Tudor: A Family History opens with the Wars of the Roses and ends the with the death of Elizabeth I and with that the end of the Tudor dynasty and the passing of the throne to the Stuart King James I. The history in this book begins much earlier than most books about the origins of the dynasty. Tudor: A Family History gives us a birdseye view of the dynasty encompassing everyone, it addresses many lesser known but just as important family members. Instead of individual character accounts, the author weaves in and out of each characters life allowing us to see how the people and events link together.
The writing is fact-driven but it reads like fiction. It reads as a narrative and is written in a style which makes it easy for those not too familiar with the history. It is engaging and accessible without sacrificing itself as a factual, historical text. It contains an awful lot of information but is never overwhelming.
This book rehabilitates figures like Margaret Beaufort and other women who have been attacked because of their religious beliefs. we get an insight into the Tudors not just as royals but as a family, as real people. We seetheir relationships with each other and how those relationships changed and evolved. It’s not just all the Tudor stuff.
This is a great book.it is a book for anyone – from someone who knows their history to someone who wants to start learning. I would thoroughly recommend it.
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