'Best Books about the Tudors: facts behind the Wolf Hall trilogy' the Times of London recommends Tudor: The Family Story
Sunday Times top ten Bestseller BBC History Book of the Year a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year a History Today Book of the Year
The Tudors are Englands most notorious royal family.
But, as Leanda de Lisles gripping new history reveals, they are a family still more extraordinary than the one we thought we knew.
The Tudor canon typically starts with the Battle of Bosworth in, before speeding on to Henry VIII and the Reformation.
But this leaves out the familys obscure Welsh origins, the ordinary man known as Owen Tudor who would fall literally into a Queens lapand later her bed.
It passes by the courage of Margaret Beaufort, the pregnant thirteenyearold girl who would help found the Tudor dynasty, and the childhood and painful exile of her son, the future Henry VII.
It ignores the fact that the Tudors were shaped by their pastthose parts they wished to remember and those they wished to forget.
By creating a full family portrait set against the background of this past, de Lisle enables us to see the Tudor dynasty in its own terms, and presents new perspectives and revelations on key figures and events.
De Lisle discovers a family dominated by remarkable women doing everything possible to secure its future shows why the princes in the Tower had to vanish and reexamines the bloodiness of Marys reign, Elizabeths fraught relationships with her cousins, and the true significance of previously overlooked figures.
Throughout the Tudor story, Leanda de Lisle emphasizes the supreme importance of achieving peace and stability in a violent and uncertain world, and of protecting and securing the bloodline.
Tudor is bristling with religious and political intrigue but at heart is a thrilling story of one familys determined and flamboyant ambition.
. An amazing book about the Tudor dynasty, from its origins to its disappearance, due to various political intrigues, If you, like me, want to have a broad view and knowledge about this period and its historical events before studying in deep other figures, this absolutely is the book from where you should start! There have been an awful lot of books, movies, and TV shows about the Tudors.
Their cultural impression is larger than life, Events of historic importance certainly occurred during their reigns, probably most significantly the Protestant Reformation, but it is their colorful antics that make them memorable.
Even the Plantagenets who preceded them, ruling foryears in contrast to a merefor the Tudors, are much less prominent in public consciousness.
Somehow the many wild tales of treachery and betrayal that the Plantagenets gave us pale in comparison to the doings of serial groom Henry VIII.
And really, it is Henry VIII who most represents the Tudor dynasty, There were four and a half other Tudor monarchs, but Henry, and to a lesser extent Elizabeth, gets most of the press.
The recent Showtime television series sitelinkThe Tudors lasted four seasons but, despite the plural implied in its name, covered just one Tudor Henry.
There isnt much that is new here about Henry and Elizabeth, but where Leanda de Lisles contribution to popular Tudor histories stands out is in her treatment of the other lesser known Tudors.
The story begins earlier, with events that often get just a cursory mention in Tudor books, Here we have a discussion of Henry VIIs origins, the Wars of the Roses, and the fall of Richard III.
De Lisle also addresses the influence of Henry VIIIs grandmother, Margaret Beaufort, and his sisters, whose marriages had important repercussions seen much later in English history.
By including these events in detail, there is a historical context for the actions of the Henrys, making some of their decisions more understandable, even if not admirable.
De Lisle also includes an analysis of the “usurpation” of Lady Jane Grey, The “Nine Day Queen” is often little more than a footnote in Tudor histories, but Jane and her sisters are an area of interest for the author, who wrote another book about them.
Here she justifies their inclusion by showing how the shakiness of the succession after Edwards death may have contributed to some of Marys, and later Elizabeths, paranoia.
It seems that none of the Tudors could ever completely avoid anxiety about being ousted,
Leanda de Lisles Tudor history is a readable one, She avoids getting bogged down in some of the details of dress, food, and other customs, For that type of information, sitelinkAlison Weir is much more complete, Instead, the focus here is on the overarching picture and historical context, You'd think there would be nothing much left to say about the Tudors afteryears or so, We know so much about Henry VIII and his children, and how the struggle to create a dynasty to rule England ended in onlygenerations, that sometimes you'd wander why historians don't find something better to study.
Well, I'm glad they don't, because even though there are books constantly published peddling the same old same old, there are also, wonderfully, books published which challenge how we think about this family, which rose from very obscure beginnings and fundamentally changed not only England, but also Western Europe.
