Other Tudors [Paperback]

Philippa Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 2009

Everybody thinks they know the tale of King Henry VIII's wives: divorced, beheaded died; divorced, beheaded, survived. But behind this familiar story, lies a far more complex truth. This book brings together for the first time the 'other women' of King Henry VIII. When he first came to the throne, Henry VIII's mistresses were dalliances, the playthings of a powerful and handsome man. However, when Anne Boleyn disrupted that pattern, ousting Katherine of Aragon to become Henry's wife, a new status quo was established. Suddenly noble families fought to entangle the king with their sisters and daughters; if wives were to be beheaded or divorced so easily, the mistress of the king was in an enviable position. While Henry VIII has frequently been portrayed as a womanizer, author Philippa Jones reveals a new side to his character. Although he was never faithful, Jones sees him as a serial monogamist: he spent his life in search of a perfect woman, a search that continued even as he lay dying when he was considering divorcing Catherine Parr thus leaving him free to marry Katherine d'Eresby. Yet he loved each of his wives and mistresses, he was a romantic who loved being in love, but none of these loves ever fully satisfied him; all were ultimately replaced. "The Other Tudors" examines the extraordinary untold tales of the women who Henry loved but never married, the mistresses who became queens and of his many children, both acknowledged and unacknowledged. Philippa Jones takes us deep into the web of secrets and deception at the Tudor Court and explores another, often unmentioned, side to the King's character.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Philippa Jones was born in 1950 and educated at Fairfield Grammar School and Cambridge University where she read Egyptology. She worked at Bristol's Museum and University. She has published many books and articles; her latest book, Satan's Kingdom: Bristol and the Transatlantic Slave Trade was published in March 2007.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: New Holland Publishers Ltd (June 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847734294
• ISBN-13: 978-1847734297
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,226,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Only so-so, January 7, 2010

By 

Judith Loriente (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Other Tudors (Paperback)

The Other Tudors isn't one of those really awful works of popular history that get churned out by the popular history racket. Still, that doesn't make it good popular history.

What bothered me most is that not only could this book not rivet my attention - it quickly started to bore me. It could have been a lightweight run-through of some of the lesser-known `Tudors' - children whose mothers have been linked to Henry VIII, and who may have been fathered by him. But even though it's not an in-depth study, it's still not easy to read. It plods. I don't think there was a single chapter I read in one sitting - I had to take a break every 6-7 pages. A book that should have taken two days to read took over a week.

I don't want be too harsh on the author, since it appears to be her first book, and the next may be much better. But it could have been better had it been put through the wringer by a good editor, who could have improved the pace. Though even a good editor wouldn't have known to fix this:

"When Edward VI died and Princess Mary was summoned to London in a plot by Northumberland, Duke of Somerset, to prevent her taking the throne, it may have been the Norfolk servants at Kenninghall who helped to persuade her to go to Framlingham instead". Whoops - Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset (Jane Seymour's eldest brother) had been executed the year before (1552). She was really referring to John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who had ousted him and become chief minister in his place. Two different people!

Then there's this: "It is a strange irony that the King's mistress, Mary, played the role of `Kindness', while her sister Anne seemed to look to her future courtship in the role of `Perseverance'." `Irony' is when the opposite of what we expect to happen happens. Why would these two have been expected to fulfil the opposite roles to those they were alotted? The might not have been expected to fulfil them so exactly - but still, that's not irony.

There are other illogicalities - e.g. "In 1516, Catherine of Aragon had a daughter, Mary, who lived and thrived ... The King, happy in the knowledge that he had a daughter as well as a thriving bastard son, could look forward to the birth of a lawful heir with renewed confidence." Then in the next paragraph: "However, in 1518, a new plan was hatched, since Catherine had failed to have a living son. The Princess was betrothed to the dauphin of France." Ho-hum! His `thriving bastard son' the Duke of Richmond, who supposedly already existed, wasn't born until 1519.

Another gripe: "Sir John planned to move his more trusted Irish allies (the O'Mara's, O'Connor's and Kavanaugh's) into Munster ..." Oh dear. How did this one get past both an editor and proofreader? That's assuming the publisher employed either of them.

There's more: "Queen Claude was the only surviving child of Louis XII by his second wife, Anne of Brittany, and was her father's eldest surviving child ... The year before her father's death, Claude married Francis, her cousin, and the heir to the throne. He confirmed his right to rule by marrying the royal heiress." NOT AGAIN! Popular historians, PLEASE read at least one biography of Francis I before you pose as competent to write about him. He could not `confirm his right to rule' by marrying any woman - the Salic law in France barred women from ruling or even passing on any claim. As Louis XII's nearest unbroken male relative, Francis would have become king no matter what. Claude was not a `royal heiress', since women had no rights to the French throne that she could possibly have been heiress to. She was only the heiress of the duchy of Brittany, through her late mother Anne of Brittany. As for Claude supposedly being her father's "only surviving child" - oops, yet more mistakes. She was born in 1499, and in 1510 her parents had another surviving daughter, Renée.

This confirms my belief that historians should provide a citation for every statement of fact, if only to cover themselves in the event that they copy someone else's mistake. Which makes the following statement even more embarrassing: "The reason for Anne leaving may be indicated by a letter from Francis I complaining of England's aggressive intentions toward France, as evidence for which he sites [sic] the English scholars leaving Paris ..." One does not `site' a citation. One `cites' a citation. There are other mistakes I can't be bothered noting. You'll spot them if you're reasonably familiar with the Tudor age (or the Yorkist age - Edward IV was not `the last Yorkist king', as he is referred to as - there were Edward V and Richard III still to come).

I'm not going to actively warn people off this book, since those with a longer attention span may not be frustrated by its often-slow narrative, and some people might not notice, or care about, the inconsistencies and mistakes. And it does have its merits - Chapter 9, about Henry's bastard daughter Etheldreda, is particulary interesting and far more readable than the rest. But I cannot say, "If you're interested in the Tudor Age, you can't miss this." You can.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gossipy fun...,, November 4, 2009

By 

cyberpiglet "cyberpiglet" (Coudersport, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Other Tudors (Paperback)

This little book will not set the world on fire with its original research. It is, however, a highly readable recounting of the alleged mistresses and possible illegitimate children of Henry VIII. I picked it up to read about Henry's relationships with Anne Hastings and Bessie Blount and found myself caught up in the stories of some lesser known women of the court (Joanna Dingley?) around whom rumors swirled. This is not a scholarly work, but taken for what it is - a sixteenth century version of the tabloids - it is a highly entertaining way for the Tudor-obsessed to pass a rainy afternoon.

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars henryVIII mistresses and bastards., May 26, 2010

By 

E. Litchfield "sparkymus" (cambridgeshire UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Other Tudors (Paperback)

this is a fascinating book. from page one it sets out the ladies who had the misfortune to tangle with henry. the detail is amazing. a very good read. it says it all.