The House of Tudor

Publisher and industry reviews

UK Kirkus review

After the Wars of the Roses came the House of Tudor - but the squabbling went on. Seldom has there been a more fractious ruling family in English history. The fact that theirs also became one of the most successful dynasties, creating the beginnings of an empire, makes the story even more remarkable. In a style that combines serious history and soap opera, Alison Plowden focuses on characters rather than events, showing how the fiery temperament of the Tudors got the family into many a scrape and how, against the odds, they generally came out smelling of red roses. Unlike most great royal houses, the Tudor dynasty began in a humble way. The family came from Welsh farming stock, and were nobodies until Henry's grandfather Owen managed to secretly marry Katherine de Valois, widow of Henry V. It was largely due to this Welsh ancestry, along with his impeccable Lancastrian connections, that Henry Tudor was able to rally enough support to seize the throne from Richard III. When Henry defeated Richard at Bosworth, and so became Henry VII, many English people had never heard of him. But Henry went on to found a dynasty that ruled England for just over a century. Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I all followed him to varying degrees of notoriety. First published in 1976, Plowden's book tells us much about the eccentric Tudor mindset that created greatness despite splitting father from son and sister from sister. The schism between Protestantism and Catholicism confused not only the nation (one day it was essential to be Protestant, next day Protestants were burned at the stake) but also meant much bloodletting among the Tudors. Heads rolled all over the place, and noble families were forced to switch allegiances depending on which of the Tudors looked most likely to outwit the others on any given day. A fascinating period of history ruled over by a series of brilliant but bizarre monarchs, and written about with flair. (Kirkus UK)

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