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book_bear's review against another edition
4.0
This was a pretty good book about the Tudors; a fast read and a solid 4. It got a little boring at the end talking about church politics, but overall a good book.
mockingjay16's review against another edition
5.0
Pacy, interesting history which makes me want to read more about the 16th and 17th centuries.
emilyinlalaland's review against another edition
3.0
John Guy every 4 seconds: "Just so you know, insertfemalehere was extremely ugly/sexy for a 13 year old/beautiful and also all of her achievements really belong to the men around her."
"Also, Anne Boleyn was an evil step-mother but it's okay because Mary was an ugly hag anyways."
Needless to say, I was unimpressed with the author's attitude towards Mary, Elizabeth, and pretty much all six of Henry's wives. Actually, I was unimpressed with his attitude towards most of the women he mentioned in the novel. How is it that we get huge sections on Cecil, Checke, and Ascham's influence on Elizabeth's life, but all we get on Kat Ashley and Blanche Parry is that they sometimes slept on a mat beside Elizabeth's bed? Guy also made sure to pay particular detail to the appearance of almost every woman he mentions, while conveniently leaving out such details for the men. It got worse and worse throughout the entire book, and by the time I got to the end of it, I was sick and tired of Guy tearing down each and every woman. Even Elizabeth, arguably the one he spends the most time on, isn't free of his constant belittling. She only becomes queen due to Philip II, her tutors greatly exaggerate her intelligence, and at the end of the day, she's just "extremely lucky".
The only time he speaks at all of a woman exerting actual power, Guy either criticizes them for "play-acting", like when Elizabeth feigns illness to avoid Mary's wrath and punishment for her alleged role in a rebellion, or accuses of them of being the main force behind a man's distasteful actions. Henry VIII executes Thomas More? Anne Boleyn's fault. Henry doesn't allow Mary to visit her mother? It's Anne, that witch, keeping them apart. Henry Fitzroy, Henry's bastard son, gets sick? Don't worry, there were a whole lot of rumors about him being poisoned by, you guessed it, Anne. Not even Catherine of Aragon or Mary herself are free of this. Whenever either of them attempt to exert power, like when Mary tries to convince her brother Edward VI to allow her to remain Catholic, she, like Elizabeth, "causes a scene".
While I started out appreciating how Guy focused on Henry Fitzroy, by the end of the novel the difference between how he treated Henry and Edward VI from Mary and Elizabeth was clear and just took away my enjoyment of the book. Even Philip II, Mary's largely unpopular husband, was treated better than both of Henry's daughters in Guy's work.
However, Guy does know how to weave together a good history, and I definitely did learn from the book. I could have easily given the book 4 or 5 stars, if the author's biases and constant demeaning of the actions and roles of these historical women hadn't taken me completely out of the narrative. All in all, my actual rating for this book probably veers closer to a 2.5, but I bumped it up from 2 stars to 3 because it was an interesting read and did offer a couple interesting insights.
"Also, Anne Boleyn was an evil step-mother but it's okay because Mary was an ugly hag anyways."
Needless to say, I was unimpressed with the author's attitude towards Mary, Elizabeth, and pretty much all six of Henry's wives. Actually, I was unimpressed with his attitude towards most of the women he mentioned in the novel. How is it that we get huge sections on Cecil, Checke, and Ascham's influence on Elizabeth's life, but all we get on Kat Ashley and Blanche Parry is that they sometimes slept on a mat beside Elizabeth's bed? Guy also made sure to pay particular detail to the appearance of almost every woman he mentions, while conveniently leaving out such details for the men. It got worse and worse throughout the entire book, and by the time I got to the end of it, I was sick and tired of Guy tearing down each and every woman. Even Elizabeth, arguably the one he spends the most time on, isn't free of his constant belittling. She only becomes queen due to Philip II, her tutors greatly exaggerate her intelligence, and at the end of the day, she's just "extremely lucky".
The only time he speaks at all of a woman exerting actual power, Guy either criticizes them for "play-acting", like when Elizabeth feigns illness to avoid Mary's wrath and punishment for her alleged role in a rebellion, or accuses of them of being the main force behind a man's distasteful actions. Henry VIII executes Thomas More? Anne Boleyn's fault. Henry doesn't allow Mary to visit her mother? It's Anne, that witch, keeping them apart. Henry Fitzroy, Henry's bastard son, gets sick? Don't worry, there were a whole lot of rumors about him being poisoned by, you guessed it, Anne. Not even Catherine of Aragon or Mary herself are free of this. Whenever either of them attempt to exert power, like when Mary tries to convince her brother Edward VI to allow her to remain Catholic, she, like Elizabeth, "causes a scene".
While I started out appreciating how Guy focused on Henry Fitzroy, by the end of the novel the difference between how he treated Henry and Edward VI from Mary and Elizabeth was clear and just took away my enjoyment of the book. Even Philip II, Mary's largely unpopular husband, was treated better than both of Henry's daughters in Guy's work.
However, Guy does know how to weave together a good history, and I definitely did learn from the book. I could have easily given the book 4 or 5 stars, if the author's biases and constant demeaning of the actions and roles of these historical women hadn't taken me completely out of the narrative. All in all, my actual rating for this book probably veers closer to a 2.5, but I bumped it up from 2 stars to 3 because it was an interesting read and did offer a couple interesting insights.
alyssaarch's review against another edition
3.0
There is something so fascinatingly twisted about the Tudor family that I can't help myself when some new thing about them comes out. I don't care what it is: TV shows, films, books, whatever. I love reading about this crazy, messed-up family!
