Henry VIII : King and court

by Alison Weir

Paper Book, 2002

Status

Available

Call number

942.052092

Genres

Collection

Non-Fiction

Publication

London : Pimlico, 2002.

Description

-- �??Henry VIII, renowned for his command of power, celebrated for his intellect, presided over the most stylish�??and dangerous�??court in Renaissance Europe. Scheming cardinals vied for power with newly rich landowners and merchants, brilliant painters and architects introduced a new splendor into art and design, and each of Henry's six queens brought her own influence to bear upon the life of the court. In her new book, Alison Weir, author of the finest royal chronicles of our time, brings to vibrant life the turbulent, complex figure of Henry VIII and the glittering court he made his own. In an age when a monarch's domestic and political lives were inextricably intertwined, a king as powerful and brilliant as Henry VIII exercised enormous sway over the laws, the customs, and the culture of his kingdom. Yet as Weir shows in this swift, vivid narrative, Henry's ministers, nobles, and wives were formidable figures in their own right, whose influence both enhanced and undermined the authority of the throne. On a grand stage rich in pageantry, intrigue, passion, and luxury, Weir records the many complex human dramas that swirled around Henry, while deftly weaving in an account of the intimate rituals and desires of England's ruling class�??their sexual practices, feasts and sports, tastes in books and music, houses and gardens. Stimulating and tumultuous, the court of Henry VIII attracted the finest minds and greatest beauties in Renaissance England�??poets Wyatt and Surrey, the great portraitist Hans Holbein, "feasting ladies" like Elizabeth Blount and Elizabeth FitzWalter, the newly rich Boleyn family and the ancient aristocratic clans like the Howards and the Percies, along with the entourages and connections that came and went with each successive wife. The interactions between these individuals, and the terrible ends that befell so many of them, make Henry VIII: The King and His Court an absolutely spellbinding read. Meticulous in historic detail, narrated with high style and grand drama, Alison Weir brilliantly brings to life the king, the court, and the fascinating men and women who vied for its pleasures and rewards. NOTE: This edition does not contain… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Angelic55blonde

I absolutely love Alison Weir. She is always thorough in her research and this book is no different. In this book she focuses solely on King Henry VIII and his court. She gives the reader a strong image of what his court looked like and acted like during his long reign as king. It is an interesting

book with a great deal of detail, which is both good and bad since it did get a little dry from time to time. However, I still recommend this to anyone who is interested in the topic.

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LibraryThing member jshillingford

One would think with all the books Weir has done on the Tudors, especially Henry's children and wives, there would be nothing left to say. Not so, as she proves here. Most Americans think of Henry VIII as the fat bearded man from the portrait we are all familiar with. But, that is a much older

Henry after debauchery, bad eating habits and a nasty leg wound have ruined his health. As a young man, Henry was quite the stud; one who never expected to inherit the throne until his older brother died so young. Weir offers a more complete view of Henry as a man and as a monarch. Excellent.

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LibraryThing member briandrewz

This is, in a way, a dual biography, for to read a biography of Henry VIII is to read a biography of his court. Alison Weir masterfully guides us through Tudor history with an experienced hand. Though a bit slow in parts, the book brings us ever closer to knowing the real Henry. A fantastic read.

LibraryThing member mansfieldhistory

A great look into the day to day life of Henry VIII, though a bit dry and not as easily read like other works by Weir.

LibraryThing member stinson

A brilliantly detailed account of Henry's court. I love to read about all the facts and I like these to be historically correct, unlike the recent TV series which is full of discrepancies. Alison Weir really does a lot of research into her subject, so if you like history and you like it to be

accurate you will like this book.

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LibraryThing member maunder

A great book to balance the current television series. The book gives a realistic portrait of court life in tudor England. Sometimes the reader is overwhelmed by the minutiae and yearns for some more typical historical -political narrative to give the court life some perspective and relevance.

Still a fascinating book

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LibraryThing member Dallasite

As a sequel*, of sorts, to her well-received Six Wives, Weir exhaustively details the 15th c. Tudor Court. Weir's encyclopedic knowledge of her subject is evident as she weaves an entrancing picture of life for & with Henry VIII. The exhaustive descriptions of the clothing, dining experience, etc,

are exquisitely laid bare as if the she was retelling a visit to the Tudor King & his court on holiday.

A reader can get bogged down in the extravagance of details upon details but I was most disappointed with the oddly transitioned cutaways that *refer the reader to Six Wives of Henry VIII &/or Children of Henry VIII. Undoubtedly this was done in the interest of economy (& I concede that I cannot offer a better solution).

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LibraryThing member smb45

This is a must for English history buffs. It's full of fascinating facts about court life.

LibraryThing member LibraryCin

This book is not only a biography of King Henry VIII, but it also takes a close look at the culture of the royal court in 16th century England.

I really liked this. Often, Weir's nonfiction books read like fiction and I would say this is one that did. I really enjoyed all the extra

behind-the-scenes look at court life. This included detailed information on all the people at court, their positions, their pay, as well as the design of the palaces, food, fashion and probably more that is just not coming to mind as I write this review. I will say that it can be tricky to remember who's who sometimes; I've read enough of this time period that I'm mostly ok with it, but at the end of Henry's reign it got a bit trickier. What made it tricky for me is when someone's title is used rather than their name. I do mostly remember names, but sometimes remembering titles is a bit more difficult (especially, when those titles “move” from person to person sometimes!).

Overall, though, this is a really good biography of Henry that includes many behind-the-scenes details of court life and culture.

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LibraryThing member Devatipan

This book has its weaknesses, the lack of a coherent thread to its account early on being one of them. But the level of detail and depth of research shown more than make up for that.

And the subject matter is, of course, endlessly fascinating – as Alison Weir herself writes in the very last

paragraph: “[Henry’s] charisma still has the power to intrigue us.”

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LibraryThing member Kuglar

There were some very interesting details about Henry's life and I have a new "visual" of him. However...there was a lot of "castle talk" (he bought this and that) and the noblemen's titles got confusing. If his name is John Smith, please, have pity on your readers and just refer to him as John

Smith, even though he later becomes the Duke of This and/or the Earl of That. Or at least provide a list of important people with their various titles.

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LibraryThing member busterrll

Interesting but tough read - As said by others the confusion of names makes for some difficult reading. Great read though of the "good guys" versus the "bad guys" of this era

LibraryThing member EricCostello

I found this to be an absorbing look at Henry VIII's court, both in terms of its structure (human and material) and how it functioned (human and material, again). The author notes, with some justice, that Henry VIII's image has been subject to caricature (a la Charles Laughton), so a relatively

balanced and thoughtful look is welcome. The book notes with relative degrees of passing certain events, like the Dissolution or the Pilgrimage of Grace, to focus on the functions of the court. It does very well in examining the poisonous nature of court intrigue from the period 1530 on. Recommended.

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LibraryThing member PhilSyphe

This is thorough and engaging account of Henry VIII’s time as king. As the title implies, it also covers members of his court, and it does not dwell on Henry’s life before he came to the throne.

Like all Alison Weir’s books, this is meticulously researched, yet in no way is it a hard-to-digest

scholarly work.

Passages here and there didn’t hold my attention, but then the author covers a lot of ground, so other readers like myself may not be hooked on every topic. On the most part, though, this heavy tome is well worthwhile reading.

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