This is the most comprehensive work on the First Tudor King and the main Pretenders who haunted the first 16 years of his reign for some time. It is well researched, professionally written in a narrative which is authoritative, engaging and balanced. Nathen has given new life to this area of study and brought together all of the many threads of evidence available, answering a number of questions which have challenged historians for decades on the identity of Perkin Warbeck and Lambert Simnel.
On 22nd August 1485, 28years old Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond faced the English King, Richard iii across a Battlefield in Leicestershire, close to the town of Bosworth, pressing home his claim to the English throne. Outnumbered, not a seasoned commander like Richard, it was the King who was expected to prevail. However, it was Henry who was victorious and the death of Richard iii saw him crowned as Henry Vii two months later. Despite making every effort to bring unity to a war torn and divided nation through marriage with the York heiress, the beautiful Elizabeth, daughter of King Edward iv, Henry's reign was anything but peaceful. Elizabeth's two brothers had been declared illegitimate and housed in the Tower of London under Richard, suspected of their murder and now it was rumours that these boys were still alive which gave rise to a series of young men who claimed to be those same boys. One from a boy named Lambert Simnel and another from one Perkin Warbeck plagued Henry and his family for 16 years. Many believed the former to be either Edward, Earl of Warwick, in custody of the new regime or the missing Edward V, while the latter posed as his brother Richard, Duke of York for nine dangerous years. It is the fate and history of these two Pretenders which are the subject of this wonderful book.
Who where these two young Pretenders? Was Lambert Simnel the innocent boy of ten or twelve that Henry Vii claimed him to be? Who was behind his rise and why? Why did some claim that he was young Warwick, a child with a better claim than that of Henry himself while others insisted he was the lost son of King Edward iv? What do the sources have to say and why was Henry bothered about a boy he said was just an pawn taken from obscurity? What happened to the boy? Nathen has masterfully assessed all of the available material and argued that this boy, trained by a priest, backed by members of his Court still loyal to the late Richard iii and household of the Duke of Clarence, crowned in Ireland and later left on the Battlefield of Stoke in the Midlands in 1487 was just as Henry had always suspected, an innocent pawn. He reveals a web of conspiracy and international espionage, backed by Margaret of Burgundy, the fiery sister of Richard iii, who would stop at nothing to undermine the fledgling Tudor regime. Anxious to avoid the errors of his predecessors, Henry used a network of spies and good advisers, his own shrewd judgement and patience before pouncing on the conspirators, who were swiftly dealt with. In addition to this, Henry had the real Earl of Warwick in custody in the Tower of London and had shown the boy in public in order to dispel rumours of his kidnap or sudden demise.
Henry's actions gained him time to consolidate his forces and to expose the weakness in his enemies endeavours. Nathan also argued that these set of localised and separate plots were flawed and that despite proclamations and demands from this so called King Edward, the citizens of York remained loyal and refused to allow his army into the city.
Nathen's assessment of Henry as a man reveals a capable ruler, a man who was shrewd and wise and likable, but firm and ruthless when he needed to be, a family man who was a devoted father and husband and whose leadership allowed him to chose those he trusted with great care. He was able to form strategic international relationships and he was not afraid to use military tactics in order to warn the Royal Houses of Europe that he meant business and was here to stay. These qualities served him well during the 1490s when the most serious and enduring threat to his crown appeared in Ireland. This stranger set tongues wagging when he claimed to be Richard, the younger of those two lost Princes. He travelled from Court to Court, gaining support and aid and attempted at least three failed landings and an invasion from Scotland.
Henry had to go to extraordinary lengths both to expose his real identity and to stop the possibility of his enemies on the Continent banding together and allowing a consolidated invasion of England with Richard at its head. In order to expose this man, known to history as Perkin Warbeck, Henry invaded France, forced him to find refuge elsewhere, backed old enemies like the Earl of Surrey, brought loyalty in Ireland and the North, may even have attempted to assassinate Warbeck, raised taxes in Cornwall, put down rebellions, executed members of his own inner circle including the man who had put him on the throne, Sir William Stanley and sent out spies and Ambassadors all over Europe to uncover the truth. Nathen argued that the inconsistencies in the stories Warbeck himself told in his letters to Isabella of Spain, in his own confessions, in the evidence from Portugal and so on, all confirmed Henry's earlier suspicion from a very early stage. He also reveals the mastermind behind the whole scheme. Yet one might ask that if Warbeck was indeed an imposter, why was Henry so anxious about him? Nathen himself admits that there are still enough unanswered questions to give some room for doubt and that as we don't have access to his remains we may never know his true identity after all.
Finally, Nathan tells us the details of the fate of Warbeck and how a widely spread web of conspiracy and deceit led to his downfall. How did Henry regard this young man who had caused him so much trouble? Impostor or real Prince of York? That is for the reader to decide.
I would recommend this book without any hesitation. Its full of conspiracy, plots, murder, terror, drama, espionage and adventure. It is written by an author who genuinely has done his homework and is the result of years of empathetic and scholarly research. If I could give it more than five stars I would. Thoroughly enjoyable.
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2021
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2023
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 March 2023
The three pretenders that feature in the pages caused Henry huge problems at three different points of his reign. Amine skilfully threads these together into a compelling narrative at the same time as pausing long enough to consider and weigh the arguments that accompany each protagonist.
Those that follow the author on Twitter will know him to be a provocative debater. Yet this book is carefully crafted to be moderate in tone and intellectually inclusive. It will be enjoyed by both fans and foes of the Tudor dynasty’s founding father.
Narrative and analysis: a rare combination
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 March 2023
Henry VII is the King of England that I am most interested in and I’ve been studying him for many years. So it’s not that often I come across new information. But this book taught me a lot.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 March 2023
The three pretenders that feature in the pages caused Henry huge problems at three different points of his reign. Amine skilfully threads these together into a compelling narrative at the same time as pausing long enough to consider and weigh the arguments that accompany each protagonist.
Those that follow the author on Twitter will know him to be a provocative debater. Yet this book is carefully crafted to be moderate in tone and intellectually inclusive. It will be enjoyed by both fans and foes of the Tudor dynasty’s founding father.
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 March 2023
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 October 2021
