Henry: Virtuous Prince (Paperback)

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• Henry VIII: Man and Monarch by David Starkey

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• The Reign of Henry VIII: Personalities and Politics by David Starkey

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Review
'Writing with a mixture of tabloid verve and original scholarship, peppering every page with pungent wit and yet never skimping on the detail!the best political history of the reign of Henry VII so far!Starkey shows more vividly than any previous historian!eye-catching detail!for its extraordinary insights into the smouldering embers of the Wars of the Roses, "Henry: Virtuous Prince" is masterly. As a biography of England's most celebrated king, it's an outstanding overture.' John Guy, Sunday Times (Editor's Choice) 'If you like Henry VIII, this is what you'll like.' Tim Martin, Daily Telegraph (Books of the Year) 'Starkey gives us an unexpectedly fresh-faced Henry VIII in his breezy biography.' Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph (Books of the Year) 'It is brilliant, beady-eyed history, and every page of it has an intimate fascination!Starkey has eschewed the easy wisdom of hindsight!his strength is that he questions everything!he seeks fresh evidence...his writing is uncluttered and conversational, and he cuts through the back-story!with grace, clarity and wit!accessible and entertaining.' Guardian 'This book!demonstrates his scholarship, supremely confident grasp of the period and authorial panache!fascinating.' Daily Mail 'It has an immense amount to offer the general reader...there are several little gems of brand new information!David Starkey has produced the most careful as well as the most colourful study of the young Henry for a long time, and perhaps of all time.' Independent on Sunday 'What Starkey has produced, considering his own unrivalled command of the subject, and its vast literature, is a miracle of condensation.' Sunday Telegraph 'The book is full of delicious detail.' Evening Standard 'Starkey is a wonderfully lucid writer.' Independent 'Starkey's picture of court life and the government machine is full and always interesting!the fascination of this learned but often light and coloquial biography rests in the hints it offers of the monster Henry would become.' Daily Telegraph 'Starkey writes throughout with the assurance of someone who knows the king better than anyone else!there are many parts of the book I relished!compelling.' Observer 'David Starkey's biography!does full justice to one of the most magnificent monarchs of them all. A marvellous book, filled with interesting detail, it succeeds both in informing the student and entertaining the more recreational reader!Starkey stands head and shoulders above historians. His prose is scholarly and his stories fascinating!This truly riveting book, masterfully written by Starkey is a must, not only for would-be historians but all who enjoy reading a great story.' Sunday Express 'Full of delicious details!and very good indeed on the reign of Henry VII.' Scotsman 'A breezy, riveting read!while loaded with enough anecdotes to make it a gripping read, this is also a masterful academic work.' Time Out 'This book...is brilliant...eminently readable...here are all the presentational skills familiar from seeing David Starkey on television: fluency, acuity, an eye for the memorable detail or the apt analogy...the book is quite simply unique...nothing as complete and authoritative has been seen before...powerful and persuasive.' BBC History magazine Praise for 'Monarchy': 'Starkey has the mind of an historian but the eye of a court painter.' Peter Ackroyd, The Times 'Starkey tours England's monarchical horizon with gusto.' Simon Jenkins, Sunday Times 'Vivid, lucid and engaging!a very enjoyable book.' Allan Massie, Daily Telegraph 'Starkey is a master of his trade!The best short history of England written since J. R. Green in the 1870s!the artistry of the writing conceals the efforts that have been made to ensure that this is both highly entertaining and remarkably accurate!an enterprise of surpassing excellence.' TLS 'Starkey is as eloquent and lucid as ever.' The Times 'Assessed with authority, wisdom and wit!This is Starkey at his fluent and entertaining best.' Sunday Telegraph 'Starkey, always an engaging writer, has a gift for bringing ideas as well as individuals to life.' Sunday Times 'Starkey is an energetic and authoritative guide.' Daily Express 'Combines compelling narrative and lucid analysis to guide us with a sure hand through two centuries of domestic turmoil unparalleled in any other period of English history.' Spectator 'Written with Starkey's customary authority and style, this is a radical reappraisal of British nationhood.' Belfast Telegraph 'Starkey's love for history is infectious!This book is proof that history can be fascinating.' Evening Echo 'More than just a biography of kings and queens but a reappraisal of British nationhood.' Ulster Tatler 'A breezy, riveting read -- while loaded with enough anecdotes to make it a gripping read, this is also a masterful academic work.' Time Out

