The Tudor Treasury

by Elizabeth Norton

From the first Tudor king to the Virgin Queen, a primer on who the Tudors were and why they remain so popular to this day

This history begins when the dynasty was secured by the plotting of Margaret, the mother of Henry VII, who returned from exile to take the English throne. In time, a 17-year-old prince was crowned Henry VIII, ushering in a golden era that would gradually darken as the king broke away from Rome to establish the Church of England and dissolve the monasteries. His death brought fresh intrigue that eventually saw his daughter Mary become queen, and her attempts to restore Catholicism saw hundreds of "heretics" burned at the stake. On her death, her sister Elizabeth came to the throne, and retained it. She snuffed out plots and defeated rebellions, and her navy thwarted the Armada sent by the King of Spain. She was a woman who won the admiration of many, not least for her skillful ability to remain independent while exploiting the possibility of marriage. Her reign was also an age of exploration, which saw Walter Raleigh venture to the New World and Francis Drake circumnavigate the world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period, Historical

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 11, 2014

About the author

Elizabeth Norton is a British historian specialising in the queens of England and the Tudor period. She obtained an Master of Arts in Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Cambridge in 2003 and a masters degree in European Archaeology from the University of Oxford in 2004.

Elizabeth Norton is the author of five non-fiction works: She Wolves, The Notorious Queens of England (The History Press, 2008), Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's Obsession (Amberley, 2008), Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's True Love (Amberley, 2009), Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's Discarded Bride (Amberley, 2009) and Catherine Parr (Amberley, 2010).[2]' She is also the author of two articles: Anne of Cleves and Richmond Palace (Surrey History, 2009) [3] and Scandinavian Influences in the Late Anglo-Saxon Sculpture of Sussex (Sussex Archaeological Collections, 2009)

Reviews

[Midgetbee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really pretty looking book, and it's set out really well, with each monarch's reign divided up into little chapters. It's suitable for those new to books about the Tudors or anyone looking for a quick recap of the period. Elizabeth Norton's writing style is easily accessible and I like that she doesn't bury you under a ton of facts and figures or dumb it down too much either.

Unfortunately the amount of typos in the book makes it a three rather than a four star read. I found the first one in the contents page but my favourite has to be the one which said that Christopher Marlowe died in 1693 which would've made him about 130 years old at the time.

[Greg Kopstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent introduction to the Tudor Dynasty; it’s incredibly readable, concise, and full of very interesting details. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I am very well read on this topic. It’s an excellent way for anyone to get involved in this time period. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in this very exciting period of British history. Happy reading.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a pretty quick read, being a crah course and all, but interesting and very digestible. Every chapter is broken up in a way that flows and fills in information about pretty much every aspect of the Tudor dynasty. Really good jumping off point.

[Henrik Moller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very high level overview of the Tudor dynasty, well written and concise. (A little too hagiographic concerning Henry VII, but I tend, contra Shakespeare, to be a bit of a Ricardian.)

[Scorpianmuse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice light read.

I love how Norton started out at the beginning of the Tudors--and even a bit before the Battle at Bosworth field. The book isn't bogged down; it is broke down into small bits of history. For example, Queen Mary I loved fashion, but dressed very dowdy.

These little asides are great. It is just as it states, "A collection of fascinating facts and insights about the Tudor Dynasty."

[Felicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great if you're looking for an introduction to Tudor history but if not you won't learn anything new. Having said that, although the chapters are arranged chronologically, there is a lot of skipping backwards and forwards in time within the subsections which often wasn't helpful.
What stopped this from being a four star review, however, was the number of mistakes in the book due to poor editing, often confusing matters even further.

[Hayden]

This is such a prettily bound, attractive little volume. The content was broken up nicely into small chunks and was easy to read; however, there were a few editing issues that I noticed, and I think there was a little bit of bias for and against certain historical figures (although not enough to truly bother me)

Overall, it's a nice introduction to anyone new to the Tudors.

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reading level was a little below mine; this is an easily digestible version of the Tudor dynasty. It made a fun read and while I learned a bit about the early Tudors, I learned next to nothing new about Henry VII and his wives, nor about Mary nor Elizabeth. Like most of these other reviews, I would consider this an introductory book to the Tudors and life during their reign.

[Star · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a nice little read . I have read so many books about the Tudors that I am sometimes surprised to learn new facts when reading current books . Actually the book was filled with simple new truths.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book if you want a concise synopsis of Tudor England. I enjoyed it, although it had a bit of a textbook feel to it. Great as a resource for reports and the like. Overall, a solid read.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very, very basic. I didn't learn anything new and wasn't a very good summary in my opinion. My mum found it helpful regarding Tudor history but I personally found it too simplified and thus did not enjoy it. I wouldn't recommend it openly but perhaps with reservations.

[Alanna Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A heavily condensed version of the Tudor dynasty. It was a great read in terms of consolidating basic knowledge but I feel that the strap line of "fascinating facts and insights" oversells what the book offers for the more advanced Tudor enthusiast.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great comprehensive guide of the Tudor dynasty, complete with further reading.

[Karen Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book.

[Ashley Kell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed getting more insight into the Tudor dynasty.

[Michell Karnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fact filled little book. It was short, concise and easy to read. I would like to read other books by this same author. A must for a great overall picture of the Tudors.

[Trina Kubicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basic general knowledge with some interesting facts thrown in.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super short overview of the Tudor dynasty. It will leave you craving more detail for sure but it's a nice concise quick read.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly edited.