Master Wolsey

by Laura Dowers

A bloody battlefield. A tyrant dead. A new king crowned.
It's time for ambitious men to rise.

England, 1496. The Battle of Bosworth is over. King Richard III is dead, Henry Tudor wears the crown and England is about to be changed forever. If a man has brains and ambition, then he can rise to the very top.

Fortunately for Thomas Wolsey, he has plenty of both.

Not content with an obscure Oxford life, Thomas strikes out to better his position. Moving from master to master, Thomas finds himself at the court of King Henry, a man of influence.

But life is precarious for this son of a butcher. Loathed and distrusted by the old nobility, Thomas must use all his cunning and guile to win and keep his place at the Tudor court.

A historical fiction novel of Tudor England.

Available in eBook, paperback and large print paperback.

Other Books in The Tudor Court series:
The Queen's Favourite
The Queen's Rebel
The Queen's Spymaster

Genres: History

Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2022

About the author

I'm a historical fiction author, who so far, has written books set in the Tudor era, Ancient Rome and the 1930s.

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Reviews

[Dayanara Ryelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moderately entertaining, especially in examining a character that is so often a sidekick in other books about the Tudor reign. Since I'm used to starting tales with Catherine's arrival (or later), Wolsey simply "appears", with no explanation as to how he ingratiated himself to the king or rose so high in the world. This novel explains that nicely, and has--thus far--switched to a royal POV on occasion to keep things entertaining.

Only one mild criticism so far and that's changing Richard Pole to Richard Poole. Yes, dear author, I'm sure the surname Pole strikes you as weird, too, and it's not just me; but don't go changing what history has recorded as the truth?

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½

=====

Finished: AUGH, it ended too soon! Here I was, looking forward to following his life until his death, including reading his innermost thoughts on The Great Matter, and Laura cuts it off as he's prancing up the aisle after his elevation to cardinal. Curses!

[Rosie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of the rise of Thomas Wolsey from the son of a butcher too cardinal a very enjoyable read

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to take a red pen and start making editorial notes on this book.

I loved the premise of seeing Wolsey (so often introduced in Tudor stories – and even histories – already a mighty cardinal and proto-prime minister) in this story starting before he was The Great and Powerful and watching his scramble up the ladder of power. But the execution of the idea had several flaws.

First off, if you didn’t know this was Tudor England going in, there is precious little in the first half of the book from the setting and details in this story to tell you that besides a prologue of Henry VII triumphant at Bosworth. The prologue has nothing to do with the rest of the story – it’s just to let you know the Tudors are now on the throne. It might even been a requested add on by the editor to let the reader when and where we are, because for the first half of the book it could have been anywhere in Europe between about 1100-1700 as we see a man use the Catholic church as a path to power. I wanted more description that would let us know place and time. Everything around Wolsey comes off as generic.

However, when there are details put in, it feels a little too much like a Wikipedia article. For example, when characters talk about Wolsey’s father legal record in a listicle and as-you-know-Bob kind of way, it’s clear that his court appearances for various infractions were all Dowers could find on him in the historical record, and decided to jam it in, even though it makes zero sense to recite a man's criminal record at his death bed.

Then, after much hustling on Wolsey's part to advance his career, at almost the half way point we get to Catherine of Aragon's arrival, and the book finally is more grounded in time and place, but her entrance is something of an info dump, as character A describes her arrival to character B as if the wedding had only just been arranged, whereas in real life it had been years in the making and something of celebratory nation wide countdown to the wedding itself, a la Kate and William.

The book uses close third POV from Wolsey's POV most of the time - but occasionally jumps around to show other people's thoughts. Its mostly distracting as we suddenly jump into a random person's thoughts, and probably would have been better to stick to just Wolsey, although it does allow the story to show events, such as Arthur's death, that he wouldn't have witnessed. Dona Elvira hissing "Don't cry for an English boy!" might strike some as a bit over the top, but I loved it, and was in character for her ego.

Unfortunately, the announcement of Prince Arthur's death, which is very well documented in the historical record, is completely re-written here in order to put Wolsey front and center - and same with Queen Elizabeth's death. It was jarring and an almost Forrest Gump-level of having the main character just happen to be every-when important.

But on the other hand, the characters are well established. I think Dowers does a great job laying the foundation of the relationship between Wolsey and Henry VIII when Henry is still a boy as Wolsey offers him a spot of warmth at his father's cold court. I thoroughly believed how Dowers presented the relationship between Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, and the Tudor children are all presented well in character, but without overly heavy foreshadowing of later actions.

Wolsey continues his rise at court, taking full advantage of the transition of power and Henry VIII's inexperience, stopping at one point to set up his mistress, Joan Lark, but its done in such an odd, clinical way, as if all involved are just ticking something off a To Do list. But I really loved seeing Wolsey hustling his way up the ladder - and it thoroughly worked to show his all too human side as he gets angry when people throw his background in his face.

And it all cumulates with the arrival of The Hat and Wolsey gloating at how high in power he now is. Its a good break point and, despite my criticisms, I am looking forward to the next book in Wolsey's saga.

[Maya Ch · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this first book of the trilogy, Thomas as a man goes from naivety to ambition , from obedience to creativity and all the way has to endure “butcher’s son” stigma.

Thomas was lucky to be recognized as a talented scholar and had a chance to get to Oxford. his career seemed to progress within college walls, but this was not enough. Highly motivated and ambitious, Thomas was not missing opportunities. Thanks to Marquis of Dorset, he got his first parish post and then he got noticed by all the right people - king Henry VII and his private councilors. Thomas’ abilities to have the right words and solutions at the right time as well as his enormous capacity for multitasking led him to position at court, financial prosperity, and advancement in the church.
His path from humble beginnings to a cardinal required a tireless dedication to serve the king.

[Alan Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hugely enjoyable historical romp about a butchers son who becomes one of the most powerful men in England....lighthearted and never boring....looking forward to Book 2 "Power &Glory"....

Highly recommended .

[Patriciagoodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read! I could hardly put this book down. I truly felt I had an understanding, not necessarily a liking of Thomas Wolsey. The book was SO well written. I think it could be made into a TV drama to equal Wolf Hall.
I do hope the author does a continuation.

[Lois Anne Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it.

I love historical fiction and this was a very good read. Well written and researched. I really enjoyed it and like this series of books.

[Lorna Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Enjoyed this aspect of Wolsey the other books I have read he has been only part of the story but this book was certainly interesting

[mary ann morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Read

I am delighted to have found in Ms. Rowers such a great writer and look forward to reading Books 2 and 3 of The Thomas Wolsey Trilogy.

[Hilary Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Master Wolsey, although sone of the characters were fictional they fitted the story very well

[Susan Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

What a fascinating read! I know it is fiction, but I was caught up in the battle, the struggle and then the achievement of each of the characters. Especially Thomas Wolsey. Henry VIII was true to form, being a young king, and his poor wife, Katherine, losing first Arthur, then the babies.
Each page was turned with anticipation, and I finished the book in half a day. I enjoy reading about the Plantegenet and the Tudor court. Such a lot of history! I fall into that history each time I read a good book and this certainly is one. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes British history and has a good imagination.