The Tudor Kings and Queens: the Dynasty That Forged a Nation by Alex Woolf

For your listening pleasure here is Leonard Bernstein's On the Waterfront, from the Movie starring Marlon Brando.

While I was in Florida, each evening I read to my mother.  The first book we read was about the Tudor Dynasty.  We both love history, in fact my mother has a Master's Degree in American History with a concentration on Native Americans, particularly the tribes of Florida.  Her thesis was on the Panhandle of Florida and its history and how it developed to how it is today.

In front of my own waterfront. Destin, Florida.

The Tudor Kings & Queens: The Dynasty That Forged a Nation by Alex Woolf

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Interesting overview of the Tudor line starting with Henry VII in 1485, moving on to Henry VIII whose reign was 1509-1547. After King Henry VIII we have the brief reigns of Edward VI and Mary I, not forgetting the even briefer reign of Lady Jane Grey somewhere between the last two before finally concluding with the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I whose reign 1558-1603 finished the Tudor Dynasty.

The chapters are brief but give a good overview of each King or Queen's rule. We learn their character, the good the bad, the ugly, their effectiveness as domestic governing abilities, their foreign policies and their legacies.

Little is known about Henry VII but Henry VIII easily fills up eight chapters. He did, after all, throw off the yoke of Roman Catholic rule and started a uniquely English church with himself as the Ruler. What followed was a lot of upheaval as monasteries and convents and their wealth and properties were confiscated and used to fill the coffers of the King.

Henry's marriages are infamous, of course, but in Woolf's history we get to know each woman a little better; which ones were innocent victims; which were scheming hussies, who died by the axe and who died from sickness.

Edward did not live long enough to make a difference, but was more of a political tool by other people trying to manipulate power. We learn about the scheming powers behind the throne, many succeeded but a lot ended up losing their head or being hanged and drawn and quartered.

I must say, I did not realize there were two Mary's and we learn about both. Both were Catholic, but only one was Bloody Mary and that was the Queen of England. She killed thousands of Protestants in an attempt to terrorize the country into reverting to the Roman religion. Scottish Mary was really more foolish in her choice of husbands then anything else. Her scandals ultimately undid her and she ended up spending the rest of her life in prison under Queen Elizabeth I before finally being condemned to death.

And we end with Queen Elizabeth I and her legacy, one of which was to build the most powerful navy in the world. But she had her own intrigues and scandals.

All in all, an enjoyable read and an excellent overview of a famous dynasty.



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