Henry VIII: The King and His Court
by Alison Weir
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alison WeirEdition: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2001-05-01
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 640
Book Reviews of Henry VIII: The King and His Court
Book Review: Estimable essay on the era of Henry VIII
Summary: 5 Stars
In one sense, I am at a disadvantage in assessing this volume. I am not an historian of this era, so I cannot confidently judge well the accuracy of Alison Weir's rendering of events and people. I have, of course, read other works dealing with this period, and I'm not sure that my understanding of them would contradict her major points.
That said, I am most impressed with this work. The author covers many aspects of English history--including day-to-day life--of the time. We read of medical practice (ugh), music, art, architecture, customs, drama, clothing, sports (e.g., hunting, archery, tennis, jousting, and so on), the internecine politics (when losers could lose their lives; politics was serious business), and the relationships among families in England of the era. This book is as much about the country at that time as about Henry VIII.
Henry VIII is portrayed in great detail. This is not a Charles Laughton view of the king. It is much more nuanced. It is true that, if Weir be correct, Henry became more rigid and unforgiving and vain and distrusting and autocratic as he aged. He drove England close to financial ruin with his wars (which often had little effect, even though costing much) and with his incessant building projects (his own palaces as one key example).But this should not detract from other of his accomplishments. He supported the arts; he was one of the more educated and intellectually oriented monarchs of the time. It may be that Weir romanticizes him to some extent, and that ought to be noted. But his was not simply a dissipated period in English history.
Of course, many would wonder about his rendering of the multitudinous wives of the monarch. Weir does spend time on this part of his life, including the Machiavellian politics associated with Henry's marriages (factions would use potential wives as pawns in power struggles). Weir's assessments of the various wives are pretty fair. We might be surprised to know of his affection for Katherine of Aragon; it is fascinating to watch the pas de deux between Anne Boleyn and Henry before their wedding; and so on.
Then, the descriptions of the hard ball politics of the era--featuring actors such as Wolsey, Cromwell, More, Cranmer, and the nobles of the time.
All in all, an accessible and very readable work on Henry VIII and his time. I'd strongly recommend. . . .
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