If you are interested in the adventures of Henry VIII or you enjoy thick, historical novels, you will probably want to read this book. Margaret George is a good genre novelist and has done gobs of research, but she does not show us the mind of Henry as vividly as some of the great historians, like Antonia Fraser, or Alison Weir. Part of the problem, I think, is the gimmick of autobiography--Henry never sounds convincingly English. It is as if you went to see Anne of a Thousand Days, and instead of Richard Burton playing Henry, its Tom Hanks.

George does better with the character of Will Somers, whose critical comments intrude on Henry's "manuscript" from time to time. She also does a pretty fair job of explaining a long and complicated span of English history. Character development tends to be limited to Henry and his six wives and several mistresses, but that is part of the historical romance genre. The important men in Henry's life: Wolsey, More, Cromwell, Cranmer, come off as cardboard sticks. ( I would have loved to have seen more of the inscrutable Cranmer--now THERE'S a novel for you.)

I don't see how this book can warrant less than five stars. While it may not be the most historically accurate book written about English King Henry VIII, it is certainly entertaining, insightful, and interesting. Don't let the length discourage you; 900 pages were up before I knew it and I didn't want it to end. I became so used to Margaret George's diary-style of writing through Henry that I almost felt as if he were my friend.
The book, written all through Henry's point of view (with clever inserts from his fool, Will) greatly improved my knowledge of Tudor England. Also, it really helped me to see Henry's life through his own eyes. Through much research, Margaret George has delved into his very personality and managed to write about every event of any significance in his life. She also showed how each wife and divorce/beheading came with a different justification for Henry VIII. As I came to understand his personality more and more, there were many times I felt sympathy and sorrow for the English monarch.
I highly suggest that anyone who has any interest in this subject read the book!

Getting to love you, ....Okay, sorry about that. But basically it does describe how this book made me feel about Henry VIII, well, almost.

For all of my life I disliked Henry VIII by default. You know, the usual reasons...He had six wives, he beheaded two of them, he had mistresses, illegitemate children, etc. etc.

But, being a great fan of Margaret George I felt I needed to read this book. I was not disappointed. Another great historical novel by Ms. George. An extraordinary amount of research appears to have gone into this book, and Ms. George actually accomplishes to almost, _almost_, make you feel sorry for poor Henry, and successfully paints him in a more "human" light. My opinion of him has definitely changed.

Okay, so he should not have just thrown Katherine of Aragon away, simply because he fell for that whore Anne Boleyn, which resulted in a break with the Roman Catholic Church. But Katherine did start to become a real bore.
I can understand why he beheaded Anne. His public reasons (adultry) may have been questionable, but the witch thing? Back then you could never be too sure about those witches and what they could do. Off with her head!
And Jane, poor Jane, she truly loved him and he truly loved her. How tragic that she died so soon.
And then that Anne of Cleves! Wow, she must really have been a bow-wow, but then, who the hell marries a woman sight unseen? I don't care how distraught you are over the beheading of the witch. At least he was very fair in his separation of Anne of Cleves, and I think she got the better end of the deal, because by this time, Henry himself was no longer an Adonis either.
And then his foolish infatuation with that second hussy, Catherine Howard. How could he not have known? She also deserved to lose her head on the chopping block, no question about that. I mean, he's the KING for crying out loud!
And then the surprise marriage to Katherine Parr, dear Kate. Finally he gets lucky and marries someone nice who manages to stay alive in the process. But then of course, he dies. Ah well, such is the comedy of life.

The notes by Will Somers are great, although I almost wish there had been more of them. It would have been nice to see what Will and other subjects of the King were thinking about all these crazy goings on in Henry's head.

To sum it up, this was a very very good book. I am glad I read it and I am sure I will read it again soon. The descriptions of the characters and places are vivid and colorful, and the description of Henry's life is thorough and memorable.

Also, read Ms. George's other books, The Memoirs of Cleopatra and Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles. Both are just as good. Don't let their size intimidate you! In the end you'll be glad they lasted as long as they did.

I picked this book up in a hostel while travelling through europe, at first by the cover I thought it would be silly, but after reading the cover and looking at the first couple pages I still thought so. I read it anyways and I loved it. Its the true story of a former confederate soldier, who knew many famous people and fought with and against them all, including crazy horse, sitting bull, buffalo bill cody and custer. I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn't know anything about the battle of little big horn or someone wanting to know more about the ogala indians. The battle with/against custer is a important part of the book but not what the book is all about. Its mainly about a soldier who becomes a member of the ogala tribe and all the things that happen along the way. read it!

This book was written over a half-century ago in 1950, yet the author holds the attention of current readers easily - something not easily done in today's hectic world.

A Well written document. One keeps reading the book and going back to historical accounts to see if John Clayton ever existed because the story is so convincing and so 'possible'.

I am an amateur historian and this sent be back to the documentation of the period (1860-1878) to see what I could find... I'm still searching the records.

Very good book - I recommend it highly.