Henry VIII

A major new biography of the most infamous king of England. 'Means to be God, and do as pleases himself' Martin Luther observed. It was a shrewd comment, not merely on the divorce in which the King was then embroiled, but upon his whole career. Henry VIII was self righteous, and convinced that he enjoyed a special relationship with the Almighty, which gave him a unique claim upon the obedience of his subjects. He subdued the church, sidelined the old nobility, and reorganised the government of his realm, all in the name of that Good Lordship which was his God-given responsibility. As a youth, he was a magnificent specimen of manhood, and in age a gargantuan wreck, but even in his prime he was never the 'ladies man' which legend, and his own imagination, created. Sexual insecurity undermined him, and gave his will that irascible edge which proved fatal to Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell alike. Several times during his reign he took out his frustrations in warfare, but succeeded only in spending vast sums of money. Henry VIII dominated England during his lifetime and for many years thereafter, as a warrior, as a renaissance Prince, and as Supreme Head of the Church, but his personality is as controversial today as it was in his own lifetime. He is a figure impossible to ignore. Professor David Loades has spent most of his life investigating the remains, literary, archival and archaeological, of Henry VIII, and this monumental new biography book is the result. His portrait of Henry is distinctive, he was neither a genius nor a tyrant, but a man' like any other', except for the extraordinary circumstances in which he found himself.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction: the Historiography of a King 1. The Prince, 1491-1509 2. A Renaissance King, 1509-1511 3. The King at War, 1511-1514 4. A Prince at Peace, 1514-1522 5. The Court of King Henry 6. War & Poverty, 1522-1525 7. The Origin of the 'Great Matter', 1525-1529 8. Crisis & Change, 1529-1536 9. The Lordship & Kingship of Ireland 10. A King in His Splendour, 1536-1542 11. The Return to War, 1542-1547 12. Legacy Notes Appendix of Documents Bibliography: Principally of Works Cited List of Illustrations Index

About the Author :
David Loades was Emeritus Professor of the University of Wales and an Honorary Member of the University of Oxford, History Faculty. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Vice-President of the Navy Record Society and former President of the Ecclesiastical History Society. He was the author of over thirty books on the sixteenth century, specializing in the Tudors. Sadly he has passed away.

Review :
Neither Starkey nor Weir has the assurance and command of Loades' David Loades Tudor biographies are both highly enjoyable and instructive, the perfect combination' David Loades is one of our finest Tudor historians'