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A review by hmalagisi
Tudors: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I by Peter Ackroyd
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
The royal dynasties of English history are some of the most popular in European history. We have the Normans, the Angevins, the Plantagenets, who occupied the throne for 300 years, the Scottish Stuarts who saw religious change and political upheaval, the haughty Hanovers, and the current Windsor dynasty. However, one dynasty that has captured the imagination of history nerds for centuries has been the tumultuous Tudors. In book two of Peter Ackroyd’s “The History of England: Tudors,” he explores the stories that made the Tudor dynasty so infamous.
I saw this book at a used bookstore and picked it up. I just read the previous book in this series, “Foundation” and wanted to see how Ackroyd would tackle the tricky Tudors.
Ackroyd, unfortunately, does not start with the patriarch of the Tudor dynasty, Henry VII, instead, he starts with his infamous second son, Henry VIII, and his coronation. Ackroyd did include a bit of information about Henry VII’s reign in his previous volume, but I think it would have made much more sense to have included his story in this book to show the dynasty from beginning to end. When it comes to the reign of Henry VIII, his martial affairs take a backseat to the more religious and political aspects of his reign. The theme of religious changes goes throughout this book as Ackroyd explores the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, the children of Henry VIII.
While I did find some of the facts in this book informative, I did have issues with this book. When it comes to the characterization of the women in this book, especially Mary I, it felt like a repetition of some of the old tropes (like Bloody Mary). There were also stories and dialogue that Ackroyd had included that felt similar to historical fiction rather than historical facts, which was a bit distracting, especially for a chronicle.
Overall, I felt like this book was just okay, but quite a bit of the information presented in this book could be disproven with the latest research about the Tudors (of course this book is over 10 years old). I think this is a fine introductory book to the Tudor dynasty and the religious changes that happened during the 16th century in England. If this sounds intriguing to you or if you have read “Foundation,” “The History of England Vol. II: Tudors” by Peter Ackroyd might be something you would be interested in reading.
I saw this book at a used bookstore and picked it up. I just read the previous book in this series, “Foundation” and wanted to see how Ackroyd would tackle the tricky Tudors.
Ackroyd, unfortunately, does not start with the patriarch of the Tudor dynasty, Henry VII, instead, he starts with his infamous second son, Henry VIII, and his coronation. Ackroyd did include a bit of information about Henry VII’s reign in his previous volume, but I think it would have made much more sense to have included his story in this book to show the dynasty from beginning to end. When it comes to the reign of Henry VIII, his martial affairs take a backseat to the more religious and political aspects of his reign. The theme of religious changes goes throughout this book as Ackroyd explores the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, the children of Henry VIII.
While I did find some of the facts in this book informative, I did have issues with this book. When it comes to the characterization of the women in this book, especially Mary I, it felt like a repetition of some of the old tropes (like Bloody Mary). There were also stories and dialogue that Ackroyd had included that felt similar to historical fiction rather than historical facts, which was a bit distracting, especially for a chronicle.
Overall, I felt like this book was just okay, but quite a bit of the information presented in this book could be disproven with the latest research about the Tudors (of course this book is over 10 years old). I think this is a fine introductory book to the Tudor dynasty and the religious changes that happened during the 16th century in England. If this sounds intriguing to you or if you have read “Foundation,” “The History of England Vol. II: Tudors” by Peter Ackroyd might be something you would be interested in reading.