Review
'Starkey has the mind of an historian but the eye of a court painter.' --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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16 Reviews 5 star:  (5) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (4) 1 star:  (3)           Average Customer Review 3.2 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   18 of 20 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars A real disappointment, 13 April 2009 By  Heather Gregory (Canberra Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Henry: Virtuous Prince (Hardcover) This book is a real disappointment. Although it has apparently been highly praised by professional reviewers, it seems to me a carelessly written and patchy book which displays little historical judgement in relation to certain aspects of the story. First, Starkey is not as helpful to the reader as a biographer should be. To keep track of the main characters and how old they are, it is necessary to do the slog yourself, going backwards and forwards in the text to check. This carelessness is at its worst in the treatment of Catherine of Aragon, whose age is never mentioned at any stage. Starkey does not even note how much older she was than Henry, though this seems to me interesting. Nor does he note how well educated she was, though again this is probably important for understanding how well she got on with Henry in the early stages of their relationship. Starkey's treatment of the setting is patchy too. He tells us about Elizabeth of York, Henry's mother, in quite a lot of detail but the book never tells us that her uncle, Richard III, had Elizabeth and her brothers and sisters declared illegitimate except in a picture caption. Nor is it even acknowledged that the `princes in the tower' may have been still alive when Henry VII succeeded to the throne. I do understand that Starkey probably didn't want to get caught up in this controversy, but the reader needs some background to understand the `Perkin Warbeck' episode a little later. Did Henry VII know that the real Richard Duke of York (one of the princes in the tower) was dead, so Perkin had to be a fraud? Or was he afraid that this Yorkist pretender was the real thing? Starkey never even acknowledges that this is an interesting question, even though the episode is given extensive coverage. On the positive side, Starkey's persuasive argument that Henry behaved consciously as a `Yorkist' in the early years of his reign and was greatly influenced by his mother is the best thing about the book. Perhaps the worst thing about it is the way it just stops - no conclusion, summing up, nothing. Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   46 of 65 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive and superb, 21 Oct 2008 By  Dr D - See all my reviews This review is from: Henry: Virtuous Prince (Hardcover) It seems as though there is a never-ending flow of books around the Tudor dynasty, including both the fiction of Phillipa Gregory and Alison Weir to the fiction of David Starkey and others. This book, the first of two (the latter edition will cover the later and more well know part of his life) is superb. Historical biographies can sometimes be "heavy" reading. Starkey's passion for his subject is obvious and his often anecdotal style of writing makes this an immensely pleasurable read. If Henry VIII life is of interest to you, there is no better book out there. Simply excellent. Comment Comments (4) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   27 of 38 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Young Henry - a perfect read, 10 Nov 2008 By  Klaus van Amelrode "kmcva" - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)       This review is from: Henry: Virtuous Prince (Hardcover) David Starkey is said to be Britain's highest-paid historian and this book is prove why that is. It is a mere pleasure to read, entertaining, but never shallow and giving you a real inside into the young Henry - the boy prince, the heir and the young king. I especially liked that Starkey never looses the focus on Henry. Very often historians present the developments of the time in art, education, religion, politics in length but one have to make the connection to the person oneself. But not here. Starkey shows what this meant for Henry, what effects it had on him and his personality. The chapters are very short and very easy to read. All in all, this a book filling a real gap in the literature on Henry VIII. 100% recommended!!! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 16 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but mainly irritating I usually do enjoy Starkey's work, but the style and presentation here seems to be "history as written by tabloid journalist". Read more Published 3 days ago by I. F. Coyle 5.0 out of 5 stars Another fine study of the Tudor dynasty Dr David Starkey, one of the finest of Cambridge historians at this time, and the most striking TV academic since the late AJP Taylor, has written another lively and judicious... Read more Published 6 days ago by E. M. Culbertson 5.0 out of 5 stars A Smash ! "Henry: Virtous Prince" is a biography, which plunges you into the world of the young Henry VIII. One emerges fresh, with new knowledge of the "Virtuous Prince". Read more Published 1 month ago by C. McNamee 4.0 out of 5 stars David Starkey is better in print than on TV I would strongly recommend this book. It has been extensively researched and there is much new material in it. Read more Published 2 months ago by Pauline Annis 1.0 out of 5 stars A feeble attempt! Dear oh dear. Mr Starkey really has made a feeble attempt with this book. One would say he is too wrapped up in the glamour of being English to fully understand Henry at all... Read more Published 2 months ago by Robert Burns 4.0 out of 5 stars Starkey - starry-eyed! Very good and readable account of the great monster's life, marking 500 years since his accession in 1509. Starkey is particularly strong on the early years. Read more Published 3 months ago by Anonymous 1.0 out of 5 stars Is David Starkey the reincarnation of Henry VIII? See today's (30.3.2009)Telegraph. Poor King Henry ... my personal guess is that he is rotating in his grave! Published 3 months ago by M. Rischard 2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing I am an avid fan of David Starkey, and had very much looked forward to the publication of this book. Sadly, I was disappointed. Read more Published 3 months ago by M. G. Wharry 4.0 out of 5 stars Henry and Starkey I love reading about the Tudor period like anyone else who is fascinated in the subject. You can clearly tell that David Starkey has more than a love for this particular family... Read more Published 5 months ago by Lyndsey Knight-O'Brien 1.0 out of 5 stars Dull,dull,dull Henry: Virtuous Prince I ordered this with eager anticipation.Really rated Starkey's work.What happened?? Read more Published 6 months ago by pinkzorro Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 16 customer reviews...

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