Name: Winter King
ISBN: 9781439191569

Thomas Penn

Profiles Henry VII as an enigmatic and ruthless king of a country ravaged by decades of conspiracy and civil war, discussing the costs of establishing a Tudor monarchy and the ways he set the stage for Henry VIII's reign.

Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England

Winter King

Liam Harper

A fresh look at the endlessly fascinating Tudors—the dramatic and overlooked story of Henry VII and his founding of the Tudor Dynasty—filled with spies, plots, counterplots, and an uneasy royal succession to Henry VIII. In 1501, England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy, coups, and violence. Through luck, guile, and ruthlessness, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, emerged as ruler—but as a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England’s throne, he remained a usurper and false king to many, and his hold on power was precarious. But Henry had a crucial asset: his queen and their children, the living embodiment of his hoped-for dynasty. His marriage to Queen Elizabeth united the houses of Lancaster and York, the warring parties that had fought the bloody century-long Wars of the Roses. Now their older son, Arthur, was about to marry a Spanish princess. On a cold November day sixteen-year-old Catherine of Aragon arrived in London for a wedding that would mark a triumphal moment in Henry’s reign. But Henry’s plans for his son would not happen—and waiting in the wings was the impetuous younger brother, the future Henry VIII. Rich with drama and insight, Winter King is an astonishing story of pageantry, treachery, intrigue, and incident—and the fraught, dangerous birth of Tudor England.

DeoDone Gous

'HE WERE A DARK PRINCE, AND INFINITELY SUSPICIOUS, AND HIS TIMES FULL OF SECRET CONSPIRACIES AND TROUBLES' FRANCIS BACON It was 1501. England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy, violence, murders, coups and counter-coups. Through luck, guile and ruthlessness, Henry VII had clambered to the top of the heap - a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England's crown. For many he remained a usurper, a false king. But Henry had a crucial asset: his queen and their children, the living embodiment of his longed-for dynasty. Now his elder son would marry a great Spanish princess. On a cold November day this girl, the sixteen-year-old Catherine of Aragon, arrived in London for a wedding upon which the fate of England would hinge . . . In his remarkable debut Thomas Penn re-creates the story of the tragic, magnetic figure of Henry VII - controlling, paranoid, avaricious, with a Machiavellian charm and will to power. Rich with incident and drama, Winter King is an unforgettable story of pageantry, treachery, realpolitik, the thirst for glory - and the fraught, unstable birth of Tudor England.

Winter King Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England

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