A Brief History of Henry VIII: Reformer and Tyrant

by Derek Wilson

Henry VIII changed the course of English life more completely than any monarch since the Conquest. In the portraits of Holbein, Henry Tudor stands proud as one of the most powerful figures in renaissance Europe. But is the portrait just a bluff? In his new book Derek Wilson explores the myths behind the image of the Tudor Lion. He was the monarch that delivered the Reformation to England yet Luther called him 'A fool, a liar and a damnable rotten worm'. As a young man he gained a reputation as an intellectual and fair prince yet he ruled the nation like a tyrant. He treated his subjects as cruelly as he treated his wives. Based on a wealth of new material and a life time’s knowledge of the subject Derek Wilson exposes a new portrait of a much misunderstood King. PRAISE FOR DEREK WILSON'S PREVIOUS The Uncrowned Kings of ‘Stimulating and authorative.’ John Guy ‘Masterly. [Wilson] has a deep understanding of...characters, reaching out accross the centuries.’ Sunday Times Hans Portrait of an Unknown ‘Fascinating.' Sarah Bradford, Daily Telegraph‘ Highly readable...The most accurate and vivid portrayal to date.' Alison Weir

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Tudor Period, British Literature, Historical, Biography Memoir

386 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Derek Wilson has been a writer of historical fiction and non-fiction for 50 years. His much acclaimed prize-winning works have largely centred on 16th and 17th century Europe. He has used various pen names for his fiction, his current Thomas Treviot Tudor crime series being written under the name D.K. Wilson. The first 2 books in this series - The First Horseman and The Traitor's Mark are based on real unsolved Tudor mysteries and have received enthusiastic plaudits. Readers have favourably compared this innovative series with the books of C.J. Sansom and S.J. Parris.
Recent non-fiction triumphs include The Plantagenets, Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man, and Charlemagne: a Biography.
Derek Wilson graduated from Cambridge and spent several years travelling and teaching in Africa before becoming a full-time writer and broadcaster in 1971. He has frequently written and appeared on radio and television and is popular as a public speaker having appeared at several literary festivals,British Museum, Hampton Court Palace, The British Library and other prestigious venues.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different stance to David Starkey and Alison Weir. Lust and fame from them, stupidity and disease from Wilson.

[Joana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book for less than 2 euros as an homage to my Tudor obsession in middle school, and then started it on my way to London (and finished it to two months later). I learned that I'm no longer this invested in Henry VIII, and this book goes into so much information - now I learned a lot of interesting information I did not know before, it just went a bit too much into court politics and financial/economy issues, and I just wanted more wives!!! The historian does a good job exploring different possibilities of the decisions made, and trying to get a deeper understanding of Henry's VIII's intentions!!!

[Ted Hillary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very unflattering account Of Henry VIII

[Anja Fruelund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine biography presenting a new version of Henry VIII - not so much a reformer and tyrant as much as a petulant and bewildered boy constantly seeking to prove himself worthy of the crown bestowed on him as runner up, and to secure the dynastic ambitions of his warrior father. Ruling a nation still with the civil wars in fresh memory he must have been frantic to secure the heritage and as Wilson rightly points out, this may account for his actions although it doesn't excuse them. Didn't really get Wilson's choice of portraits though - none of the wives are depicted or Wolsey and Cromwell for that matter. It seems odd that the portraits of these people playing so central roles in his life are omitted.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it. Not a Tudor fan, but was really taken with poor Catherine of Aragon.

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy, does Wilson dislike the Tudors, especially H8 (But I already knew that from his history of the Dudleys).

[Morgan Pugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like a college paper. Main idea of Henry's motivations (impotence) not a bad idea, but supports are slim. Enjoyed this mainly for a better look into Wosley and Cromwell.

[Teresa Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. Alot on politics, war, and religion. I did enjoy it.

[Kaitlyn Streeter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wilson has done an excellent job in examining the underlying motivations that drove the english reforms of the 1500s. Although it sometimes comes off as biased against the Tudor, it still serves as an impressive resource for those who wish to learn more about King Henry VIII.

This book was clearly well-researched, and portrays an unique image of the king, who is today mostly known simply because he had six wives.
Here those women fall into the background (save Anne Boleyn), and one learns about the true political players who shaped the monarch and his country. Yet all the while, he remains the primary focus of the text.
The image is an unflattering one, depicting a man in need of constant validation and praise. His vanity and ill-defined whims causing him to fluctuate on theological and political policy throughout his life.

I'd reccomend this book to anyone who wishes to learn more about Henry - beyond his marital failings. Though be warned, you will likely not admire the man when you're finished reading.

[Berita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read about Henry as a person, not just "mr Wife-killer" as he tends to be pictured in most cases. It wasn't exactly an all-consuming read, it took a bit of effort to get motivated to delve into it from time to time. Then things all of a sudden got interesting, and then the thrill faded out again.

[Carrie Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great depiction of Henry the 8th. Interesting to delve into a failing mind. Kind of scary in a way! I love historical reading

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Many parallels to our current 'leader'.

