Tudor

Starred review from July 22, 2013
This fresh take on the Tudor dynasty is history at its best. Covering everything from the Tudors’ obscure beginnings, when a Welsh squire named Owen Tudor literally fell into the lap of Henry V’s widow, Catherine of Valois, and later married her, to the death of the couple’s great-great-granddaughter, Elizabeth I, British historian de Lisle (The Sisters Who Would Be Queen) has written an engaging and well-sourced account, sprinkled with provocative anecdotes that will appeal to both scholars and general readers interested in exploring how the constantly shifting Tudor family dynamics played out in the political, religious, and historical realms. De Lisle emphasizes the impact of the mysterious 1483 disappearance of two young princes in the Tower of London and the Tudors’ subsequent obsession with securing the line of royal succession; she also notes the key roles played by often-overlooked female members of the extended family in the events that culminated in the accession of the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII, in 1485. This compelling tale is driven by three-dimensional people and relationships, and de Lisle does a fantastic job of making them feel lived and dramatic. Map, family trees, and illus. Agent: Georgina Capel, Capel & Land (U.K.).

January 1, 2014
The most dysfunctional family in English history gets its due. After two books focusing on major chapters from the history of the Tudors (The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Tragedy, 2009, etc.), de Lisle aims to tell the story from the beginning in this comprehensive but often complicated volume. Beginning with the 1437 marriage of Henry V's widow, Catherine, to a lowly chamber servant named Owen Tudor, it becomes the story of a family dominated by both the lust for power and a battle for the soul of England. The players range from the manipulative Margaret Beaufort to her cruel (and guilt-wracked) son Henry VII to his ruthless (and guilt-free) son Henry VIII, whose yearning for a male successor involved six wives and sparked an endless rift between Catholics and Protestants. It's a fascinating, violent, morally complex story not only about the way power corrupts, but how it makes rulers both vulnerable and paranoid. It's also an extremely eventful slice of history, and de Lisle occasionally gets winded trying to wrestle the narrative, and its ever-expanding cast of characters, into a manageable shape. Major characters arrive and suddenly die with barely a send-off as we rush to the next battle or coronation; facts pile up without always getting properly processed. De Lisle doesn't stint on the drama, however, whether it's Mary, Queen of Scots getting hacked to pieces or Elizabeth I eloquently bracing her troops for war with Spain. She also capably separates fact from myth, pursues still-unsolved royal mysteries, and provides perspective about the kind of pre-Enlightenment mindset in which you could be boiled, burned, beheaded or hanged for believing in transubstantiation. Hard to follow at times but also a reliable and amply researched guide for Tudor enthusiasts.

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September 15, 2013

UK historian de Lisle (The Sisters Who Would Be Queen) takes an expansive view of her topic, covering the Tudors from the supposed marriage of Henry V's widow, the dowager queen Catherine of Valois, to modest squire Owen Tudor (grandparents to Henry VII) to the last days of Elizabeth I.

The book's subtitle is particularly apt as de Lisle makes significant efforts to touch on all members of the Tudor family and gives substantial attention to oft-overlooked figures such as Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII's sister, and her daughter, Margaret Douglas. While not eschewing the importance of the era's religious conflicts, de Lisle gives the matter less foregrounding than Ackroyd, balancing it with issues such as the Tudor struggle to establish royal legitimacy. As a result of the title's scope, however, the treatment of several subjects is somewhat abbreviated, particularly in the last third of the book. VERDICT Lighter in style and rather more accessible than Ackroyd's volume, this makes an excellent choice for readers seeking a broader look at the Tudor story, especially those interested in the dynasty's founding and early days.--Kathleen McCallister, Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2013
From the peccadilloes of Henry VIII, to the judicial murders of Anne Boleyn and Thomas More, to the Golden Age of Elizabeth, the Tudor epoch in English history lends itself to the soap-opera treatment as well as serious historical study. This enjoyable, well-written account is a bit of both. De Lisle, who has written extensively on Tudor history, begins the saga with the Welsh commoner, Owen Tudor, who lucked into a marriage with the widow of Henry V, thus providing Tudor descendants with noble lineage. Bouncing between hard historical facts and sometimes-debatable speculations, De Lisle examines the key events and characters that make the Tudor story interesting. She offers a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of Margaret Beaufort, the mother of the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII. She describes an unfairly maligned Bloody Mary and an Elizabeth not quite deserving of Gloriana. This is a very well-done popular history ideal for general readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)