Customer Reviews

Henry VIII (Penguin Classic Biography)

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Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. When I first received this book and saw how HUGE it was (and in small print, yet), I thought I was in for a long, tedious and boring read. In other words, the kind of book that you start but it becomes harder and harder to keep reading until you finally give up way before the ending.

To my surprise, this book engrossed my attention from day one and became impossible to put down. Jasper Ridley has done a masterful job of giving us a very detailed biography of one of the most memorable kings in history. Unlike so many other books about Henry, Ridley refuses to monopolize the subject matter with sensationalistic details revolving around Henry's wives. Instead, he concentrates on the much more important religious, political and social aspects of his reign.

I think this book captures the true essence of Henry VIII--a tyrant, selfish, arrogant, and demanding. A person who in almost every instance was able to manipulate people into doing his dirty work for him. An individual who could play tennis with a subject he considered a "friend", such as Thomas More, and then easily have this bosom companion executed without nary a shred of remorse whenever it would serve Henry's advantage to do so. One of Henry's most popular practices was to sail the Thames surrounded by women and fawning courtiers while a former close advisor, friend etc. was being executed. This king was a master of disguise, making it appear that he had little or nothing to do with distasteful events and absenting himself from the controversy at hand.

The author mentions early on that, in effect, while gazing at the famous Holbein portrait of Henry VIII in all his glory, people were mesmerized by the majesty as portrayed in the painting. What they did not notice were the hard, unfeeling and pig-like eyes that were barely visible in the already bloated face. If the eyes indeed are the "windows of the soul", Henry was a very cruel individual indeed.

Although his reign was extremely productive in many ways, such as his interest in solidifying England as a naval power, the most striking aspect is, of course, the religious break with Rome. Here too, Henry waffles back and forth as the winds blow. To say this was an achievement is merely subjective; it began a period of intense religious misunderstandings which resulted in the deaths of untold innocent people who refused to accept this or that form of religious belief and worship. As such, I cannot classify Henry's break with Rome as a positive issue. I am not religious, and therefore perhaps not qualified to judge this. But the results of this action are being felt well into modern times. It is a subjective issue as to whether this extreme action on his part set his country and Europe on the right course.

As initially stated, do not be put off by the size of this book. It will engage your attention and provide a picture of Henry (essentially minus the much touted wife leaping) that probably comes closest to what this famous monarch was actually like.

Jasper Ridley's bio of Henry VIII, if nothing else, suggests to me that executioners must have had a steady employment during early 16th-century England. In Ridley's biography, England's formative king is essentially a psychopath, and the country became Protestant, not because of any doctrinal attachment to the Reformation, but as a consequence of political machinations and goals on Henry's part. This, in fact, is one of the book's great strengths; Ridley is rare among biographers in his thorough attention to and excellent summary of the thicket of political events surrounding Tudor England, and this book does an excellent job of explaining these intricacies. Especially fascinating was the depiction of the conflict between Henry and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Henry would have probably gotten the papal annulment that he wanted to dissolve his marriage to Katharine of Aragon, if only Charles had not effectively controlled the pope and been such a bitter enemy of Henry's; then Henry would have found no need to break from the Catholic Church, and history would be entirely different! For a Renaissance monarch, Henry seems more to resemble one of the 20th century's bloodthirsty dictators in this book. While the depiction initially surprised me, Ridley backs up his claims with such excellent documentation and use of primary sources (which I was able to check), that he definitely has a point! A fascinating bio.

Yet again, J Ridley takes the reader on a remarkable journey, guiding you through the maze of factual background without ever letting your hand go. His mastery of the English language and notable training as a barrister make him the best narrator of the century.

Ridley is brilliant as ever. In his masterly style, he portrays both historic detail and periodic insight in such manner that the reader is captivated from the first page onwards. The ongoing battle with Lady Antonia Frazer's biography is a delight (especially when historical inaccuracies in her biography are condemned to footnotes). A book one cannot put down for a single moment.

Ridley paints a picture of a King who is as ruthless a tyrant as any 20th Century dictator. Henry VIII is shown as a ruler who forced his ministers to do his bidding and then executed them to satisfy public opinion, once his policies began to loose popular support. He would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, including breaking with the Pope in Rome and reforming the Church in England with him as the head, when the Pope refused to grant him an annulment from his wife, who could not give him a male heir. Thereafter, Henry played Protestant and Catholic factions against each other, so that he could remain in complete control as an arbiter; alternatively burning influential Protestants as heretics and Catholics who refused to recognize him as Supreme head of the Church of England as traitors. Ridley's picture shows us a king who would stop at absolutely nothing to get what he wanted, including turning society and 1000 years of religion completely upside down! A fascinating look at the Stalin of the 1500s!

Jasper Ridley views Henry VIII as a 16th century version of 20th century dictators. He uses the term "dictator" several times and when Henry died, Ridley says that his counsellors were stunned and grief-stricken by his death, "as were the members of the Politburo when Stalin died." Normally, this kind of analogy would be deadly to a biography of someone who lived nearly 500 years earlier in a very different political environment. But Ridley does a superb job of pinning down Henry's actions through careful documentation and careful noting of the timing of his actions. If Henry was not Stalin, he was as close as an absolute ruler in the 1500's could get.

Ridley's book reads extremely well. As noted in other reviews, there is much less emphasis on the social side of the reign. Ridley does not ignore that. While we never learn much about Henry's building plans, we do learn more than enough about his six wives, especially Catherine of Aragon and Anne. But, unlike Alison Weir's biography, which I also read, this book weaves those stories into the economic and political context in which they happened. Weir's book I found enjoyable also but, as noted elsewhere, it focuses on the social events of Henry's reign. Here Ridley brings in the same events but puts them into a context that makes more sense of the big picture. Henry knew power - he knew it well. He played people against each other both at home and abroad using whatever was available. At home it was usually religion where he alternated between keeping both Catholics and Protestants off guard while taking advantage of both for his own needs. Abroad it was the power plays of Charles and Francis (Francois in this book) with Henry taking every advantage of their weaknesses. He often failed, especially as he got older, and Ridley shows us why. All the details from the break with Rome and the suppression of the monasteries to the wars with Charles and Francis are explained in a fluid, interesting and easy-to-follow way. The book is an excellent example of the "narrative" style of writing history that also is documented to the maximum.

I highly recommend this biography. It is one that I never thought I would enjoy reading so much, especially since it was written in 1984 and in which the author at the beginning and at the very end talks about Henry's "cruel, piggy eyes," which is just a bit of a value judgment. Despite this, his portrayal of Henry's strengths is fair but Ridley shows how his desires and power needs eventually overcame his strengths. This was power politics that ended the Middle Ages in England. A great read.

This was a thoroughly researched, well written book on the reign of Henry VIII. Rather than focus on his marital situation, much detail was given on the birth of the Church of England and Henry's politics with Francois of France and Charles, the Holy Roman Emperor. It was fascinating to see how Henry changed greatly during his reign. This book is definitely a must for anyone interested in the politics and religious conflicts during the reign of Henry VIII.