Children of England: Heirs of King Henry VIII

by Alison Weir

Hardcover, 1996

Status

Available

Call number

941.0840922

Genres

Publication

Jonathan Cape (1996), Hardcover

Description

Biography & Autobiography. History. Nonfiction. HTML:�??Fascinating . . . Alison Weir does full justice to the subject.�?��??The Philadelphia Inquirer At his death in 1547, King Henry VIII left four heirs to the English throne: his only son, the nine-year-old Prince Edward; the Lady Mary, the adult daughter of his first wife Katherine of Aragon; the Lady Elizabeth, the teenage daughter of his second wife Anne Boleyn; and his young great-niece, the Lady Jane Grey. In this riveting account Alison Weir paints a unique portrait of these extraordinary rulers, examining their intricate relationships to each other and to history. She traces the tumult that followed Henry's death, from the brief intrigue-filled reigns of the boy king Edward VI and the fragile Lady Jane Grey, to the savagery of "Bloody Mary," and finally the accession of the politically adroit Elizabeth I. As always, Weir offers a fresh perspective on a period that has spawned many of the most enduring myths in English hi… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Blenny

I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave a great insight into the intimate lives of the children of Henry VIII (including his grand-niece) and their relationships with each other. I've read a few Alison Weir books and enjoyed them all. I find them almost novelistic and exciting, yet the content

is constantly backed up with important source evidence throughout.

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LibraryThing member briandrewz

A very engaging biography of Henry VIII's children. The title is somewhat misleading in that it doesn't talk about his illegitimate son, Henry FitzRoy, and includes another Tudor descendant, Lady Jane Grey. The book is not an individual biography of each child, but examines their relationships with

each other.

It's a very interesting read that holds the reader's attention. The short reign of Edward VI is tragic, and that of the "Nine Days Queen" even more so. Queen Mary I comes off as a religious intolerant, and Queen Elizabeth I is the hope of the future.

Excellent reading!

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LibraryThing member jshillingford

Alison Weir is an exceptional historian. This book examines the four individuals who all succeeded to the throne after Henry VIII. One of the four was not Henry's actual child, but Lady Jane Grey was a relative and a possibel heir. Weir examines each in turn, while also showing how their lives

intersected. She spends time on their youth, education and how they were raised 9and by whom). Fantastic, and easy to read.

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LibraryThing member queencersei

This is a comprehensive biography of the lives of Henry VIII’s three surviving children, Edward, Mary and Elizabeth. The book details their lives and each of their reigns. It also offerings a fascinating psychological insight of the children, particularly concerning Mary and Elizabeth. Mary and

Elizabeth were each declared as illegitimate by their father at points in their lives. Each of their mothers were treated cruelly by their father. However, both Mary and Elizabeth struggled to maintain their fathers goodwill while he was alive and tried to live up to his image as a strong ruler after his death.

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LibraryThing member Pretear

This book is shorter but more repetitive than Six Wives. I really only wanted to put it down in the really repetitive sections. The death of Edward VI and Mary I lasted for about 60 pages more than necessary, same with Mary's pregnancies and the constant questioning of Elizabeth I. The book seemed

to chronicle the same conflict over and over and over. Which is fine since, after all, it's a history book and presumably this is the way it actually happened. I just think there were too many pages devoted to things that could have been more concise. Edward's death which is clearly important and deserves a lot of attention, still could have been shorter. It went something like this: Edward got sick, (ten pages later), Edward is still sick, he gets sicker and sicker, (ten pages later) he's so sick people think he's dead, but no he's just still sick, (ten pages later) oh! he got better, oh no wait still sick, still sick, a little more sick, sick sick sick, (20 pages later), he died. Even so, I really enjoyed it and it definitely got in the way of doing school work.

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LibraryThing member TheLibraryhag

It has been a while since i read any non-fiction and this was a good choice for me. Alison Weir seems to have her ducks in row while still writing a readable book. I believe that I learned quite a bit particularly about Edward VI who was much more interesting, and heartless, than I would have

imagined. It never fails to amaze me how complicated the history of this family is. Lots of small details added depth to some of the characters involved in all this drama.

