annieb123's Review of House of Tudor

by Mayhew, Mickey

Gruesome but not gratuitous, this decidedly darker take on the Tudors, from 1485 to 1603, covers some forty-five events' from the Tudor reign, taking in everything from the death of Richard III to the botched execution of Mary Queen of Scots, and a whole host of horrors in between. Particular attention is paid to the various gruesome ways in which the Tudors despatched their various villains and lawbreakers, from simple beheadings, to burnings and of course the dreaded hanging, drawing and quartering. Other chapters cover the various diseases prevalent during Tudor times, including the dreaded Sweating Sickness' -rather topical at the moment, unfortunately -as well as the cures for these sicknesses, some of which were considered worse than the actual disease itself. The day-to-day living conditions of the general populace are also examined, as well as various social taboos and the punishments that accompanied them, i.e. the stocks, as well as punishment by exile. Tudor England was not a nice place to live by 21st century standards, but the book will also serve to explain how it was still nevertheless a familiar home to our ancestors.

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

House of Tudor: A Grisly History is an accessible and unflinching history of the Tudors by Dr. Mickey Mayhew. Due out 30th April 2022 from Pen & Sword, it's 232 pages (in print) and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

I enjoy history and especially English history with bonus engagement on my part for late medieval to the early modern periods. This selection hit a lot of high points for me. The author has done a good job of selecting the mildly to moderately salacious bits which we never get to read about in school history classes. It's arranged thematically and roughly chronologically in chapters, each of which tell a particular bit of the history of the Tudors during and after their dynastic reign of more than 100 years. Despite their fame and relative wealth, their lives were most often bloody and short, often because of intolerance, war, political infighting, and/or disease.

This is a layman accessible and eminently readable book. Despite the bonafides of the author, it's not written in formal academic language, and there are no chapter notes or citations in the text. There is a fairly comprehensive bibliography and index, however, which will provide many hours of further background reading if readers wish for more in-depth background.

Four and a half stars. Definitely not a formal academic work, but fascinating for history fans who want a readable book about the Tudors.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

House of Tudor

by Mayhew, Mickey

Reviewed by annieb123 on Feb 20, 2022

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