"The Tudor period conjures up images of queens and noblewomen in elaborate court dress; of palace intrigue and dramatic politics. But if you were a woman, it was also a time when death during childbirth was rife; when marriage was usually a legal contract, not a matter for love, and the education you could hope to receive was minimal at best. Yet the Tudor century was also dominated by powerful and dynamic women in a way that no era had been before....

From long forgotten records, Kaufmann has unearthed the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England. They were present at some of the defining moments of the Tudor age. They were christened, married and buried by the Church. And their stories have remained untold. Kaufmann challenges preconceptions of sixteenth century attitudes toward race and slavery, and transforms how we see this period of history.