The Courier's Tale
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Review
'A splendind debut' -- FT, AN Wilson
'Thoughtful...witty...and well worth the read.'
-- Daily Mail
A fascinating novel -- The Tablet
'If you loved Wolf Hall, you will delight in The Courier's Tale; this is a marvelous story, told with style, wit and wisdom: a most compelling novel.' --Carmen Callil
'Thoughtful...witty...and well worth the read.'
-- Daily Mail
A fascinating novel -- The Tablet
'If you loved Wolf Hall, you will delight in The Courier's Tale; this is a marvelous story, told with style, wit and wisdom: a most compelling novel.' --Carmen Callil
Review
'A thoughtful, often witty book and well worth the read' Kathy Stevenson, Daily Mail 'A splendid debut about Michael Throckmorton's endless journeys across Europe on behalf of his master, the future Cardinal Pole. Again, the object of the quest is to find reasons to doubt the legitimacy of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon' AN Wilson, Financial Times 'If you loved Wolf Hall, you will delight in The Courier's Tale' Carmen Callil
--This text refers to an alternate
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are lots of novels about the Tudors coming out all the time, and each one tries to differentiate itself by having its own special angle. Usually it's by turning a traditional bad guy into a good guy (as in Wolf Hall) or vice versa. In this case, the angle is to put the spotlight on Reginald Pole and his "courier" (the narrator of the story). Most of it is set in Italy and that's a point in its favour since sixteenth-century Italian settings can't really go wrong. But it is very dull. The pretentious philosophising by Pole and assorted Italian intellectuals only adds to the pain. I don't know how, or why, I finished it - something to do with travelling at the time and not having anything else handy for airports and trains.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In most histories of England, or English histories of kings and rulers of the Tudor times, characters such as Reginald Pole exist on the periphery. Born in 1500, he was related to King Henry VIII, being a grand-nephew of both Edward IV and Richard III. His mother, the 8th Countess of Salisbury, was the daughter of George of Clarence (brother to Edward IV and Richard III), and was, from all accounts, a valued and loyal lady in waiting to Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine of Aragon. But for all her title and heritage, the family was not a happy one. Henry VIII did not care for those who opposed him, and Margaret Pole and her family did not wholeheartedly support Henry. Reginald Pole was a figure who Henry would have dearly liked to have on his side in the annulment of his marriage to Katherine, but Pole would not oblige. While at first he appeared to support Henry's authority, he soon came down firmly on the side of the Roman Catholic church, and spent the rest of his life avoiding Henry's ire, largely from exile in Italy and other European cities. Pole was a learned man who had a wide range of equally learned men and women in his circle, and his opinion counted in Renaissance Europe - he attended not only Henry VIII, but Emperor Charles V and the Papal Court. Even after the death of Henry in 1547, Pole was still not safe to return to England; nor indeed was he always safe in Europe, as assassins and rumours still dogged him wherever he went. After Mary Tudor became Queen in 1553 and returned England to the Roman Church, Pole, by then a Cardinal, returned to England as the Papal Legate and became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1556. From then until his death in November 1558, twelve hours after Queen Mary's death, Pole was a highly regarded member of Mary's Council.
This book returns Pole to the centre of action - necessarily, the action moves from England to Europe in general; to Rome and areas of Italy specifically - the courier in the title, Michael Throckmorton writes of life as a member of Pole's inner circle, and how, even outside of England, the affairs of England and the Tudors affected them all. This is a unique view of Tudor history from an angle we rarely get to see, and while it is a novel, it is written sensitively and empathetically. Throckmorton alternates between a man who yearns to return to England and his sweetheart, and a man who strives to protect Pole as a man of integrity and honour, and who can see so much more realistically than the dreamy and introverted Pole, living a life of high education and deep contemplation, but never being left alone by the forces, political and religious, outside him which drive him on to his duty and honour. I cannot recommend this book highly enough; it is utterly brilliant - thought-provoking, honest and touching.
I apologise for the length of this review, but I feel this book is important enough to justify against some negative reviews I see that have been posted, unfortunately, perhaps by those who do not fully appreciate the times or the people that this book seeks to represent. I also do not agree that it has to be compared to "Wolf Hall" as either one being enjoyable or the other - I have read Wolf Hall, and loved it, and will be reading it again as soon as the sequel comes out, with great anticipation.
This book returns Pole to the centre of action - necessarily, the action moves from England to Europe in general; to Rome and areas of Italy specifically - the courier in the title, Michael Throckmorton writes of life as a member of Pole's inner circle, and how, even outside of England, the affairs of England and the Tudors affected them all. This is a unique view of Tudor history from an angle we rarely get to see, and while it is a novel, it is written sensitively and empathetically. Throckmorton alternates between a man who yearns to return to England and his sweetheart, and a man who strives to protect Pole as a man of integrity and honour, and who can see so much more realistically than the dreamy and introverted Pole, living a life of high education and deep contemplation, but never being left alone by the forces, political and religious, outside him which drive him on to his duty and honour. I cannot recommend this book highly enough; it is utterly brilliant - thought-provoking, honest and touching.
I apologise for the length of this review, but I feel this book is important enough to justify against some negative reviews I see that have been posted, unfortunately, perhaps by those who do not fully appreciate the times or the people that this book seeks to represent. I also do not agree that it has to be compared to "Wolf Hall" as either one being enjoyable or the other - I have read Wolf Hall, and loved it, and will be reading it again as soon as the sequel comes out, with great anticipation.
Format:Paperback
I started this book yesterday as the first of a 2012 challenge - to read 52 books between now and the end of the year ! I'm already half way through and loving it ! Tudor history from a different angle. I think it's well written, and clearly the author has done his research, as already said in another review by his friend ! It makes a great change to the (often) bodice-ripping Tudor yarns that we usually see !!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Couriers Tale
I enjoyed this book which helped to fill on some blanks in the history of this time, It is not fast moving but still very readable,
Published 11 months ago by Renee
Boring and unconvincing - Wolf Hall is the book to read
What a disappointment. Treachery, intrigue, passion? A damp squib of a book which hides behind a clunking narrative style and attempts to bamboozle the reader by name dropping... Read more
Published 19 months ago by BJ DAD
Far better than "Wolf Hall"
If you enjoyed "Wolf Hall", read "The Courier's Tale" for another, much better, account of the same historical period. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Ruffinit
Simply Brilliant
The Courier's Tale invites immediate comparison with Hilary Mantel's very successful novel Wolf Hall. In many respects Peter Walker's book is superior to Mantel's. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Corwin
Enthralling
This novel is brilliant.It's a beautifully written, historically accurate narrative that works on a number of different levels. Read more
Published 21 months ago by WHall
Delightful and fascinating
Let me come clean: the writer of this book is a friend of mine. I am convinced, however, that I would have loved it whatever name was on the cover. Read more
Published 21 months ago by BCathcart
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