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A review by nickartrip102
Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn
3.0
It was time to turn back to some nonfiction reading, so following my last read on Richard III I decided to give Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn a go. For some reason, I've never really found Henry VII that fascinating. I think that's probably because most of my reading about him has prioritized other subjects (his sons, wife, mother.) He's the buffer between the War of the Roses and all of the wonderful Plantaganent drama and the endlessly fascinating rule of Henry VIII. Despite a tenuous claim to the throne he defeated Richard III, married Elizabeth of York, and his reign ushered in a new era for England.
My first impressions of this book were definitely strong. The introduction of course tries to build some appeal and mystery around Henry VII, presenting a man plagued by paranoia, which was quite effective in framing him in a somewhat new light to me. I knew about the pretenders, but I never paused to consider how that might stoke certain fears and influence his behavior. The prologue offered a succinct overview of the War of the Roses, not too detailed, but provided enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject to comfortably position him in history. There isn’t much about Henry VII’s early life in this particular book, but I didn’t mind that.
Henry VII was a bit of a crook. Although I had a general understanding of his reign, I was very interested in some of the particulars like Bray and his financial shakedowns. There was a really great passage in here musing that Henry VII had envisioned himself as another Henry V, but by the end of his life he came to more closely resemble Henry IV in his increased isolation and paranoia. I found this to be a wonderful comparison. I imagine with pretenders and plots floating about, it would be difficult not to live with some degree of suspicion, and what a wonderful mirror for the later years of Henry VIII’s life. It’s funny to think that with the rise of Henry VIII people were ready to usher in change with no way of knowing what lay ahead for them. Out of the frying pan into the fire indeed. Really enjoyed this book and Penn's assessment of Henry VII, I look forward to diving deeper into Henry VII when I eventually make my way back around to him once more. For now onto the man with all the wives!
My first impressions of this book were definitely strong. The introduction of course tries to build some appeal and mystery around Henry VII, presenting a man plagued by paranoia, which was quite effective in framing him in a somewhat new light to me. I knew about the pretenders, but I never paused to consider how that might stoke certain fears and influence his behavior. The prologue offered a succinct overview of the War of the Roses, not too detailed, but provided enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject to comfortably position him in history. There isn’t much about Henry VII’s early life in this particular book, but I didn’t mind that.
Henry VII was a bit of a crook. Although I had a general understanding of his reign, I was very interested in some of the particulars like Bray and his financial shakedowns. There was a really great passage in here musing that Henry VII had envisioned himself as another Henry V, but by the end of his life he came to more closely resemble Henry IV in his increased isolation and paranoia. I found this to be a wonderful comparison. I imagine with pretenders and plots floating about, it would be difficult not to live with some degree of suspicion, and what a wonderful mirror for the later years of Henry VIII’s life. It’s funny to think that with the rise of Henry VIII people were ready to usher in change with no way of knowing what lay ahead for them. Out of the frying pan into the fire indeed. Really enjoyed this book and Penn's assessment of Henry VII, I look forward to diving deeper into Henry VII when I eventually make my way back around to him once more. For now onto the man with all the wives!