Review
'Carolly Erickson is one of the most accomplished and successful historical biographers writing in English.' Times Literary Supplement
What joy! An entertaining and well-researched biography of Henry VIII that does not follow in the footsteps of more recent publications by trying to apply 21st century analysis to his character. Nor does it try to analyse his relationships with his wives. It simply tells the story of Henry from birth to death. The story starts and ends with the subject, as all good biographies should. First published in 1980, Robson Books published this title in 1998 in hardback and will have done Carolly Erickson no disfavour by re-issuing this title in paperback. The extravagance of the court and life at the time of Henry is not underplayed and Erickson is quick with an anecdote when necessary. This is a well-balanced portrait; Henry isn't condemned or excused for what he did. But neither is he forgiven all. By putting his actions in context with the times, Erickson explains the reasons behind his decisions. A different and welcome portrait of a king often thought of as nothing more than an obese wife-killer. Highly recommended. (Kirkus UK)
Product Description
Based on the voluminous records of the period, the story of Henry"s life unfolds as he lived it. Against a lively backdrop of the Tudor world, with all its splendours and squalors, Erickson writes of the men and women who surrounded Henry.'