As brilliantly portrayed by Mr. Allmand, Henry V personifies not only the fearsome and powerful character of a dark ages monarch, but also that one of a business-sound and strategy-aware leader. Whereas Shakespeare stresses Henry's prowess as a soldier and a hero, Allmand throws in unbeknownst traits: goal-oriented business planner, egalitarian political strategist, tireless academician, merciless warrior and fearing christian. Even though Mr. Allmand's prose teems with passive verbs and endless sentences, sometimes puzzling and even confusing the reader, his book is one of its kind.

Prof. Allmand's biography of Henry V is the first coherent work on the subject for our generation. It is also the best bio on Henry V in the past 60-70 years. Allmand gives a fairly bare-bones analysis of King Henry V's brilliant but short life, and then expands in later chapters on several themes such as the royal family, law + order, and the like. Allmand's work is scholarly but does not drown the reader in details. Is a good read and moves along in a coherent manner. If you are looking to learn more about the man Shakespeare called "the Mirror of all Christian Kings" Allmand's deft work is a good place to start and a valuable resource.

I am Mary Tudor was an excellent book. I love English history, specifically that of the Tudor line, so I was very impressed when I read this book. There is good character description, a good plot, drama, emotion, you name it this book's got it.

This book is about king Henry 8th's eldest daughter Mary Tudor. It covers her life from birth till her un-looked for accension to the throne of England after the death of her brother Edward and after Lady Jane Grey was taken off the throne.

Better known to history as 'bloody Mary', this book details her life and dissapointments before she came to the throne. She went from loved princess and heiress, 'the jewel of england', to Bastard and poverty stricken and unloved and forgotten daughter - all because of her father's quest for a son to succeed him on the throne.

This has to be one of the most accurate of historical novels I have read. The author didn't have to invent what you read in here - most of it is pretty well documented. Just pick up a 'serious' biography to compare it. However, the author does a great job of putting this into the emotional context and development of Mary.

This is the first book in a set, the other 2 books being "Mary the queen" and "bloody Mary". These books were originally printed in the 1970's so they are hard to find now, but worth picking up if you see them.

Erickson is a great biographer, and her Tudor quartet are lively and throughly enjoyable. But one of her strengths--her ability to write as a novelist--makes her inevitably biased to her hero or heroine. In Great Harry, it's clear that she has no great love of the man, perhaps a grudging admiration, and certainly a good deal of pity as relates to his later years. That said, this is still an excellent bio, highly recommended to Tudor enthusiasts more interested in Henry's wives than his statesmanship--but they would be better served reading Alison Weir.

Carolly Erickson's Tudor and Stuart biographies are all splendid affairs. "Great Harry" attacks the personality of this man and the issues with which he graplled in a compelling and well-researched fashion without ever losing the reader's attention. Henry VIII was as big and grand as the Tudor age and this book captures both well. I also recommend Erickson's other biographies, especially "The First Elizabeth," about Henry and Anne Boylen's (she was the second wife, the first to lose her head) daughter. Truly one of the best popular historians writing about this period.

The book showed a different side of Henry VIII, not just thestereotype of the cruel, evil, lecherous king. A great picture of hisearly life and his life with Catherine of Aragon is given, along with the difficulties he faced while on the throne throughout his life. It showed how loved and admired he was through his life (at least until the last part of his life) and gives another perspective of the heir-to-the-throne problem.

I am a newcomer to the life of this amazing English king, but this book has been truly fascinating. Well written, informative, and easy to read, I recommend Mrs. Fraser's book to anyone who wants to start learning about Henry. For an expert on the subject, this is probably too basic for you.

This book takes you back into the childhood of Henry VIII, of the life and times then and of the extradordinary circumstances of his upbringing. It is easier to understand the later events of his life after reading this book. Mary Louise Bruce did a wonderful job of researching and explaining family history.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I usually hate history books. It describes all the details of the characters and the time period and really made me feel like I was there, too. I have hated history ever since it was required in college, but this story and the detailed characters have made me long to understand more of the actions of the people involved and I'm now voluntarily going to look into more books on the lives and times of the main kings involved: Henry VIII and Louis XII. I definitely recommend it!