So, of course, there's a lot information out there about Henry VIII and the Tudor family in general, so what is it that makes this unique and worth getting versus all the other stuff out there? Unlike many other books I've read about the Tudors, John Guy goes directly to the source and doesn't offer much speculation about relationships, actions, or whatever else that people like to speculate about. Because of that, I think there's a good overview of the family dynamics, which I don't think is explored very often. So, that was nice. The downside to this is that it gets a bit dry and there's A LOT of listing of presents the children received at Christmas, or just listing in general.
I also felt like the ending was rushed and Elizabeth I's story wasn't fully explored, which was a bit disappointing for me, especially since a good amount of time was spent on her siblings. And I get that going over a long reign is much more complicated than going over her siblings' histories, but I would have liked a better summary of what she accomplished. Maybe in another book?
In any case, don't get this if you're looking for some sort of dramatic story reminiscent of The Tudors TV show. The Children of Henry VIII is very much based on historical documents. But the great thing about this particular royal family is that it's interesting without any dramatization.
*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
So, of course, there's a lot information out there about Henry VIII and the Tudor family in general, so what is it that makes this unique and worth getting versus all the other stuff out there? Unlike many other books I've read about the Tudors, John Guy goes directly to the source and doesn't offer much speculation about relationships, actions, or whatever else that people like to speculate about. Because of that, I think there's a good overview of the family dynamics, which I don't think is explored very often. So, that was nice. The downside to this is that it gets a bit dry and there's A LOT of listing of presents the children received at Christmas, or just listing in general.
I also felt like the ending was rushed and Elizabeth I's story wasn't fully explored, which was a bit disappointing for me, especially since a good amount of time was spent on her siblings. And I get that going over a long reign is much more complicated than going over her siblings' histories, but I would have liked a better summary of what she accomplished. Maybe in another book?
In any case, don't get this if you're looking for some sort of dramatic story reminiscent of The Tudors TV show. The Children of Henry VIII is very much based on historical documents. But the great thing about this particular royal family is that it's interesting without any dramatization.
*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
b00ksandqu0tes's review against another edition
3.0
Weirdly obsessed with Henry VIII and the stories around what happened with the Tudor family, this was a back shelf find at a bookstore and I'm so glad that I picked it up. The book itself is a very basic narration of the events that affected Henry's children and how they interacted with the world they were growing up in. The Children of Henry VIII is very well written: it is clear and succinct, and it is incredibly interesting. If you want to know the history behind the historical fiction, this is a great read for an introduction.
markk's review
4.0
Though ostensibly about Henry VIII’s offspring, John Guy’s book is really about the succession question facing the king and Tudor successor. As that question was inextricably tied to his progeny, Guy has looked at Henry’s marriages and the upbringing of his children – both legitimate and illegitimate – to understand their successive efforts to secure the throne and turn their very different visions of the kingdom they ruled into reality.
This Guy describes by the shifts in fortune that Henry’s children experienced over time. Upon her birth, his first child, Mary, was showered with gifts and given an entourage befitting her status. Yet even at an early age that status was in question, as her illegitimate half-brother, Henry Fitzroy (born three years after Mary) posed a threat simply by virtue of his sex. Catherine’s inability to father a son of her own (likely due, as Guy argues, to Henry’s probably Kell-positive status) made Fitzroy a potential successor; acknowledged by his father, the boy was given a royal education and paraded around as proof that the king could father a son. Anne Boleyn’s emergence and the divorce battle jeopardized both of their statuses, and the new queen exploited every possibility to diminish their status. Boleyn’s own failure to produce a son, however, contributed to her downfall, with her daughter Elizabeth soon on the same roller coaster of status. Edward’s birth finally gave Henry the son he wanted, yet his young age meant that Mary and Elizabeth remained possible successors. After succeeding Mary and Edward, Elizabeth passed on marriage, thus avoiding much of the family turmoil she experienced growing up, though at the ultimate cost of the demise of the Tudor line.
Guy recounts all of this in a book that is both perceptive and clearly written. Drawing upon both the contemporary documents (from which he makes some impressive observations not just in terms of their content but their form as well) and the rich historical literature of the Tudors, he provides a fluent and enjoyably readable account of what was perhaps the dominant political issue in sixteenth century politics. It demonstrates why John Guy stands as one of the leading Tudor historians working today, one whose books everyone with an interest in Tudor England should read for the insights they contain.
This Guy describes by the shifts in fortune that Henry’s children experienced over time. Upon her birth, his first child, Mary, was showered with gifts and given an entourage befitting her status. Yet even at an early age that status was in question, as her illegitimate half-brother, Henry Fitzroy (born three years after Mary) posed a threat simply by virtue of his sex. Catherine’s inability to father a son of her own (likely due, as Guy argues, to Henry’s probably Kell-positive status) made Fitzroy a potential successor; acknowledged by his father, the boy was given a royal education and paraded around as proof that the king could father a son. Anne Boleyn’s emergence and the divorce battle jeopardized both of their statuses, and the new queen exploited every possibility to diminish their status. Boleyn’s own failure to produce a son, however, contributed to her downfall, with her daughter Elizabeth soon on the same roller coaster of status. Edward’s birth finally gave Henry the son he wanted, yet his young age meant that Mary and Elizabeth remained possible successors. After succeeding Mary and Edward, Elizabeth passed on marriage, thus avoiding much of the family turmoil she experienced growing up, though at the ultimate cost of the demise of the Tudor line.
Guy recounts all of this in a book that is both perceptive and clearly written. Drawing upon both the contemporary documents (from which he makes some impressive observations not just in terms of their content but their form as well) and the rich historical literature of the Tudors, he provides a fluent and enjoyably readable account of what was perhaps the dominant political issue in sixteenth century politics. It demonstrates why John Guy stands as one of the leading Tudor historians working today, one whose books everyone with an interest in Tudor England should read for the insights they contain.
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