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition and was dead set against tying England to this "foreigner." What happened next helped Mary earn the moniker "Bloody Mary." James D. Taylor Jr. has brought together all known surviving documents from the life of Thomas Wyatt the Younger and presents them in their original form, allowing the reader to piece together a pointillistic picture of the historical narrative, the thinking of a daring man, and the drama leading up to and during Wyatt's rebellion against the Queen.

ISBN: 978-1-62894-009-1-Biography

DA347.T39 2013

Algora Publishing, New York. 2013

Henry Grey gave up a comfortable, quiet and leisurely life to become one of the most powerful and influential figures in England. The father of Lady Jane Grey, he was descended from a distinguished and noble heritage back as far as 1100 CE that produced two queens. In the end, Henry Grey brought destruction upon his daugh­ter and himself, as they were sent to the executioner within a week of each other. 

A genealogy of the Grey family, descriptive information on Henry Grey's wife Frances Brandon — an ambitious grand­daughter of King Henry VII, a list of Knights made by King Edward VI, and other historical documents accompany the text. The author also presents some dramatic narratives from the 1700s and 1800s which add flavor to the story and corrects several incorrect facts often reprinted.

ISBN: 978-1-62894-181-4-Biography

DA345.1.S84T39 2015

Algora Publishing, New York. 2015

Betty Boop is an iconic figure that has endured for decades. In addition to cartoons and short movies, she is seen on almost everything from automotive and motorcycle merchandise to household items and clothing. Just about anything you can think of, her sexy little figure can be seen on it. But few people know the voice that helped make her into the icon she is.

Mae Questel was an American actress and vocal artist who put the “boop” in the “boop boop a doop.” It was because of Mae Questel that Betty Boop has a characteristic voice heard and remembered by millions. In this book, historian James D. Taylor provides a look into the life of a wonderful woman and the contributions she made to American pop culture. She was dedicated to her work and remained active until the last ten years of her long life.

Individuals such as Woody Allen, Lou Hirsch, Doris Roberts and Bob Newhart shared their accounts of Mae Questel with the author, and he listened to hundreds of hours of old audio recordings and viewed many hours of film to accumulate material for this biography. With every hour, he says, his respect grew for this admirable and talented woman who entertained millions of people.

This book has ranked at 87,182 out of Amazon's top 4 million. Thank you to those readers who purchased this book. I hope Mrs. Questel enjoys the renewed and certainly deserved popularity again. 

ISBN: 978-1-62894-204-0-Biography

Algora Publishing, New York. 2016

Betty Boop has been a beloved character since the 1930s. The quintessential “flapper,” her character was based on a handful of popular performers, and fans are still arguing who was the principal model.

This book is the only comprehensive collection of documented facts about Helen Kane, the face of Betty Boop. Historian James D. Taylor has painstakingly accumulated all the facts that can be found about her life and her performing career - and these details make for an interesting story in themselves.

Those who do know of Helen Kane are aware of the controversy that broke out and became a major court case. Mr. Taylor gained access to the official transcript of the trial that was a pivotal event in her life.

Too many short, inaccurate biographies have been published that incorrectly quote from that trial. Helen Kane was dedicated to her work and remained active until the last ten years of her life.

While Mae Questel was the vocal artist whose distinctive voice helped make Betty Boop a favorite character, it’s the image of Betty Boop that is most recognizable. She would not look the way she does if it had not been for the performances of Helen Kane.

ISBN-978-1-62894-240-8 Biography

DDC 782.42164092

Algora Publishing, New York. 2017

This book presents the full documentation of all known and recorded capital trials during the Tudor dynasty.

Trials were very different back then. It was very rare for the accused to even have representation, and mainly people had to defend themselves; but one can read several examples of how individuals accused of treason skillfully defended themselves, evading the sentence of death.

Biographies have been published about some of these individuals, including the events that led up to the trials, but all too often the trials themselves have been left out of have been included only by way of a few exerts, so that this volume is the first to included as many are presented here.

The inducement to put together this book is two-fold. These trials were life and death events, an integral part of the individual's biographical story and of history; secondly, some readers of my past publications have requested a book just about the trials of those best known to readers interested in English Tudor history.

The trials included in this edition are accumulated from many sources. Only a very few cases, where actual trial records were not found, have been left out. During the reign of Elizabeth I, record keeping and trial transcripts became more frequent and regular.

Through this book, the refinement of Tudor law can be seen as it evolved from being a matter of the monarch's will to following clearly-established law that governed everyone.

ISBN 978-1-62894-376-4 State Trials.

Algora Publishing. New York. 2018.