Reply With QuoteI believe David Starkey to be one of the foremost experts on the Tudors, especially Henry viii- he's written several books and worth checking out
Hello,
I have an unexplainable interest in British Mediaeval history and also the Tudor period.
Do we have any scholars here who could suggest "the best" book to further educate me on these periods?
Thanks!
Adrian.
I believe David Starkey to be one of the foremost experts on the Tudors, especially Henry viii- he's written several books and worth checking out
Not a book, but you may be interested in this link to the Tudor's, who hail from Anglesey (Ynys Mon)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british...udors_01.shtml
One of the best history books i have is called english battlefields by michael rayner. Picked it up for 1p plus delivery on amazon.
The great warbow by mathew strickland and robert hardy (Siegfried offv all creatures great and small) is also a great book. Not just about warbows it covers almost every aspect of medieval life.
Second thoughts as i look at my bookshelf. This is the book i most enjoyed reading. Absolute must read if your into history, a real eye opener.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Tales-...nglish+history
Last edited by John Robbins; 11th June 2015 at 23:22.
I don't know about "the best" but I thoroughly enjoyed The Plantagenets by Dan Jones.
^^Originally Posted by Loddonite
Yup. V good.
Great, thanks everyone !
I really enjoyed this by Peter Ackroyd, Tudors: The History of England Volume II:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tudors-Histo...=tudor+england
Haven't yet read the others in the series, but this was a very good read.
I've read a number by Antonia Fraser and found them educational and enjoyable to read.
Of the very, very many on this period, these are the truly indispensable books:
GJ Meyer, 'The Tudors'
JJ Scarisbrick, 'Henry VIII'
Eric Ives, 'The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn'
And, of course, the Showtime series 'The Tudors'!
Thanks again for all the suggestions!
Following all the links above, I have decided to start here with this 3 part series (the Tudors being part 2):
Book 1:
Book 2:
Book 3:
Medieval People: Vivid Lives in a Distant Landscape - From Charlemagne to Piero della Francesca https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/05002520..._RtUHvbEHYYPKG
Plantagenet England: 1225-1360 (New Oxford History of England) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/01992268..._FuUHvbQ34KEV6
Personally I find the Plantagenet era more interesting. Michael Prestwich was one of my lecturers at Durham and his stuff is reasonably interesting... Or Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth mixes in some fiction whilst providing an overview of the period as well if you want a lighter read.
Wow - JJ Scarisbrick - not heard that name since my A-levels. Him, Elton and Starkey were my teachers' holy trinity back then.
It's still the standard text on Henry. Ives, likewise, is definitive on Anne, and you can't beat Meyer for entertainment:
"At the beginning of the year 1534, Henry had deteriorated only enough to be the sort of person you would hate to be seated next to at a dinner party: arrogant, opinionated, a bully inclined to self-pity, invincibly confident of his own charm, and certain that he knew best about everything that mattered. Before the year ended he had become what he would remain for the rest of his life: a full-fledged tyrant in the strictest sense of the word, a homicidal monster, absurd, pathetic, mortally dangerous.”
—G. J. Meyer, 'The Tudors'
Not history but Hilary Mantel's books,Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies certainly bring the period to life.
Just bought the first one myself the other day - I'm reading them in a strange order (having already read the second) but hopefully the first is as interesting as the second.Thanks again for all the suggestions!
Following all the links above, I have decided to start here with this 3 part series (the Tudors being part 2):
Book 1:
Mine should arrive today, courtesy of Amazon Prime - cant wait to get stuck in!
I actually have very little knowledge of how England was settled and then grew to become the country we know it today, beyond the few famous bits - The Black Death, 1066, Henry VIII etc - which have been made famous mostly by popular culture.
This is also a great read. I don't think i have ever read a more interesting and enlightening book. The way it links people and events in history and gives fascinating but not so well known facts is excellent. Highly recommend it!
I spotted that one, but added it to my wish list rather than buying it now, as I suspect the tomes I did buy may take me some time to read! That one is up next though!This is also a great read. I don't think i have ever read a more interesting and enlightening book. The way it links people and events in history and gives fascinating but not so well known facts is excellent. Highly recommend it!
Looking forward to hearing how you get on with it. I've a few books ahead of that one in my queue to read but hopefully I'll get started on it in a fortnight or so.
A bit of a thread resurrection this one...but how did you find the first book? I had read the Tudors one but just finished book 1 and found it fascinating. And really, I should have read it before book 2, not that it's necessary, but it gives you a great background to what was going on up to that point. Now I'll have to order book 3 to finish them out.Thanks again for all the suggestions!
Following all the links above, I have decided to start here with this 3 part series (the Tudors being part 2):
Book 1:
Book 2:
Book 3:
In a similar vein, The Shardlake novels by C. J. Sampson are a good read and pretty historically factual.
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