Tudor England is crammed into John Guy's one volume eponymous study. It is thorough, scholarly, convincing and generally dry as dust. Guy is a wonderful historian (his life of Mary Queen of Scots, My Heart Is My Own a terrific piece of scholarship and an engaging read). Chapters discussing Henry VII and the rise and fall of Wolsey are first rate. Others such as The Condition of England and Henrician Government are impressive but have a text book quality: there is no way to make the king's rents gripping or his ancient privileges sparkle, or his gaggle of bureaucrats scintillating. Ironically, the author's very thoroughness makes Tudor England less then fascinating--the day to day is rarely gripping.
Also unique is how he presents the very outsized personalities of Tudor Monarchs: Henry VIII and his two daughters alone can hardly be contained in a few chapters. As a result, there is very little personality of the individual and more observation of how each used kingship to achieve their various goals and agendas. It's an understandable approach achieving the authors ambition of an overview of the period contained in a single volume. It's also very analytical and feels rather like a text book.
Unsurprisingly, two thirds of the book focus upon Henry VIII and Elizabeth. Their outsized personalities' impact upon policy and the longevity of their reigns necessitate this focus. And there is much that is admirable, if not scintillating about Guy's discussion. In some way the compartmentalizing of information works against the author: chapters on social policy, religion, attitudes regarding "the state" become segments that don't always fit together. A much slimmer work titled "A Tudor Tragedy" manages to connect dots far better than Tudor England.
The sheer scope of the author's ambition does deserve commendation. It's no small task and he acquits himself in an admirable, if not always an engaging manner.
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