reviews

Reviews of 1536

‘Lipscomb has woven [the events of 1536] together to give us a new appreciation of how these different events were interrelated, combining to bring Henry’s fear and ferocity alike to unprecedented levels…. The real achievement of the book, though, is… to bring 1536 vividly to life, and to turn Henry from a two-dimensional if commanding image into someone we might begin to understand in human terms. … the result is fresh and lively, historically accurate and also entertaining... a chatty, original, readable and engaging account of the personal and political transformation of the man, the kingdom and the legend. Henry might not have appreciated its conclusions, but he might well have approved of the depth it imparts to a sense of what it meant to be a king in 1536.’

Dr Lucy Wooding, Times Literary Supplement, 4 September 2009

‘A bold and original attempt to unravel one of the great mysteries of English history: how, when and why Henry VIII changes from a handsome Prince Charming into a fat and loathsome Bluebeard.’

Dr David Starkey, author of Henry: Virtuous Prince and

Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII

'Suzannah Lipscomb has achieved the near-impossible: she's found an intriguing new way of imagining the king we thought we all knew about.'

Dr Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator, Historic Royal Palaces, and

author of Cavalier: A Tale of Chivalry, Passion and Great Houses

'Strong or weak? A sexual predator or an insecure cuckold? Master of events or manipulated by others? The paradox of Henry VIII is brilliantly unravelled by Suzannah Lipscomb as she reveals the multiple nightmares of the King’s annus horribilis.'

Peter Furtado, former Editor of History Today

‘At once both scholarly and a joy to read’

Prof. Thomas Betteridge,

Reader in Early Modern English Literature, Oxford Brookes University

‘Suzannah Lipscomb shows vividly how the events of a single tumultuous year, from marital betrayal to mass rebellion, crystallised Henry’s personal fears, religious priorities, political style and visual image, shaping the tyranny of his last years, the idiosyncrasies of his Reformation and the lasting myth of the wilful colossus.’

Dr Steven Gunn, Lecturer in History, Fellow and Tutor at Merton College, Oxford

'An engaging and splendidly readable account of a pivotal year in Henry's fascinating, terrible, reign.'

Prof. Greg Walker, Masson Professor of English Literature, University of Edinburgh

‘1536 is a lucid and evocative account of Henry VIII in his times, and a finely-judged portrait of the pomp, envy, fury and melancholy of kingship. It is also an object lesson in male vainglory, and the precipitous decline even the most gilded life can lurch into: of

how the best-known and most naturally gifted monarch in British history succumbed to the strange, familiar passions of age, arrogance and insecurity.’

Dr Tom Chatfield, Arts and Book Editor, Prospect Magazine

'An enlightening and comprehensive analysis of a pivotal year in Henry VIII's reign.'

Dr Tracy Borman, author of King’s Mistress, Queen’s Servant: Henrietta Howard