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A review by constantreader471
Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him: The Secret History Behind the Tudor Throne by Tracy Borman
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Thanx you Grove Atlantic for sending me this eARC through NetGalley. It is a solid biographical study of the men who served Henry the VIII. Most books about this period focus on his six wives or Henry the VIII. The author has done an impressive amount of research, quoting extensively from primary sources, letters, diaries, official records, etc.
Henry the VIII was obsessed with producing a male heir to carry on his reign. His father had ended a civil war and Henry the VIII worried that there would be another civil war without a male heir.
A personal note: I just returned from a UK visit and toured Castle Howard, in the Howard family for more than 500 years. It is now owned by The National Trust. The last Howard turned it over to the Trust with the proviso that he continue to live there. He died recently, but used to give tours while he was alive. Castle Howard was a stately mansion and not a Castle. Actual castles in the UK have the town name first, as in Caernarfon Castle. Katherine Howard was one of Henry the VIII's wives.
Interestingly, many of the men who served Henry the VIII were named Thomas-- Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Cranmer, and Thomas Howard.
One complaint: Chapter 2 has 57 footnotes, but only two and a half are listed in the footnote section.
Thanx you Grove Atlantic for sending me this eARC through NetGalley. It is a solid biographical study of the men who served Henry the VIII. Most books about this period focus on his six wives or Henry the VIII. The author has done an impressive amount of research, quoting extensively from primary sources, letters, diaries, official records, etc.
Henry the VIII was obsessed with producing a male heir to carry on his reign. His father had ended a civil war and Henry the VIII worried that there would be another civil war without a male heir.
A personal note: I just returned from a UK visit and toured Castle Howard, in the Howard family for more than 500 years. It is now owned by The National Trust. The last Howard turned it over to the Trust with the proviso that he continue to live there. He died recently, but used to give tours while he was alive. Castle Howard was a stately mansion and not a Castle. Actual castles in the UK have the town name first, as in Caernarfon Castle. Katherine Howard was one of Henry the VIII's wives.
Interestingly, many of the men who served Henry the VIII were named Thomas-- Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Cranmer, and Thomas Howard.
One complaint: Chapter 2 has 57 footnotes, but only two and a half are listed in the footnote section.