The Tudors: A Very Short Introduction

The first chapter is on economics and was difficult to follow. It might have been easier to follow if it had come at the end of the book rather than at the beginning. We then go through the Tudor monarchs reign by reign. I felt the author was trying to cram too much into what was billed as a short introduction, making it difficult to follow. The approach worked better with Henry VIII and Elizabeth I where he sensibly confined himself to a few topics from long reigns. Tempted by their shorter reigns perhaps, he tried to fit everything into the accounts of the other monarchs, which left me disorientated. I would have liked to hear more about Mary I, in particular.

Readable and informative. In fact more than an 'introduction' unless you mean to dig into the lives of these kings and queens fairly deeply. (And the title doesn't lie: it's really more about the royal Tudors than about Tudor England in general.)

First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, John Guy's Very Short Introduction to The Tudors is an authoritative short introduction to this age in British history. It offers a compelling account of the political, religious and economic changes of the country under such leading monarchs as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The work has been substantially revised and updated for this edition. In particular, the reigns of Henry VII, Edward VI, and Philip and Mary are comprehensively reassessed.

John Guy has been Professor of Modern History at the University of St Andrews since 1992. His publications include Tudor England (1988, 1990), The Reign of Elizabeth I (1995), The Tudor Monarchy (1997), Cardinal show more Wolsey (1998), Thomas More (2000), Politics, Law and Counsel in Tudor and Early Stuart England (2000). show less

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