Henry VIII - Hardcover

Loades, Professor David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1848685327 ISBN 13: 9781848685321

Publisher: Amberley Publishing, 2011

Synopsis

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.

About this title

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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Amberley Publishing
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1848685327
• ISBN 13: 9781848685321
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480