A Brief History of the Tudor Age

by Jasper Ridley

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From the arrival of Henry Tudor and his army, at Milford in 1485, to the death of the great Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, this was an astonishingly eventful and contradictory age. All the strands of Tudor life are gathered in a rich tapestry - London and the country, costumes, furniture and food, travel, medicine, sports and pastimes, grand tournaments and the great flowering of English drama, juxtaposed with the stultifying narrowness of peasant life, terrible roads, a vast underclass, the show more harsh treatment of heretics and traitors, and the misery of the Plague. show less

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Member Reviews

3 reviews
I have mixed feelings about this book - it does present information and details I've not encountered in other works, but it is not always the most engaging presentation of the Tudor era. I also noticed more than one incorrect date (is this the author's fault or just bad editing?), and with the book's original publication date being 1988, it's certainly not a current reflection on the research and scholarly interpretation of the Tudors. Still, this book does work as an introduction to the Tudor era, although I would recommend checking other sources as well.
This book is okay, but the writing is rather pedestrian, and there are frequent errors in punctuation, as well as words that shouldn't be there, words that should be in different places, and words left out. Misplaced modifiers are frequent, making for difficult reading. The information is mostly interesting, though I didn't care for the set up. I was hoping it would go through monarch by monarch, but it would go through one subject, such as the houses of the Tudor age, and start back with Henry VII, moving forward through Elizabeth I. I did find a couple of chapters particularly interesting, and what is odd is they were chapters covering things I'm not normally interested in. The book is also older, so if you want something with up to show more date historical knowledge, you might want something else, though I don't find that a downside. The history of history is also an interesting topic and reading what we used to think against what we think now is definitely worthwhile and fascinating, though most people choose not to do that. show less
Not a bad book, but after over 30 years it no longer reflects current historical understanding.

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Author Information

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23+ Works 2,191 Members
Jasper Ridley's many works include: Napoleon III and Eugenie; Garibaldi; and Mussolini. He lives and works in London, England.

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Common Knowledge

Original title
The Tudor Age
Alternate titles
A Brief History of the Tudor Age
Original publication date
1988
Disambiguation notice
As this was first published elsewhere, it should not be in the Brief History series, but only in the publishers series.

Classifications

Genres
History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
DDC/MDS
942.05History & geographyHistory of EuropeEngland and WalesEngland1485-1603, Tudors
LCC
DA315 .R5History of Europe, Asia, Africa and OceaniaGreat BritainHistory of Great BritainEnglandHistoryBy periodModern, 1485-Tudors, 1485-1603
BISAC

Statistics

Members
333
Popularity
94,671
Reviews
3
Rating
½ (3.46)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
8
ASINs
4