Winter king Henry VII and the dawn of Tudor England
Ratings6
Average rating3.5
Truth is so much stranger than fiction.
The characters in this history are hard to believe, and I am so glad that people of the time wrote so much. How would we be able to piece out all of the controversies, plots, loves, betrayals, and everyday life without the writing?
This book leaves me wanting to read still more history from this time. I read The Tudors: The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty a few years ago, and this book gives more life to the characters at the beginning of the Tudor dynasty.
Thomas Penn gives an highly insightful account of the reign on Henry Tudor. Masterfully written and well documented.
From the beginning of the reign on Henry Tudor, the new king had quite the fight against him. He had to establish his reign, and procure the funds needed for the running of a kingdom. While he works through the beginning of his kingship, he established his right to rule, not through his wife, Elizabeth of York, but by divine right of inheritance. He did not immediately marry her, so as to establish that the throne was his and that the power was not received through his wife.
Many historians gloss over the reign of Henry Tudor, as he ushered in a new era. But many refuse to look underneath the shiny surface that has been painted by apologists and some historians. Penn takes a look at the man himself, and the many shortcomings that he had. He was not the perfect king, or the perfect husband. He was a tyrannical ruler, who ruled through fear, not love. He put many of his nobility into such debt that they could not afford to do much of anything, especially rebel against him. He held power through mistrust and suspicion, not through openness and loyalty.
This was an interesting read. It was much different than anything else that has been put forth on Henry Tudor. I liked the fresh and blunt approach. I learned quite a bit from reading this history. One that I would recommend checking out.
A good biography of a king who is one of the less well-known of the Tudor monarchs. The writing style is engaging, rather than dry and academic, and makes for a quite a compelling narrative at times, although it doesn't always stick to chronological order, which can get frustrating at times (although, to be fair, not at all confusing).
It focuses primarily on the second half of Henry's reign, from the troubles with Perkin Warbeck up to the closing years when the regime became increasingly dictatorial. On the way, it naturally takes in the early life of the more famous Henry VIII and his protracted marriage arrangements with Katherine of Aragon; indeed, the final chapter covers the first year of the following reign, wrapping up what would otherwise be loose ends in the narrative.
I found it a fascinating read, and Penn manages to make a king that's generally regarded as a bit dull into anything but. It's hard not to interpret it as a prequel to the rather better known events that followed, but, while it may not be perfect, it's a good telling of this neglected period of history.