I would recommend this book as a very good introduction to the later Tudors. I will definitely read other works by Weir.

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LibraryThing member simss

This book is about autobiography Henry VIII children.

My personal experience when my mom tell me the story about how I was born and the way I grew up.

Classroom extensions would to write their own biography and write about how they grew up and compare and constrast with other students.

LibraryThing member mbmackay

Not really a life of all the children, but restricted to the reigns of Edward VI and Mary, with a cameo of Lady Jane Grey in the middle. Weir brings the principals to life – and I assume she has the documentary sources to support it. Mary comes across as the saddest case – a second phantom

pregnancy, when the first one destroyed all credibility! Good stuff. Read May 2008

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LibraryThing member ThereseKar

Excellent and easy to read

LibraryThing member LibraryCin

In this book, Weir tells us about King Henry VIII successors, beginning with his son Edward, Henry's great-niece Lady Jane Grey, his daughter Mary, and his daughter Elizabeth. This book focuses on the reigns of Edward, Jane, and Mary, and ends as Elizabeth is becoming queen. Weir is trying to show

us more about the relationships between them, which I think is why she doesn't continue on to Elizabeth's reign.

I like reading the historical fiction about the Tudors, but reading this nonfiction account actually tells me what really happened; the fictional accounts always leave me wondering what was real and what wasn't.

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LibraryThing member Jthierer

Well-researched and interesting to read, but I wish more context had been given to the political climate they were working in.

LibraryThing member creynolds

I learned a lot about the monarchy after Henry VIII, but a lot still went over my head. It was much more detailed with less explanation than I needed.

LibraryThing member PhilSyphe

One of the most appealing aspects about this lengthy tome is the author’s ability to write similar to how someone presenting a history documentary might talk. In other words, this doesn’t feature an academic-type of tone, or have a mundane textbook feel.

As a reader of Alison Weir’s fiction

and non-fiction works I’m not surprised by the engaging writing style. Also, her in-depth research is most admirable without being tedious.

I was previously quite familiar with this period of English history but this didn’t make the text any less interesting – or in some cases shocking, such as the 300 or so people burnt at the stake for having a difference in religious faith to Mary I, especially those who took 45 minutes to burn, and the woman who gave birth whilst at the stake and whose new-born baby was thrown back into the flames.

“Bloody” Mary does occupy the bulk of this volume, owing to Edward VI leading a short life, as did the highly unfortunate Lady Jane Grey, who deserves the utmost sympathy for the unnecessarily cruel life she endured.

As for Elizabeth I, we see her life up to and straight after her sister Mary’s death. She features prominently throughout the pages of this book, just as she featured prominently and uncertainly during Mary I’s reign.

This is well worth reading from anyone interested in the lesser-known Tudor monarchs who ruled between Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

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LibraryThing member yukon92

This book brought some fascinating ideas to light. I just wish the editing of this e-book was better!

LibraryThing member janw

Great read, like a novel even though you know how it ends.

LibraryThing member mallinje

A very detailed account of the lives of the heirs of Henry VIII. It helps you to understand the mindset of his children and how his actions with both them and their mothers impacted their reigns. It tells how Mary was a girl who remembered when she was the center of attention and how she became

bitter when she was no longer favored (this leading to the name "Bloody Mary"). Edward and Jane Grey were manipulated by everyone around them. And it has the early life of Elizabeth. A very enjoyable book.

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LibraryThing member tommi180744

A detailed, but highly readable account of the births of the 3 recognized heir of the tempestuous King Henry VIII to the Tudor Crown. The book follows Edward, Mary & Elizabeth from their unpredictable infancy through childhood to their various rises and falls, trials and tribulations, and

ultimately the possession of Crown of England with some informative regard for each Child/Monarch's impact on the lives of their subjects. The author also includes a thoughtful account of the short-lived claim to the Crown & reign of ill-fated Lady Jane Grey.

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