Now, I'm not sure this book will be quite as revelatory as others have been "The Children of Henry VIII" by John Guy and "Blood Will Tell" by Kyra Cornelius Kramer both more clearly challenge misconceptions and theories, but there is no doubting that presenting the history of the individuals in the context of their family puts them all in quite a different light.
After reading this book, it's clear to me that to really appreciate what they did, their successes and their failures, you have to start at the Wars of the Roses and also understand how they were each perceived by contemporaries.
This book includes a huge number of references to contemporary comments and observations and also debunks secondhand narratives in favor of using known facts, and as a result, I found myself enjoying it more than I expected.
I particularly enjoyed learning more about the rather obscure individuals who played crucial roles, but which have been more or less ignored by history.
What was Owen Tudor really like, and why did Catherine de Valois, a queen and mother of a king, fall for him Is the image of Margaret Beaufort as a scheming, pious nunmotherinlaw from hell really accurate And what of the "other" Tudors the children of Henry VIII's sisters We know the Stuarts were descended from one, and the others, including Lady Jane Grey, were essentially killed off by their cousins, but what were they like and how important were they at the time Were they really the threat their cousins thought, or were their deaths the result of paranoia
This book really tries to answer these questions in a historically rigorous, but also entertaining way, and the result is extremely accessible, but not trite or blah.
Really enjoyed it,stars. I both read and write history, so I inhaled thispage book ARC that opens with Owen Tudor, a commoner, to the end of Elizabeth I's reign.
The author, de Lisle wrote through the lens of the Tudor era, a time of warring, intrigue, and intense scrabbling over succession.
The early Tudor monarchs were not royal and their paranoia of losing their thrones drove everything they didfrom marriages and divorces, to politics and religion.
It was a violent, cruel time,
Many books on the subject have left us with impressions of "Bloody Mary" and "Gloriana" that stem from Victorian hyperbole.
Tudor corrects those myths. For example, Elizabeth I executed more people than Henry VIII and Mary I did during their reigns,
While wellresearched and the myths corrected, Tudor is not a dry read, rather a pageturner, I recommend it to all who read wellwritten history and are eager for the latest research on the subject, De Lisle's Tudor is not what you may expect, It is most certainly not a general history of theTudor monarchs or of Britain during their reigns, In this volume, the reader will find only passing reference to major international events such as the Field of Cloth of Gold or the Spanish Armada.
He or she will find even less on most domestic policies between the times of Henry VII and Elizabeth I.
Rather, De Lisle's work concentrates on one specific areahereditary succession, Readers will learn about the many branches of the British royal family and about each of their claims to the throne.
If this is your interest, look no further you are unlikely to find a better book on the subject, However, if you would like a broader picture of the Tudor monarchs or this historical period, do not waste another second considering this book.
Why read another a Tudor book De Lisle takes on the family history from Owen Tudor to James I, This isn't another Henry and his wives book, De Lisle's NF books are not text bookish, They are easy to read and before you know it hours have gone by, she brought many new things to my attention proof Margaret Beaufort wasn't the evil step mother, Henry VIII wantedexecutors in charge of Edward, was Mary Queen of Scots raped I consider myself very informed on the Tudors and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Great read! Disclaimer: Arc read via Netgalley, Thank you Netgalley, Perseus Books, and Public Affairs Books,
I can hear you asking the question do we really need another book about the Tudors Really.
Well, I dont know about need, but I can say this is a very excellent look at the Tudor family.
If you were going to buy one book about the Tudor dynasty, this should be it, Its not that I didnt like Meyers book about the family, but de Lisle is just better,
In part, this is because she actually focuses on the family instead of the big two Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, who seem to have been the focus since the BBC programs.
While much of the book does deal with them, de Lisle makes sure that the rest of the family gets their time in the spot light.
She does from the start of the book, She actually truly looks at the marriage of Katherine de Valois and Owen Tudor, The relationship between not only gets the treatment as in looking at the start of the War of the Roses, but actually looks why Katherine wouldve married him, as well relating some interesting gossip about intimate matters.
De Lisle conveys to the reader a sense of who these two often passed over dynasty founders, In particular, she looks at the development of Margaret Beaufort and the impact that she might have had on her son Henry VII, who gets far more attention paid to him here than in most other general histories.
And that really is the selling point of this book the look at the players who are eclipsed by the wives and rivals queens.
