Henry Vii

Routledge Historical Biographies

by Sean Cunningham

This biography illuminates the life of Henry VII himself, how he ran his government, how his authority was maintained, and the nature of the country over which he ruled since he first claimed the throne in 1485. Sean Cunningham explores how Henry's reign was vitally important in stabilizing the English monarchy and providing the sound financial and institutional basis for later developments in government, and tackles key questions in the debate: Up until now the details of Henry as a person and as a king, his court and household, his subjects, and his country have remained little known. This book fills that gap, bringing to the forefront the life and times of the very first Tudor king.

Genres: Tudor Period, History, Biography, Nonfiction, Medieval, Historical

336 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2007

About the author

Sean Cunningham is a Principal Records Specialist at The National Archives. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he has published widely on late medieval and early Tudor England.

Reviews

[Susan Abernethy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to give up on this book. The author promises new insight into Henry's personality and after 60 pages, it's just not there. I don't care for the writer's style of writing and I found a historical mistake. I recommend you read SB Chrimes bio or Thomas Penn's "The Winter King" over this book.

[Izzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given this by a friend who raved about it. With hindsight, they were extremely drunk. It was really average - perhaps okay for a GCSE student, but I learned nothing new, and it wasn't remotely insightful.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A detailed (and at times, laborious) read, ideal for historiography

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author starts out with an academic's version of The Little Red Hen:

Who will help me find the primary sources? Who will help me analyze the primary sources? Who will help me analyze the secondary sources? Who will help me write new secondary source? Well, I guess I will just have to enjoy the royalties from my new book All By Myself.

The End

Anyway, the book finally gets to Henry VII. He rushes through Henry's place in the War of the Roses in very general terms, skimming through the first 28 years of Henry's life quite quickly, and things don't get exciting until the Battle of Bosworth, where he shows you Richard and Henry duking it out for the crown, up close and personal. He makes it clear that Henry wins not because he did so well - but because Richard did so bad.

So, Henry gains the crown, and there are some interesting points along the rest of the way as he describes Henry's life as king. Then, halfway through the book, we are already at Henry's failing health, the elaborate plans he draws up for his funeral, and his death.

The second half of the book is very, very, very dry academic analysis of different economic and political themes in Henry's reign, in no particular chronological order, examining aspects of early Tudor government in such a way that leaves you with the impression you are reading an early draft of a graduate student's thesis; a paper which the student cares madly about, the advising professor is perhaps mildly interested to see how the facts have been rearranged, and the rest of the population could give a flying shoe.

Where is the day to day life? Where is the interaction with his family members? Where are the first bricks being laid down that will lead to all the glory and horror of the later Tudor reigns?

The author claims that being between the violence of Richard III and the sexacapades of Henry VIII, Henry VII's ability to maintain a strong central government and collect taxes on a regular schedule leads to some dull reading. Ok, yes, anyone compared to Richard III and Henry VIII is going to come off as less than larger than life. But, ok, even if not larger than life, Henry VII was a man, and was more than just his various economic and foreign policies.

Basically, its a mislabeling to call this book a biographyy - historiography wold be the better word.

[Sarah Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, but not aimed at the general reader!