Neville Williams (1924–1977)
Author of Henry VIII and His Court
About the Author
Neville Williams was born in 1930 and left school aged 15 having been head boy. After completing an engineering apprenticeship he was conscripted into The Welch Regiment and his active service in Korea is vividly described in this book. He has had a successful career in industry and, now retired, show more lives in Chester. show less
Works by Neville Williams
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Williams, Neville
- Other names
- Williams, Neville John
- Birthdate
- 1924
- Date of death
- 1977
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Education
- St. Edmund Hall, Oxford
- Occupations
- Deputy Keeper of Public Records
- Organizations
- The British Academy
Members
Reviews
Lists
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 55
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 1,302
- Popularity
- #19,720
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 8
- ISBNs
- 70
- Languages
- 5
- Favorited
- 1
This is neither a full biography of Henry nor is it a full history of his reign, although the book contains elements of both. It is above all a narrative of court life, far-ranging in the topics it covers, including architecture, the decorative arts, music, and diplomacy. It recounts the improbable rise from working-class origins of his two most able ministers, Wolsey and Cromwell (and their fall), as well as the king’s relations with his six wives. The oft-told tale of Henry’s estrangement from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and his infatuation with Anne Boleyn takes into account the complex motivations and fears involved. Eternal damnation? Dying without leaving a male heir for the throne? Which would you choose?
It was an age when Henry, as well as most of his subjects, took religion very seriously. At the same time, economic pressures and an inchoate nationalism made the pope unpopular. In Williams’ telling, Henry’s faith was most consistently a popeless catholicism, rather than protestant.
The book is generously illustrated, including several full-color, full-page reproductions. These were particularly helpful to imagine the seven castles in and around London to which the court moved (including cartloads of furniture).
For those who can’t read enough about the Tudor era—so like and unlike our own—there is a helpful annotated bibliography (up to 1970, when this book was first published).
I turned to this book to get up to speed on the back story of the people and places while reading the final volume of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy. It provided what I hoped for.
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