Wyatt and Surrey are the twin towers of the early English sonneteers. This book is an indispensable resource as it brings their works together. Those who would study Spenser and Shakespeare's sonnets will benefit from the reading of these wonderful authors. I particularly recommend "They flee from me" by Wyatt. There be giants here... and Shakespeare stands upon their shoulders.

I have read Alison Weir's books on the Tudor period: Six Wives, Children of Henry VIII, and Life of Elizabeth I. I found her a very enjoyable writer, and felt involved in her subjects as people, not just as historical figures. In this book, however, I felt distant from Henry VIII, even though descriptions and anecdotes abounded through the pages. Perhaps that was part of the problem--it felt like his person was being justified, rather than developed as the book progressed. Also, a more fitting title would have been "Life in and around King Henry VIII's Court." The in-depth instruction of architecture, interior decoration, politicking, and background nature took some attention away from the king in question. I enjoyed the period review, but the pace did plod along more than her other books that I've read.

This is not a book discussion the political history of Henry VIII's court, that is not Weir's focus. Instead she chooses to focus on describing, in detail, the material world of the court. She describes the structure and hierarchy of the court, where people slept, what food they ate, etc. Alison Weir is an excellent writer and this book is no different. However, I did find a couple of problems with the book. First, when giving monetary amounts, the cost of cloth for example, in parentheses, she gives the modern day equivalent. While it does help in understanding the sheer cost of running the court, I believe it is not possible to translate 16th century dollar amounts into 21st century amounts. Too many fluctuations in the monetary amounts, inflation and deflation, etc make it almost impossible. And secondly, she tends to paint a rather romantic picture of Henry. But overall, I highly recommend this book. It is informative and an enjoyable read.

Unlike some of the reviewers, I have been disappointed in some of Ms. Weir's books (especially those dealing with Richard III, where she skews the facts to fit her prejudice). But this one is a gem. WARNING: It is NOT a biography of Henry VIII (nor does it claim to be). It is a wonderful portrait of a court and an age. If the details of everyday life enchant you, you will love this book: you'll learn what Henry's court ate, drank, wore; how they ate, how they drank, and when they wore what! You'll get details about the various royal (and non-royal) residences that are very difficult to find elsewhere: how they were furnished, financed, run, used. And this time, Weir is scrupulous in citing her sources and in using them well. Where there are disputed facts, she indicates this. When she is hypothesizing, she indicates this as well. It is true that she appears to be quite fond of old Henry, but not as he became. Rather, I think, she admires the potential that was in the young king, the goodness, basic decency that could have made him England's best (if not greatest) king. The potential for selfishness, greed, paranoia, and self-delusion was also there--unfortunately, the bad side won! After reading Weir's book, I now share both Weir's semi-nostalgic admiration and her regret.

Derek Wilson's book is a brave attempt to navigate through the thickets of the Henrician court by the device of writing intertwining biographies of six men all called Thomas. This makes a refreshing change from the usual six wives approach, though it is no substitute for the work of specialist historians such as JJ Scarisbrick and Diarmaid MacCulloch. The events the book describes are so extraordinary that even a reader familiar with their outline will find it hard not to keep turning the pages like the latest thriller. Sadly Wilson's prose is too often reminiscent of that genre. The recourse to slang terms and irrelevant modern analogies is tiresome.

More serious to this reader is Wilson's blatant hostility to Thomas More. No opportunity is missed to disparage More, usually for his involvement in persecuting heretics. At the same time he offers every extenuation for equally unsavoury conduct by Wilson's heroes (comparatively speaking), Cromwell and Cranmer. Tellingly, More's early biographers, and indeed most of his recent ones, are dismissed as hagiographers, but Protestant martyrologist, John Foxe, is often quoted as a generally reliable source.

