I’m over Henry VIII. Seriously I haven’t read anything new or original about him in ages. I always appreciate the author’s vigorous research, but the books always seem to teach me what I already know. I spend more time comparing one Henry book with another, which is not fair to the authors/historians. Some just tell the stories better I guess. I’m to the point where I just find him disgusting. There are so many other subjects of the Tudor era I recommend that maybe is ime we look elsewhere for our news.

Borman is a stalwart in the genre. Meticulously researched as always. Despite the deluge of tudor nonfiction I always find myself in safe hands with her and enjoy them immensely

Oh Henry VIII… it can be hard to get new info or a different take on him since he is so widely researched and written about. Focusing on his relationship with his male companions and his actions through that lens though was a new one for me. It offered different insight and information besides what I was familiar with. Well written and engaging throughout. I’d recommend for any Henry fan or history buff.

Read after release

I am a huge fan of anything having to do with this time period and I especially have loved reading and watching shows about Henry VIII and all of his disastrous marriages. However, it was nice to get a peak at more just about him than only his marriages because that isn't all that made him who he was.

I've read easily a dozen books on Henry VIII and his court and so I was able to dive right into Borman's book without issue. I appreciated the shift in focus away from Henry and his wives to the men with whom he surrounded himself, but wouldn't recommend it as an introduction to the infamous king and his court. While overall, I found it to be a clear and very readable book, Borman's repeated description of Cromwell, Cranmer, and their ilk as evangelicals, without a specific definition of that term, is problematic at best, as was the aside about Tudor perception of so-called fools.

Read two years post-release.

I’m a big time Tudor fan. Musicals, tv shows, fiction, non-fiction. This was an interesting take for anyone who wants to know the man beyond the distrastrous marriages.

3.75 stars

"Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him" is an interesting biography of Henry VIII and the most influential men in his life. I generally liked the book's structure and writing, but sometimes the lists of which men earned what money at which point in time and for what got a little too much, especially if these men didn't go on to play a bigger part in the king's life.

Great read, and highly enjoyable! I am not the biggest Henry VIII fan, but this book was fun and well done. It was a hard book to put down!

We see Henry VIII as never before - through the male relationships that he had in his life. Most of the time we are focused on the six wives - not the friendships and political acquaintances that would have shaped the young king and molded him as he grew older.

Worth a read!

Tracy Borman's history books are always very readable. This one about Henry VIII is about the men who surrounded him from childhood through his death, tracking not only the prominent church leaders and politicians, but also courtiers and personal friends. It's a massive book that is not always engaging. I picked it up and put it down many times.

For readers who are quite knowledgeable about Henry VIII and his story, this book should be a welcome addition to the library. For those of us who are less attuned to the era, it's worth reading but probable not a high priority. It was a bit hard for me to keep track of the actions of all of these people and I wish that events were more often fastened down by dates.

Tracy Borman's Henry VIII and the Men who Made Him offers an insightful addition to the history surrounding Henry VIII. I enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the men standing behind and shaping the king rather than just another book about him or his wives. Borman has a wonderful ability to express history in a way that is interesting, engaging, and easily accessible by both general readers and academics.
The chronological track of Henry's life provides the guide for the individual biographies of each man Borman examines in relation to how they impacted Henry's life, his behaviors, habits, and his way of governing. The way the information is presented keeps readers from becoming confused by events and provides for an easy flow to the narrative.
I have read Borman's works in the past and after this book, I know I will continue to do so in the future. Well done!

I know I am terribly late in reviewing this book, but thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It took me forever to read this, but it was worth it. Tracy Borman's envisioning biography of Henry VIII focuses primarily on the people (mostly men) surrounding Henry throughout his life. This gives a great insight into the workings of Tudor court life, politics and diplomacy. It also makes for an unusual perspective and depth, as if you're looking at a picture of an object, but seeing more of the background than of the object itself. I often wondered what Henry's own perspective was in different situations that were narrated from the pov of his advisers. Maybe it's time to read a classic biography of Henry VIII as well.

