Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #861356 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 590 pages

Synopsis
An illuminating examination of the careers of the six Thomases, whose lives are described in parallel- their family and social origins, their pathways to the royal council chamber, their occupancy of the seige perilous, and the tragedies which, one by one, overwhelmed them.

Customer Reviews

Informative and Compelling
I've recently been doing A level coursework on the character of Sir Thomas More, so I picked up this book. Unlike some other history books, this one was really easy to get into and the way Wilson writes makes the subject so much more interesting and has been a major help to my coursework. If you're interested in this period of history, I would definitely recommend you read this book to get a more in-depth look at the 6 thomas': More, Wolsey, Cromwell, Cranmer, Howard and Wriothesley.

A treasure overwhelmed
A great work of research, knowledge anbd experience by a highly intelligent historian...and one who knows that far too well. This work is overwhelmed by the author's self-importance, and it thus becomes a dull and turgid read.

The best bits are the epilogue and the list of sources.

If you too are of a ponderous disposition, read and enjoy; otherwise cast a coin - on the one hand for a work filled with useful information and approached in an interesting way (which nevertheless then skips over many of the most important events); on the other, sleep-inducing pomposity of language and unsubstantiated comment.

I went for the one hand and regretted it.

Different Perspectives on a Royal "Zoo"

England's King Henry VIII has already been extensively discussed in various books as well as portrayed in a number of plays and films. Why another book? In his Introduction, Derek Wilson acknowledges that much attention has been devoted to Henry's six wives (Three Catherines, two Annes, and a Jane) and shares this mnemonic:

"Divorced, beheaded, died,
Divorced, beheaded, survived."

and then observes: "I propose a different set of relationships which I believe offers a more illuminating approach to the court and government of Henry VIII." Specifically, Wilson focuses his primary attention on six Thomases: Wolsey, More, Cromwell, Howard, Wriothesley, and Cramner. "I can even suggest an alternative mortuary mnemonic, although one admittedly not so trippingly off the tongue.

Died, beheaded, beheaded,
Self-slaughtered, burned, survived."

Henry's VIII's relationships with all six serve as the basis of Wilson's narrative. There were lions in London at that time ("the King's Beasts") housed in the Tower menagerie and a major tourist attraction. More once compared the king's court to a lion pit "in which the magnificent and deadly king of beasts held sway."

Of the six, More interests me the most. One of my favorite plays and films is A Man for All Seasons. (In the film, More is brilliantly portrayed by Paul Scofield.) In both, Robert Bolt focuses on More's rectitude which threatens and infuriates Henry and eventually results in More's execution. Thus presented, More is a tragic but noble political victim and religious martyr, later canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. He is no less admirable as portrayed by Wilson but, in my opinion, is much more complicated than Bolt and others suggest. For years, More skillfully navigated his way through a court ("a lion pit") characterized by what Wilson refers to as its "seamy realities": "The royal entourage was a vicious, squirming world of competing ambitions and petty feuds, guilty secrets and salacious prudery. Courtiers, vulnerable to threats and bribes, could be induced to perjure themselves, to exaggerate amorous incidents which were innocent in the context of stylised chivalric convention, to indulge personal vendettas....Over all these momentous happenings looms the larger-than-life figure of Henry VIII, powerful and capricious yet always an enigma."

In certain respects, this book reads as if it were a novel. It has a compelling narrative, dozens of unique characters, all manner of conflicts and intrigues which create great tension throughout, and a number of themes such as power, ambition, loyalty, betrayal, piety, terror, and (for most of the main characters) ignominious death. Wilson draws upon a wealth of primary sources to ensure the validity of his historical facts. However, some readers may question his interpretation of those facts. (A non-historian, I consider myself unqualified to do so.) Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Alison Weir's Henry VIII as well as The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Karen Lindsey's Divorced, Beheaded, Survived, and David M. Loades's Henry VIII and His Queens.