Underlying this seems to be an old-fashioned view of the English Reformation as the eventual triumph of light over darkness. Wilson affects even-handedness or even aloof amusement at the religious controversies which dominated Henry's reign. However his sneering tone when dealing with Catholic practices and the 'reactionaries' who defended them and his repeated likening of reformed England to newly liberated Eastern Europe rather give the game away.

Even leaving aside the doctrinal issues involved, the cultural destruction brought about by the Reformation should cause all civilised people a shiver of horror. Centuries of art, liturgical craftswork, architecture, literature and music (because of the 'blasphemous' illuminations or 'idolatrous' texts) were destroyed in a matter of years by Cromwell's henchmen.

Wilson is aware of the work of historians such as Eamon Duffy and Christopher Haigh, which suggests that pre-Reformation Catholicism was a popular and successful system and that the Reformation was imposed by an elite on a largely resentful population. However, he dismisses such arguments as "special pleading".

The above cavils will obviously annoy some readers more than others and Wilson's book is still recommended reading to anyone interested in Henrician politics.

I recently read Alison Weir's "Henry VIII: The King And His Court" and it was interesting to read Derek Wilson's book covering Henry's reign, but looked at from a different perspective. Ms. Weir concentrated more on people and personalities, especially Henry's wives. Mr. Wilson chose to concentrate more on politics and religion. Both books are rewarding and since the approach taken by each author is different you get a fuller picture of the times by reading both.I suppose the main thought you are left with after reading Mr. Wilson's book is what a precarious existence anyone connected with Henry's court led! We are not just talking about his wives but anyone involved in the political or religious life of the court. As Henry got older and his once robust health began to deteriorate he became very moody and unpredictable. Both Wilson and Weir make the point that Henry was very athletic up until he was about 40 years old or so. He was a very vain man and could not accept his physical decline. He was also used to getting his own way and couldn't tolerate it when his desires and wishes were thwarted. He could be genial one moment and lash out verbally or physically the next. He could be ruthless if he felt that you couldn't give him what he wanted. In that case you were disposable- as several wives found out, as well as people such as Thomas Wolsey and Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell. You come away wondering why anyone would marry this man or choose to work for him. It was like being next to a ticking timebomb.....One example will suffice to show that there were seemingly no limits to Henry's ruthlessness. When he was intent on having his son as his heir he wanted his daughter Mary (by Catherine of Aragon) to assure him that she would not "give any trouble" about the succession. He sent over Thomas Cromwell and the Duke of Norfolk to play "good cop, bad cop". Cromwell was the "good cop" and when it became clear that his approach wasn't doing the trick, Norfolk screamed at Mary and told her that if "she were his daughter he would smash her head against the wall until it was as soft as a boiled apple".Violent times they were, and filled with violent people. Henry, without flinching, would allow the burning of "heretics", including digging up someone found after death to have been a "heretic" and having the corpse burned. You could be sent to the Tower of London at the drop of a hat, and be in constant fear that it was not only your hat that might drop off....Try both of these books, as they complement each ther nicely and are in no way redundant. I don't think you will be disappointed!

England's King Henry VIII has already been extensively discussed in various books as well as portrayed in a number of plays and films. Why another book? In his Introduction, Wilson acknowledges that much attention has been devoted to Henry's six wives (Three Catherines, two Annes, and a Jane) and shares this mnemonic:

"Divorced, beheaded, died,
Divorced, beheaded, survived."

and then observes: "I propose a different set of relationships which I believe offers a more illuminating approach to the court and government of Henry VIII. Specifically, Wilson focuses his primary attention on six Thomases: Wolsey, More, Cromwell, Howard, Wriothesley, and Cramner. "I can even suggest an alternative mortuary mnemonic, although one admittedly not so trippingly off the tongue.

Died, beheaded, beheaded,
Self-slaughtered, burned, survived."

Henry's VIII's relationships with all six serve as the basis of Wilson's narrative. There were lions in London at that time ("the King's Beasts") housed in the Tower menagerie and a major tourist attraction. More once compared the king's court to a lion pit "in which the magnificent and deadly king of beasts held sway."

