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A review by cemoses
Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him: The Secret History Behind the Tudor Throne by Tracy Borman
5.0
II would give this book a four on just based on its readability. There were some historical figures around Henry VIII that I found uninteresting. However, they might have been interesting to a British audience so I was a little generous in my rating. I am an American and frequently I find when I read English history books I feel that if I were British I would know something about the subject but because I am an American I am totally confused.
The strengths of the books are that I learned a lot about British history. This book answered a longstanding question I had about how Catholic/Protestant the Church of England was. Sometimes my understanding of the Church of England was that it was really the Catholic Church under an English head. This book made me understand how some members of the Church of England had strong Lutheran sympathies and maybe would have wanted England to become Lutheran if the political establishment allowed that to happen.
In addition, I learned that Henry VIII did not only kill two of his wives but he killed other people to whom he had been close. He can turn on people who were once his close associates. Furthermore, Henry VIII was unusual because he promoted some common people into high positions of power which at that time was unknown.
Some of the historical figures in the book where more interesting than others. I enjoyed the parts of Erasmus, Thomas Wolsey, Thomas Crammer and Thomas Cromwell. One of the most interesting people in was Will Sommer, Henry VIII’s clown. I wish the author spent more time on him. Previously I thought clowns in the King's court existed only in Shakespeare's plays.
In short, I found this book a highly readable and informative book about Henry VIII's inner circle.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The strengths of the books are that I learned a lot about British history. This book answered a longstanding question I had about how Catholic/Protestant the Church of England was. Sometimes my understanding of the Church of England was that it was really the Catholic Church under an English head. This book made me understand how some members of the Church of England had strong Lutheran sympathies and maybe would have wanted England to become Lutheran if the political establishment allowed that to happen.
In addition, I learned that Henry VIII did not only kill two of his wives but he killed other people to whom he had been close. He can turn on people who were once his close associates. Furthermore, Henry VIII was unusual because he promoted some common people into high positions of power which at that time was unknown.
Some of the historical figures in the book where more interesting than others. I enjoyed the parts of Erasmus, Thomas Wolsey, Thomas Crammer and Thomas Cromwell. One of the most interesting people in was Will Sommer, Henry VIII’s clown. I wish the author spent more time on him. Previously I thought clowns in the King's court existed only in Shakespeare's plays.
In short, I found this book a highly readable and informative book about Henry VIII's inner circle.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.