Winter King
The Dawn of Tudor England
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3.8 • 12 Ratings
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- £8.99
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- £8.99
Publisher Description
Winner of THE HW FISHER BEST FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE
SPECTATOR, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, TLS, FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN, DAILY MAIL and SUNDAY TELEGRAPH BOOKS OF THE YEAR
'Imagine Wolf Hall rewritten by John le Carré ... gripping ... a rare achievement' Tom Holland, Guardian
It is 1501. Henry VII has won the throne of England through luck, guile and ruthlessness. But for many he remains a usurper. Now, his elder son is to marry, in a wedding upon which the fate of the country, and the entire Tudor dynasty, will hang ...
'A masterpiece. Rich, resonant and utterly compelling' Helen Castor, Sunday Telegraph, Books of the Year
'Gripping ... brilliant ... The enigmatic Henry is brought thrillingly to life as one of the most unlikely but tenacious kings ever to wear the English crown' Dan Jones, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year
'Thrilling and sinister' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year
'Enthralling ... Penn captures the weirdness, the ferocity, and a glint of unexpected tenderness' The Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Transforming himself from an exile with a dubious claim to England's throne into the founder of the Tudor dynasty, Henry VII's (1457 1509) micromanagement and questionable tax collection practices enabled the later success of his descendents Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Penn (editorial director of Verso Books in London and with a doctorate in medieval history) rescues the founding Tudor from the shadows with insight into his politically expedient yet loving marriage to Elizabeth of York, a Plantagenet heir, and chronicles Henry's careful conclusion of the exhausting multigenerational Wars of the Roses. With occasional digressions, Penn still entertains casual readers with a brisk, almost conversational tone bolstered by ample context, especially when recounting the convoluted and politically fraught family history. Tudor scholars will appreciate Pen's well-documented attention to the elder king's steadfast devotion to stability, to the character formation of the young heir, Prince Henry, and Penn's revealing analysis of why in the last years of his reign, Henry earned respect but not love from his people. , Illus., maps.
