Henry VII: The Maligned Tudor King

by Terry Breverton

Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII, has been called the most unlikely King of England. Yet his rise from obscurity was foretold by the bards, and by 1485, the familial bloodbath of the Wars of the Roses left Henry as the sole adult Lancastrian claimant to the throne. The hunchback usurper Richard III desperately wanted him dead, and in his exile Henry Tudor was left with no choice. He either invaded England or faced being traded to Richard to meet certain death.

Henry’s father, Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, was the son of a Queen of England, sister to the King of France, and of an obscure Welsh court servant, who had been born in secrecy away from court. Edmund’s death at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses left Henry to grow up in almost constant danger, imprisonment and exile. In 1485, his ‘ragtag’ invading army at Bosworth faced overwhelming odds, but succeeded.

Henry went on to become England’s wisest and greatest king, but it would be his son Henry VIII and granddaughter Elizabeth I who would take all the credit.

Genres: History, Tudor Period

678 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 19, 2016

Reviews

[Tony Riches · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terry Breverton’s passion for the subject shines through in his much-awaited new book on King Henry VII. I was fascinated by the fresh perspective of this weighty book (at over 400 pages). With a good collection of colour illustrations, this is a ‘must’ for anyone with an interest in the Tudors. Terry has taken the interesting approach of examining Henry’s life through a narrative of where he was at each point in time, and addresses the many errors often repeated about Henry Tudor.

Henry’s path to the throne of England is an amazing story, told with Terry Breverton’s well-informed and engaging style. How could this unassuming man, who had been imprisoned one way or another for most of his twenty-eight years, lead a rebel army to victory at Bosworth? Terry describes Henry as ‘a good man in bad times, always thankful to God for his good fortune and never vengeful.’

I recommend reading this book in conjunction with Terry’s other work, Richard III: The King in the Car Park and his excellent Jasper Tudor: Dynasty Maker (both of which have pride of place on my bookshelf). I have set out to collect every published work I can find on Henry VII and, in my view, this is the definitive account. My only quibble is with Terry’s choice of title, which I completely understand, although readers are likely to agree that while Henry is the most unlikely King of England, he is also one of the most important in British history.

Tony Riches

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book was great. Chapter 7 was hard to read. There were a lot of paragraphs comprised of lists. Lists of names and lists of money.

[Stuart Faulkner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and very Welsh focused approach to the subject, which brought out some new angles and conclusions. Well worth a read for any serious Tudor buff.