I first heard about Alice Starmore in a book whose title I can't remember. There was a whole chapter devoted to Ms. Starmore, especially about her book titled, Tudor Roses. Apparently, Ms. Starmore's book contained gorgeous sweater designs, and was out of print. The thing that caught my attention was that because it was so rare, the price for a copy of this book was over $200. I wanted to see this book for myself, because it had grown into a legend in my mind. I believe that my local library had a copy of it; but, alas! It had gone missing from the shelves, or maybe that was someone else's story from what I had read from reviews of Amazon customers who were also trying to find copies of this book. In any case, I thought that I would never see the book for myself, because I didn't have the budget to spend $200 on a knitting book.
So, when I found out that Tudor Roses was going to be republished in 2017, I was very excited. Even better yet, I was able to find an advanced copy through NetGalley. I looked at the galley when I first received it, but because I am not an experienced knitter, I got a bit overwhelmed when I looked at the text. What I can tell you is that the republished version of Tudor Roses is not exactly the same book that had been published in 1998. The knitwear designs that appear in the 2017 version of this title have been altered and updated from those that appeared in the 1998 version. I was able to confirm this by comparing the photos in the newer version of the book to photographs of sweaters made from patterns in the older book that other knitters had uploaded onto Ravelry, a social network for knitters and crocheters. The back of the book also spells it out quite clearly; this new version is a "Reimagined Edition of the Groundbreaking Classic."
I have read other people's opinions of the changes, and some people like them, while others do not. There was a design that had appeared in the older book that did not appear in the newer one. Some people had been upset by this omission, and perhaps would have preferred to have had an updated design even if they had disliked the idea of updated designs. For the most part, I like the newer designs because I think that they are more wearable for today; however, there were a few designs in the older book that I prefer over the ones in the newer version.
In general, the designs are inspired by various historical figures of the Tudor Dynasty, such as Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort, Elizabeth of York, and Margaret Tudor. At the introduction of each design, there is a brief first person narrative about each woman that the design is based upon. There are lovely photographs of the garment modeled by different women for each historical figure that is portrayed. There's a coffee table book quality to the photos; each model is staged and dressed in a way that gives a historical feel to the presentation.
As I mentioned before, I got a bit overwhelmed when I first looked at the instructions in the text, but I would now attribute that to my own lack of experience in reading a pattern. Although I have not actually knit any of these patterns (I cannot, because the galley does not include the charts for the designs), I think that I could probably tackle these designs as an intermediate knitter. The designs include fair isle and cable work. I especially like the knitwear designs for the Margaret Beaufort, Anne Boleyn, and Katherine Howard models.
At first, after viewing the book, I was not sure if I was going to add this book to my library, but after letting the designs sit with me for a while, I think that I will add this title to my collection. The designs have definitely grown on me. I'm pretty sure that the designs will challenge my knitting skills, but I would like to try them because they are really lovely.
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of "Tudor Roses," by Alice Starmore from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