[David Latham · Rating 5 out of 5]

England's most famous King laid bare.
For Good or Ill; for all the success and failures; for all that has been, to all that was and could have been - Henry VIII reigns supreme in the English national story. His reign sits between the Norman Conquest and the Industrial Revolution as a time of great upheaval in culture, religion and national identity.
As interesting as the book is, it is defiantly written by someone that doesn't quite like Henry VIII falling into the same biased views of detractors throughout the ages. But at least he's reasoning is based on research and conclusion well devised.
Although I think Wilson pushes his assessment (very well, if i do say so myself). He, i do believe Wilfully ignores the praise on Henry or flat-out calls it propaganda (which it was) -but accepts the accounts of those outside of his control as though there was no altera motives.
Not to say, once again that is disagree. But it does show that assessing the motives, personality, and psychology of historical peoples- living hundreds of years before us in times so alien to our own, on surviving evidence which is also sparse, incomplete or written to or for a cause is still riddled with issues as neutral as we try to be.

Hero/ Villain/ Reformer / Tyrant/ impulsive/ anxious - it is possible to be multiple things at once. .

[Lydia Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as I find this period of history extremely fascinating. I enjoyed this book by Derek Wilson, as I felt he explained things in a manner easy to understand and follow. This period is extremely complex as so much was going on with France, Spain, Scotland, conflict within England, the Protestant uprising and church reformation and the marital ins and outs of King Henry - Derek Wilson touches on all of these (and more) that makes you want to read more about the Tudor era and specifically King Henry VIII.
If you love this period of history, I think you will enjoy this book.

[Kiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoying this so far. There are some factual errors some of which might be editorial and typographical (ex. age given as 28 not 18), others are somewhat glaring (wrong person named for incident).

The more interesting point of this book is the approach it takes to the situation of Henry's reign and his struggles with his own belief, conscience, and the events of the day. It specifically speaks to the evangelical reform movement which was unfolding rapidly in England during this time and the impact this had upon his choices and decisions as a monarch given his personality traits. It does examine his relationship to his spouses, family, close confidants, and advisers in this capacity. The speculations of these theories and the evidence presented is compelling and worth study.

[Johari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not a book to read for pleasure it was more about understanding history. I love crazy Henry VIII so I am always looking to find out more abotu him to be better understand why he did some of the things he did. Because it is more historical than anything else it took me a while to get through but I did enjoy it.

[Helene Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review - This biography wasn't as detailed as I would have liked, and yes I do realise that it's a brief history. Nevertheless there was some repetitiveness which would have been better had it been used instead perhaps to explore the building of Henry VIII's palaces like Nonsuch which isn't actually mentioned.

General Subject/s - Tudors / Henry VIII / Biography

Recommend? - Yes

Rating - 15/20

[Calida · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was overjoyed to read a book about Henry that wasn't centered around his wives and talked about his other "accomplishments", and focused closely on his emotional stability and his councilors. Written from a point of view of someone who doesn't find Henry to be a wise, just, or good king, it was nice to see him painted in a different light.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me quite sometime to get through this book. It was all about politics, religion and war. Although it was a very hard book to get through purely because you almost need a degree in English literature to understand it all, I did enjoy finding out more about this fascinating man and the Tudor reign.

[Mersini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Perhaps too much of the author's ideas coming through; I'm thinking of his idea that Henry VIII had impotence issues, that were largely unsupported and sounded a lot like conjecture. But other than that, it was informative, even if it wasn't the most well written book to have ever existed.

[Jean Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe this is an accurate, historical account of King Henry's life and reign. There must have been extensive scholarship, examining source material from the Tudor period. But the storytelling could have been better. The story was lost in repetitive details about the back and forth of diplomacy and territory. This was a book worth reading even though it got bogged down.

[Indra · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 star actually. Way too much speculation without evidence, especially concerning Henry's character. Wilson tells us what Henry might have thought and then makes conclusions based on these assumptions. Too emotional writing. I'm sure there are better biographies of Henry VIII on the market.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Wilson is no admirer of Henry VII; perhaps that is one of the factors that makes this biography so vivid and interesting. Of course Henry's wives are part of the story, but Wilson shows us more about Henry than the usual—at least in my experience—emphasis on the women and their tragedies.

[Analisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of Henry VIII was one of the most interesting I have read, mostly because you could tell of the author's disdain for Henry. I enjoyed that it focused mainly on Henry, but added in enough extra information to keep it interesting.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read and it was very insightful in ways that I havent experiended. Much of what I have read about the Tudors thus far has been historical fiction. I came a way with I think a clearer picture of the man was and maybe a truer picture of him and his court.

[Kavita · Rating 1 out of 5]

A horrible book. I wish I had not read it. No more to say, but if anyone is interested - here is my review.

http://bluffkinghal.wordpress.com/201...

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of Henry VIII's life and motivation behind his choices. I found the section on the English Reformation particularly good. This book is well written and researched as well as easy to read.

[Sara]

I am loving the book but it is good to read other ones in between

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great companion to The Tudors

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book. Very hard to follow. Not in chronological order the dates keep jumping around.