Throughout his life the people surrounding Henry changed regularly, falling in and out of grace, being planted in his privy chamber or beheaded. This makes for a long string of characters featured in the book. On the one hand this makes for variation, as a series of mini-biographies, on the other hand it occasionally felt a bit like a long shopping list of people that all start to look and sound the same. The wives don't play a prominent role in this work, probably because, even though they were married to Henry, they didn't play too big a part in Henry's life, apart from their political significance and child-bearing properties.

Very informative, well-researched work.

This book is a very welcome addition to literature about Henry VIII. By focusing on those around him, Borman helps us see Henry not just as a shaper of events, but as someone who is shaped by those around him. The people are fascinating; the politics are both interesting and appalling. A great book for those who have read Hilary Mantel's Cromwell novels—as well as for fans of Tudor biography.

I enjoyed reading this book. Ms Borman did a excellent job researching for this book. Thanks to Netgalley for this free copy.

An interesting look at Henry VIII and the male relationships that shaped his life. I've read many books on the Tudor era that discuss Henry's marriages and romantic relationships, but this was a fresh take on the men that influenced HVIII.

Tracy Borman’s examination of Henry VIII and the impact that the men surrounding him had on his actions and his characters is an interesting idea: thoughts about Henry VIII almost inevitably always head in the direction of his six wives but, even in cases like Anne Boleyn, the strictly patriarchal structure of the day meant that these women had little agency and the chess pieces of the medieval court were instead being moved by the women’s male supporters.
And, Henry VIII was definitely a chess piece.
Reckless, fickle, spoilt - the more I learn about the man, the more I despise him, even when considering him only in the context of the time period in which he lived - he was pushed and pulled by his own whims and the whims that those around him had planted in his mind.
More religious reform, less religious reform.
More wars, less wars.
Same wife, different wife.
His mind changed hour by hour and, when considering the strong personalities (and the stronger ambitions) of those around him, it is not difficult to understand why he catapulted himself through a do-si-do of conflicting religious reforms and six marriages.
The problem is that, 99.9% of these changes in temperament were not caused by a hive mind or a council of his favourites, but two specific men in his inner circle: namely, Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. Chief manipulators of the King in their time, villains in the view of the British public and a majority of the aristocracy, these two men cast a dark shadow that manages to obscure the rest of Henry VIII’s favourites.
And, therefore, aside from figures like Charles Brandon and Thomas Cranmer (who could be termed as rather like background characters), the rest just fade into little more than nothingness; occasionally mentioned, but often neglected.
I think that Tracy Borman wanted to do too much and, by attempting to expel insights on ALL of the King’s men, the book lacked any sort of focus that could have come from streamlining the book. It could have very easily just been a book about Henry VIII’s relationship with Wolsey and Cromwell.
Ultimately, it would have achieved far more and, let’s be honest, I don’t even think you would have to cut much out of it.

As someone who finds all things Tudor fascinating, I couldn’t resist requesting a copy of Henry VIII when I saw it come up on NetGalley. Even though I’ve read plenty of other books on Henry VIII, I never seem to be able to get enough. Plus, this book offered new insights by taking a different approach, focusing not on Henry and his wives, which most biographies do, but looking at Henry through the eyes of the men who were his friends or worked for him (and sometimes both) during his reign.

I already knew a fair bit about some of these men – Thomas More, for example, and Cromwell – but others were less well known, if known at all, which I actually found the most interesting part of the book. There were so many men that came and went from Henry’s life, that sought favour and then – when they got on the King’s wrong side – probably wished they’d stayed at home with their family. Their scheming and conniving puts today’s politicians to shame!

I am not sure how much more I’d learnt about Henry by the end, or that his wives still weren’t too much of a focus (though is it possible to write a book about Henry VIII without his marriages being front and centre?). However, I do feel like I understand so much more about the politics of the day and how the system work. In that sense, this book was a big win for me and – just like the Tudor’s themselves – fascinating.

Tracy Borman has written an engaging and well-researched book about an aspect of Henry VIII we rarely consider - the men who influenced his life. I enjoy Tudor history and was pleased to be presented with new information. I really like Tracy Borman's style - she made the stories that are integral to history stand out; this book was much more than a parade of names, dates, and events.
Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him should be put on the TBR list of anyone who is interested in Tudor history.

