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The King's Cardinal
Proud, greedy, corrupt and driven by overwhelming personal ambition. Such is the traditional image of Thomas Wolsey, Lord Chancellor, Archbishop of York, Bishop of Winchester, Abbot of St. Albans, Bishop if Tournai and Papal Legate. It is an image which Peter Gwyn examines, challenges and decisively overturns in this remarkable book.
From exceedingly humble beginnings Wolsey rose to a pinnacle of power unsurpassed by any other British commoner. Peter Gwyn explores every aspect of the Cardinal's career - not least his relationship with Henry VIII - and sets it firmly in a vividly recreated Tudor world. The Wolsey who emerges is a man of prodigious energy and ability, a tireless dispenser of justice, an enlightened reformer wholly dedicated to his king and country - a man who has been consistently misrepresented and maligned for four-and-a-half centuries.
From exceedingly humble beginnings Wolsey rose to a pinnacle of power unsurpassed by any other British commoner. Peter Gwyn explores every aspect of the Cardinal's career - not least his relationship with Henry VIII - and sets it firmly in a vividly recreated Tudor world. The Wolsey who emerges is a man of prodigious energy and ability, a tireless dispenser of justice, an enlightened reformer wholly dedicated to his king and country - a man who has been consistently misrepresented and maligned for four-and-a-half centuries.
639 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 20, 2018
Thorough, well informed, and in the main well argued, although he does allow his personal bias to overcome rational thought occasionally (such as in his analysis of Edward Stafford).
August 11, 2022
Worth reading, full of perceptive analysis and wit.
July 20, 2024
Probably about as good of a book you’re going to get on Wolsey. My edition was just under 640 pages of primary reading material & the book is packed with detail. It can drag at times & I did find myself skimming through areas because I was going over history I had already covered in reading general histories on the Tudor period & a book on Henry VIII.
Yet this being more focused on Wolsey, I got a much better picture of the role he served in his lifetime. While other books mention Wolsey’s role as it is important especially regarding his foreign policy, this book covers his domestic work, the man himself, and his relationships with other figures with more detail.
Yet this being more focused on Wolsey, I got a much better picture of the role he served in his lifetime. While other books mention Wolsey’s role as it is important especially regarding his foreign policy, this book covers his domestic work, the man himself, and his relationships with other figures with more detail.
December 3, 2023
Suffers a tad from over-long chapters and a need to offer sophistication without insight. Nontheless a good primer on both the character and the politics/foreign policy/ecclesiastical structure and governance of Henry VIII's England
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews