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Henry: Virtuous Prince
 
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Henry: Virtuous Prince (Hardcover)

by David Starkey (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
RRP: £25.00
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 413 pages
  • Publisher: HarperPress; First Edition edition (1 Oct 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007247710
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007247714
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 4.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 32,107 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #4 in  Books > History > Britain & Ireland > British Heads of State > Henry V
    #4 in  Books > History > Britain & Ireland > British Heads of State > Henry I
    #7 in  Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Historians > Starkey, David

Product Description

Review

'Starkey is a wonderfully lucid writer.' --Independent


Review

'Starkey has the mind of an historian but the eye of a court painter.'

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
26 of 35 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 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.
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47 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive and superb, 21 Oct 2008
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.
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32 of 46 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)      
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!!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Very readable biography of the early Henry VIII
Scholarly historical biography can get fairly dry, but this book is very readable. Despite the lack of detailed source materials, there is sufficient information to keep the... Read more
Published 18 days ago by Cary

3.0 out of 5 stars A good balance between the seventh and the eighth
This is an informative and intriguing book written in a typical David Starkey style. Amusing at times, the information in this book is very accessible for the amateur historian... Read more
Published 25 days ago by J. Cooper

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 4 months 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 4 months 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 6 months 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 6 months ago by Pauline Annis

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 7 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 7 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 8 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 9 months ago by Lyndsey Knight-O'Brien

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