My first thought when I think about King Henry VIII is this:

Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced Beheaded, Survived.

It's almost automatic to think of Henry in terms of his disastrous marriages....and the effect those dramas had on English history, religion, and the monarchy.

Tracy Borman wants to redirect the focus from the women in Henry's life to the men -- his father, his older brother who died, his advisors, councilors, friends, frenemies, servants -- all the men surrounding Henry from childhood, helping form his character and behavior. From Hans Holbein, the court painter who created the portraits we still see today, to the powerful Dukes of Buckingham and Norfolk, all the way down the court pecking order to Will Somer the Court Fool...Henry was surrounded by men all his life from his birth to his death at 55. And those men had a profound effect on Henry, his decisions, his personality....and his cruelty.

I enjoyed this book! I read it slowly over a two week period, letting the history and information soak into my brain. I came to this conclusion...if Henry VIII was truly fickle, paranoid, vain, obsessed with a male heir, cruel and horribly misguided at times....who made him that way? The men who surrounded him -- giving advice, scrounging for power and favor, practicing deceit to influence Henry's decisions, always watching, always waiting, always wanting.... No wonder Henry was paranoid. No wonder he was obsessed with leaving an heir to the throne. No wonder he turned on faithful advisors, friends, and nobility when it pleased him to have them executed. The treatment of Henry's wives was brought about not only by Henry's obsessions and fickle nature, but also by the advisors that surrounded him. They whispered the lies. They arranged the trials. They pushed their daughters in front of him. They gave Henry what they told him he wanted. They created the king who has a high spot on the list of worst monarchs in history. So while Henry VIII is responsible for his own behavior (as are we all), the men around him that helped mold him are also partially (maybe even mostly) to blame.

Awesome book! I thoroughly enjoyed this look at Henry VIII, the men in his life and court, and how they molded the king.

This book is non-fiction and contains a lot of names, dates, historical facts, etc. Great for those who love reading about the Tudors....not so great for those who don't enjoy non-fiction or pure history. Those who enjoyed Borman's earlier book -- The Private Lives of the Tudors -- will also enjoy this book. I enjoy Borman's writing style. She presents the facts in an interesting way. I never feel like I'm reading a stuffy textbook. Great information -- I loved it!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Grove Atlantic. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. No advisors or spouses were beheaded in the writing of this review.)

When it comes to English history, it’s hard to find a time period more salacious and intriguing than the Tudor era. And while the Tudor royal dynasty didn’t begin with Henry VII, he is the one who may have left the most memorable and permanent mark on England and its people—though not necessarily for the reasons he intended. In Tracy Borman’s Henry VIII: And the Men Who Made Him, she looks beyond the notoriety he gained for how he treated his six wives, instead examining the impacts the numerous men in his life had on him. For it was their influence over him—or his defiance and baiting of them—that ultimately shaped the legislation that disrupted so many lives as it dismantled religious institutions and traditions that had existed for centuries and pitted reformists against conservatives, wavering in support of one then the other over several decades.

Beginning with Henry’s childhood under the shadow of his older brother and their strict but distant father, Borman’s book explores the examples set for him and the expectations put on his shoulders as the ‘spare heir.’ Several of the men who would feature so prominently in his court during his reign began as tutors and visitors in his household as a young prince, including Thomas More. The death of his brother, Arthur, while Henry had not yet reached his teens shifted the responsibility of inheriting the throne to him along with the heaviest of his father’s restrictions and expectations. Resentment for his father shaped a great deal in Henry VIII’s early reign, along with his closest advisor and administrator, Cardinal Wolsey. But the friends who filled his privy council wielded their own influence with him and not always towards the same goals as Wolsey. The impact of age and injury—both physical and perceived—led to incredible paranoia in Henry VIII and to more ruthless conflict among the men who served him so that even those closest to him weren’t safe.

