A small (tiny) paperback, crammed tight with an excellent introduction to Tudor history for the uninitiated.

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Product Description

First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, John Guy's Very Short Introduction to The Tudors is the most authoritative short introduction to this age in British history. It offers a compelling account of the political, religious and economic changes of the country under such leading monarchs as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The work has been substantially revised and updated for this edition. In particular, the reigns of Henry VII, Edward VI, and Philip and Mary are comprehensively reassessed.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #93900 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-10
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 120 pages

About the Author
John Guy has been Professor of Modern History at the University of St Andrews since 1992. His publications include Tudor England (1988, 1990), The Reign of Elizabeth I (1995), The Tudor Monarchy (1997), Cardinal Wolsey (1998), Thomas More (2000), Politics, Law and Counsel in Tudor and Early Stuart England (2000).

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Customer Reviews

All that glisters
I am working my way through the 8 entries in the Very Short Introduction series that were originally part of The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, and I have not been disappointed yet. This very worthy entry in the series, covering the reigns of the Tudor monarchs, has been 'substantially revised and updated', as of 2000.

Professor Guy introduces the chief protagonists and covers the main events of the period, as you would expect, but also challenges some widely-held views, some cherished myths.

History has been especially charitable to Elizabeth I and harshly critical of Mary, and a little reassessment never goes amiss. The Elizabethan age is routinely referred to as a Golden Age. Guy points out that, for working people, an age of rapid population growth and falling real wages may not have seemed quite so golden. He also suggests that Elizabeth's failure to curb government corruption and to maintain tax revenues contributed to the conditions that would ultimately lead to the Civil War of the following century. Mary, on the other hand, being in many ways a victim of ill luck, may not have been as villainous as popular myth often suggests.

Needless to say, a very short introduction can only whet your appetite, not satisfy it. This is both a good place to start and a useful source of fresh insights for readers that already have some knowledge of the period.

Next stop, the Stuarts.