When I read this, I came away with a far greater understanding of Henry VII instead just simply seeing him as a stringy bastard as he is so often simply drawn.
The lives of Edward VI and Mary I are seen in greater detail here as well as their impact in terms of the monarchy.
In fact, de Lisle considers the impact of Marys rule on how Elizabeth determined to govern and even to act the part of ruler, in more than terms of just religion.
She also raises the question of how Elizabeths reign would have been seen if she had died early on, when she was sick with smallpox.
This isnt to suggest that de Lisle focus just on the political, Her description of battle, in particular of Bosworth, is quite frankly very gripping, It is this style, part academic and part almost novelistic in approach that make the book accessible to both long time Tudor fans as well as those who are picking this up due to simply the Showtime series.
She does not relate gossip, for the most part, and she does take a closer look at oft held myths or commonly repeated stories.
Her take on the Princes in the Tower is plausible and her analysis of Richard IIIs rule fair, This is not a blow by blow of the Essex rebellion, but a study in how a family gains, holds, and eventually loses power all the while struggling in the political arena.
It is not the soap opera of naked flesh that the Showtime series presented, Warts and all, careful study and understanding, A close look at figures and issues that get swept aside in the tarts version of the wives, It isnt a romantic view, and for that it is far more engrossing,
The appendices are worth reading because De Lisle looks and debunks certain myths, While the book does tread on some of the area of her previous work, it does not seem as if she is simply repeating the last book.
The Grey sisters are dealt with, as they must be, but while doing them the justice they deserve in a study, de Lisle does not let them and her knowledge of them overwhelm the work.
Truly a wonderful study of the Tudors,
In her look at the Tudor Dynasty, Ms, De Lisle has delivered a very reader friendly book, Starting with the Owen Tudor, Henry VIIs grandfather and who gave the dynasty its name, the author looks at the family that ruled England fromthru the death of Elizabeth I in.
In telling their story Ms, De Lisle states to understand the Tudors, one must understand how they saw themselves,
This is not your standard history, The author just doesnt look at the politics surrounding the family, but attempts to explain how the politics affected the various members of the family.
Starting with Owen Tudor,a commoner, and his very fortuitous marriage to a Queen Henry Vs widow Katherine de Valois, the author gives the reader a peak at the interworkings of the family.
In telling the story of Owen and Katherine, Ms, De Lisle recounts the various stories of how they met and how their marriage was received by the ruling council.
To say the Regents were not impressed is an understatement, but other than banning them from court, the Council decided not do anything about it until Henry VI came of age and let him deal with it.
Ms De Lisle also does a good job of telling Margret Beauforts, the greatgranddaughter of John of Gaunt, story.
She married Edmund Tudor, one of Owen and Katherine's sons and gave her son his royal bloodtainted though it maybe.
She successfully protected her son
and navigated the rip tides that were the Wars of Roses and is presented sympathetically contrary to the common perception.
She was an astute politician in her own right and was able to judge what needed to be done to protect the interests of her son.
In looking at the Tudor Monarchs, De Lisle does not just tell the story of their reigns, but also looks at them as people.
She tells of their fears and their aspirations, She tells how the politics affect their lives as people, In telling Henry VIIIs story she illuminates his desire to emulate and even surpass his predecessor, Henry V and become the King of France and how this affected his foreign policy.
She also humanizes the story of his marriage to Katherine of Aragon and how he came to see it as an affront to God and that God was punishing him by not giving him a son.
Also in telling the story of Henry VIII, the author tells us the story of his sisters who both married kings and how their decendents came into play in the later stages of the story of the dynasty.
In telling the story of the later Tudors, I felt the author was especially sympathetic to Mary, Her portrayal of Mary was one of a monarch who was an astute judge of what her kingdom would accept in religious matters and only after much urging from Catholic authorities began the persecutions that led he to be known as “Bloody Mary”.
Her sister, Elizabeth, is shown as learning from Mary and to a great extent basing her ruling philosophy on her reign.
Ms. De Lisle also notes that Elizabeth had more people executed that either her father or her sister, The author spends a considerable amount of time looking at why Elizabeth would not name a successor, in spite of the urging, almost demanding, of her councilors, esp William Cecil.
All in all this is an excellent look at the family that became the perhaps the greatest of the English Monarchies.
I would give it.rounded down for Goodreads,
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Leanda de Lisle