Based on the book’s description, one of the aspects I was expecting there to be more of throughout was a specific exploration of masculinity in the period. There was a little here and there about how Henry VIII aspired to chivalric ideals, but never went into much depth about what that meant. Granted, there is a lot to get through when tackling the plotting and rivalries, the rise, fall, and/or survival of so many men over so many decades.
A great deal of what I’ve already read about the Tudors has either been in academic articles concerning influences on Shakespeare’s works or in historic fiction. With much of the latter sensationalized (though less than would be necessary in other historic settings) and focused on women’s perspectives, it was fascinating to see how much the rivalries and conflicts amongst the men of the court reminded me of high school cliques, but with much higher stakes; the resentments between those born to power, money, and privilege matched against those whose hard work and skill have helped them rise to unprecedented levels; Henry VIII pitting his closest friends and advisors against each other to assert his dominance over and independence from both; the obsession with perception as much as (or more often, more than) with what’s truly best for everyone.

Learning more about Henry VIII’s life before becoming king was the most enlightening as I feel that’s a part of his life that is largely left out of general histories. So much of his story seems to start when he seeks to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon that to read about his familial relationships in his youth felt fresh. Though it’s impossible to write about Henry VIII without including a bit about his marriages, it also added depth to see just how many men were pulling strings behind the scenes in each woman’s direction as well. Anne Boleyn wielded great influence over him but she had help in plotting and executing her ascension to the throne and she wasn’t alone in her fate when she fell.

There are so many more contributing factors to how and why the reign of Henry VIII became so infamous and Borman does a fantastic job of showing that the king wasn’t the only man at court who could be ruthless and calculating.

Henry’s Men by Tracy Borman

4 Stars

Henry’s inner circle

Who were the men accepted into Henry VIII’s inner circle and what were the political games they played? Over 400 years ago power, greed, corruption and self-gain were just as palpable in men of power as is the case today. Henry’s men, however, were in a slightly more perilous position, but this did not weaken their resolve to seek a close connection to the monarch.

This biography portrays Henry’s evolving character during his 37-year reign. It paints a portrait of a charismatic and exuberant youth who develops into a powerful monarch and, mainly through his pressing need for a male heir, defies all conventions of that time. The biography clearly depicts how his engaging character becomes increasingly paranoid and tyrannical, leading to the annihilation of any man or woman who dared to oppose him. What is interesting is the exploration of his deep-rooted insecurities born from a distant relationship with his father and a childhood spent in the shadow of his brother, Arthur.

We are first introduced to Hans Holbein, Henry’s favourite court painter. Not only was he to paint the iconic image of Henry in his imposing, and gargantuan, opulence, but his paintings are a record of court life during Henry’s reign. The timeline then moves to Henry’s early years where at the age of 11 he had outgrown the care of his mother and his nursemaids. Arthur Plantagenet, his uncle, and his mentor Lord Mountjoy would act as Henry’s first role models. Later William Fitzwilliam became and remained one of Henry’s closest companions. He is said to have understood the king’s ‘nature and temper better than any man in England’. This read shows the machinations of some of the most astute, renowned and powerful men of the time. Henry surrounded himself with men such as Thomas Cromwell and Cardinal Wolsey whose ambitions were quite evidently political from the outset. Under the king's protection, they were provided with an opportunity to question the practices of the Roman Catholic Church, justifying the annulment of Henry’s first marriage and driving a full-scale dissolution of the monasteries in England. Along with ruthless noblemen such as the Duke of Buckingham and the Duke of Norfolk, who used their allegiances with the monarch to elevate themselves, Henry drew prominent scholars such as Thomas More and Desiderius Erasmus into his circle.

This biography skilfully offers a fresh perspective on the king who is mostly known by the mnemonic, ‘divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived,’ to describe the fate of five of his six wives. It is an academic read which will interest readers who are keen to study Henry VIII and the powerful influencers in his world. It provides a detailed view of the men who surrounded him for over 40 years and shows how they used their positions for personal gain, often losing their heads, quite literally. Although I am not a historian and cannot vouch for the historical accuracy of this read, it is well-annotated and captures interest in a detailed depiction of Henry VIII’s life.


Ange

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.