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A review by kylienicolereads
Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George
5.0
I actually got my copy of this book when I was entirely too young for it. I was 13. I was obsessed with British royalty. I had done well in school and, as she usually did, my mom took me book shopping as a reward. So this book and I have a history long and complex, much like its contents.
It's about Henry VIII of England - his life, his actions, from his perspective. The "notes from Will Somers" rarely exceed a paragraph or two and appear sporadically. The premise is that Will is sending this to an unacknowledged illegitimate child of Henry's.
I have noticed that, much like the man himself, this book has some very contradictory reviews.
It is a good read! It's a long one at 932 pages. I read a bit slowly as is, but I started reading this July 1st and did not finish it until July 26th. I have read that Ms. George spent a LOT of time researching and visiting the U.K. and reading up on his life, and that seems pretty evident. I had a decent idea of facts surrounding Henry - six wives, two beheaded, no really viably strong male heir through his reign, severe obesity towards the end. I think Ms. George did a wonderful job of humanizing him. He is still a tyrant, I thought maybe his temper came across a bit toned down, but I attributed that to the "autobiography" angle - so few people would be willing to write about all of their parts, good, bad, and evil. I'd imagine a famously narcissistic monarch would have quite a difficult time reconciling himself with his own anger management issues.
Overall, a solid read, heavily laden with historical fact and beautiful speculation into the emotion behind some very questionable decisions. The aim isn't to make Henry into a "good guy"; he's not. It's just to humanize Henry a bit more than the usual dry list of executions and temper tantrums and body/health issues most content about him ends up being.
It's about Henry VIII of England - his life, his actions, from his perspective. The "notes from Will Somers" rarely exceed a paragraph or two and appear sporadically. The premise is that Will is sending this to an unacknowledged illegitimate child of Henry's.
I have noticed that, much like the man himself, this book has some very contradictory reviews.
It is a good read! It's a long one at 932 pages. I read a bit slowly as is, but I started reading this July 1st and did not finish it until July 26th. I have read that Ms. George spent a LOT of time researching and visiting the U.K. and reading up on his life, and that seems pretty evident. I had a decent idea of facts surrounding Henry - six wives, two beheaded, no really viably strong male heir through his reign, severe obesity towards the end. I think Ms. George did a wonderful job of humanizing him. He is still a tyrant, I thought maybe his temper came across a bit toned down, but I attributed that to the "autobiography" angle - so few people would be willing to write about all of their parts, good, bad, and evil. I'd imagine a famously narcissistic monarch would have quite a difficult time reconciling himself with his own anger management issues.
Overall, a solid read, heavily laden with historical fact and beautiful speculation into the emotion behind some very questionable decisions. The aim isn't to make Henry into a "good guy"; he's not. It's just to humanize Henry a bit more than the usual dry list of executions and temper tantrums and body/health issues most content about him ends up being.