“Fascinating . . . Alison Weir does full justice to the subject.”—The Philadelphia InquirerAt his death in 1547, King Henry VIII left four heirs to the English throne: his only son, the nine-year-old Prince Edward; the Lady Mary, the adult daughter of his first wife Katherine of Aragon; the Lady Elizabeth, the teenage daughter of his second wife Anne Boleyn; and his young great-niece, the Lady … great-niece, the Lady Jane Grey. In this riveting account Alison Weir paints a unique portrait of these extraordinary rulers, examining their intricate relationships to each other and to history. She traces the tumult that followed Henry’s death, from the brief intrigue-filled reigns of the boy king Edward VI and the fragile Lady Jane Grey, to the savagery of “Bloody Mary,” and finally the accession of the politically adroit Elizabeth I.
As always, Weir offers a fresh perspective on a period that has spawned many of the most enduring myths in English history, combining the best of the historian’s and the biographer’s art.
“Like anthropology, history and biography can demonstrate unfamiliar ways of feeling and being. Alison Weir’s sympathetic collective biography, The Children of Henry VIII does just that, reminding us that human nature has changed–and for the better. . . . Weir imparts movement and coherence while re-creating the suspense her characters endured and the suffering they inflicted.”—The New York Times Book Review
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Love anything by Alison Weir.
Well researched and well written.
Anything I read about the Tudor is fascinating to me
Anything written by Alison Weir is sure to be top-notch
Very good,Allison Weir does a fantastic job.
AA+
As an Anglophile (or is it “Anglofile”???!), I loved it. I recommend it to anyone interested in the Tudor period.
Henry the 8th did his daughters no favors keeping them in suspense about being in or out of the succession. The book deals with his son’s reign as a child who died at 15 and the lives of Elizabeth, a Protestant and Mary, a devout Catholic. Their cousin Lady Jane Gray, the nine day queen, was eventually beheaded for her father’s ambition to place …
History of Tudor times, with a highly complex cast of characters comes vividly to life. Most Americans think of Elizabeth I directly following Henry VII. There were Edward, Lady Jane Gray and Mary in between. Fascinating historic insights, and a view of the early Protestant Church that is accurate but does not align with common beliefs about that …
Read most of it but got bored toward the middle. Was good history but the phrasing was hard to follow
I am a sort of a student of Elizabethan England and found this fascinating.
I thought this book was a great read. I learned a lot about the children of Henry VIII.
A bit dry, but gives a realistic picture of the characters involved.
I have read some wonderful,well researched books on Henry the Eight and on his wives but I’ve never read a book on his children. I loved learning more about their lives.
I was disappointed that the author didn’t do more on Elizabeth. I realize there are other books on Elizabeth but more of her story needed to be included with her siblings. …
A tad boring, but how exciting is the 16th C.? Generally it’s okay, but it’s no masterpiece like Crime and Punishment. Just bore snore actual history.
I always enjoy historical novels.
Very informative on English history. Enjoying.
Excellently researched book. Very accurate. It has Anne of Cleves Henry’s divorced fourth wife in her proper place as a family loved friend riding third behind Mary in her procession.
Some one’s boring dissertation. Dry. Historic . No life in characters.
It was boring. I like history, but this was boring.