Of the six, More interests me the most. One of my favorite plays and films is A Man for All Seasons. (In the film, More is brilliantly portrayed by Paul Scofield.) In both, Robert Bolt focuses on More's rectitude which threatens and infuriates Henry and eventually results in More's execution. Thus presented, More is a tragic but noble political victim and religious martyr, later canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. He is no less admirable as portrayed by Wilson but, in my opinion, is much more complicated than Bolt and others suggest. For years, More skillfully navigated his way through a court ("a lion pit") characterized by what Wilson refers to as its "seamy realities": "The royal entourage was a vicious, squirming world of competing ambitions and petty feuds, guilty secrets and salacious prudery,. Courtiers, vulnerable to threats and bribes, could be induced to perjure themselves, to exaggerate amorous incidents which were innocent in the context of stylised chivalric convention, to indulge personal vendettas....Over all these momentous happenings looms the larger-than-life figure of Henry VIII, powerful and capricious yet always an enigma."

In certain respects, this book reads as if it were a novel. It has a compelling narrative, dozens of unique characters, all manner of conflicts and intrigues which create great tension throughout, and a number of themes such as power, ambition, loyalty, betrayal, piety, terror, and (for most of the main characters) ignominious death. Wilson draws upon a wealth of primary sources to ensure the validity of his historical facts. However, some readers may question his interpretation of those facts. (A non-historian, I consider myself unqualified to do so.) Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Alison Weir's Henry VIII as well as The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Karen Lindsey's Divorced, Beheaded, Survived, and David M. Loades's Henry VIII and His Queens.

This was a book I really liked. I found it facinating to read about another two members of the Tudor family. Maybe the most interesting thing about the Tudor family is how they managed to rule, or simply survive, in a time when cruelty, power struggles and dominance over women were common.

In this book Maria Perry tells us about the sisters' childhood and family background, as well as about their adult lives. In both cases the sisters had to marry a king as part of their father's attempt to keep or make allies, and not for love.

The eldest sister Margaret soon ended up as my favourite. She came across as a strong and couragious woman. In a time when women had no power, she fought to take control over her own life. When she was widowed and still pregnant, her brother tried to arrange a wedding for her. But Margaret wanted to marry based on her own choice, something her brother Henry VIII disliked. Later on she had to fight in order to keep her children, since they as heirs to the throne could be used as tools to rule the country by scroupulous men.

--Because this book, for the most part, except when the author decides to basically abandon a person or issue in it, is loaded with details. If you are interested in the life and times of Henry VIII, his relatives, friends and enemies, then you will likely forgive the author's apologist attitudes toward him (and her seemingly hyper-critical eye, in my view, of his sisters). If you are relatively thick-skinned about writers who do that, weaving their own opinions through the story they are telling, while supposedly presenting historical fact, you will find this book very interesting and fairly absorbing. There are a lot of minute details about banquets, clothes and social behavior, which are a lot of fun to read and know about, again, if you're interested in the first place. Which I am, so I liked this book.

Perry writes about the lesser known subject of Henry VIII's two sisters, Margaret and Mary who became Queen of Scotland and Queen of France respectively. It's really a review of his whole family, which shows that his sisters, even as political pawns were much more involved in events than wife focused biographies and legends would generally show. There is some early discussion of their parents, Henry VII and his Queen, Elizabeth of York, which shows how they inherited the royal propensity for pagentry and how, Perry's descriptions are sumptuous, the emphasis on sartorial wealth and jewels was really the political rhetoric of the day. More than that, it seems also have been a business, and many conflicts and wars can be explained by the need for the Tudors to pay for all their nice clothes and jewels--even, or especially, they owed money--so that they can keep being royals. Perry is as assiduous about the financial details as she is avid about the fashion details, and even if you aren't quite sure what the numbers mean the story is always readable, imaginative and intriguing, leaving its share of Historical what-ifs. (What if Mary's long-term youthful betrothal to Charles V of Spain had been honored, for example?) As one might expect Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn get their fair share of mention, but the context of their tribulations seems at once more mundane and more majestic.