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Winter King: Henry VII And The Dawn Of Tudor England (2012)

by Thomas Penn(Favorite Author)

3.82 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1439191565 (ISBN13: 9781439191569)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Simon & Schuster

review 1: A full history of the reign of Henry V11. It was interesting to read this and note how his interactions (or lack thereof) with his son, the future Henry VIII, shaped Henry R's pursuits of love that we learn about from a young age. I was surprised by Henry VII's miserliness, the obsession with power and bleeding finances from his subjects, but also by his great love for his wife. He mourned the loss every year on the anniversary of her death, which presented him as more human than his daily schemes for coin would have let on. My favorite part of the book was his death, when his reign of financial terror ended, and his son summarily wiped the slate clean with his ideas of "chivalry."
review 2: I know very little about Henry VII, apart from his triumph over Richar... mored III and his charismatic son Henry VIII. This book was an eye opener. In modern terms one can describe Henry as a ruthless gangster, a powerful racketeer and extortionist, obsessed with money and his account books. His minions were middle class lawyers and his victims the City of London and the aristocracy. How did his reign turn out like this? His claim to the throne was very, very dubious and there were powerful barons with stronger claims. At Bosworth two powerful families, the Stanleys and Northumberland held back until the battle was almost over before committing themselves. His Marriage to Elizabeth of York kept the Yorkist faction quiet, and to all appearances this political marriage turned out to be a happy and loving one. His domestic security came to an end with the death of his eldest son Arthur, followed by the death of Elizabeth a year later.Suddenly the country was on edge - would vested interests try to unseat Henry VII? Should the tubercular King die who would seize power with the youthful prince whose only interest seemed to be jousting? This introverted obsessive king managed to keep very tight control on his subjects by resurrecting arcane laws which allowed him to run protection rackets which kept his most powerful subjects in debt, if not in the Tower. There is a full list of primary and secondary sources. less

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