NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - For the first time in decades comes a
fresh look at the fabled Tudor dynasty, comprising some of the most
enigmatic figures ever to rule a country.
"A thoroughly readable and often compelling narrative . . . Five
centuries have not diminished the appetite for all things
Tudor."--Associated Press
In 1485, young Henry Tudor, whose claim to the throne was so weak as to
be almost laughable, crossed the English Channel from France at the head
of a ragtag little army and took the crown from the family that had
ruled England for almost four hundred years. Half a century later his
son, Henry VIII, desperate to rid himself of his first wife in order to
marry a second, launched a reign of terror aimed at taking powers no
previous monarch had even dreamed of possessing. In the process he
plunged his kingdom into generations of division and disorder, creating
a legacy of blood and betrayal that would blight the lives of his
children and the destiny of his country.
The boy king Edward VI, a fervent believer in reforming the English
church, died before bringing to fruition his dream of a second English
Reformation. Mary I, the disgraced daughter of Catherine of Aragon,
tried and failed to reestablish the Catholic Church and produce an heir.
And finally came Elizabeth I, who devoted her life to creating an image
of herself as Gloriana the Virgin Queen but, behind that mask,
sacrificed all chance of personal happiness in order to survive.
The Tudors weaves together all the sinners and saints, the tragedies
and triumphs, the high dreams and dark crimes, that reveal the Tudor era
to be, in its enthralling, notorious truth, as momentous and as
fascinating as the fictions audiences have come to love.
Praise for The Tudors
"A rich and vibrant tapestry."--The Star-Ledger
"A thoroughly readable and often compelling narrative . . . Five
centuries have not diminished the appetite for all things
Tudor."--Associated Press
"Energetic and comprehensive . . . [a] sweeping history of the
gloriously infamous Tudor era . . . Unlike the somewhat ponderous
British biographies of the Henrys, Elizabeths, and Boleyns that seem to
pop up perennially, The Tudors displays flashy, fresh irreverence
[and cuts] to the quick of the action."--Kirkus Reviews
"[A] cheeky, nuanced, and authoritative perspective . . . brims with
enriching background discussions."--Publishers Weekly
"[A] lively new history."--Bloomberg
