The blurb was very promising, but the book did not meet all my expectations. It was a pleasant read, it’s the Tudors after all, but I had hoped for a more comprehensive, academic work.

The focus is indeed on the men surrounding Henry, an approach that I found very intriguing. Though interesting and informative, the book very nearly reads like a summary of names and titles with at times very subjective, strongly expressed or oversimplified conclusions linking everything together.

I prefer more historical background information and nuance in a biography as well as a better clarification of the sources used, with their bias and the agenda of the narrator always clearly kept in mind. The author often quotes from the Spanish Chronicle, which I didn’t much care for since it is a rather unreliable source, feeling more like a gossip mag at times. Occasionally, she used sweeping statements herself, without giving a source or the reasoning behind her conclusion.

I also feel that the author made far too light of Henry VIII’s religious scruples and his genuine and legitimate concern regarding the importance of an heir for his dynasty and the benefits of a peaceful succession to the nation itself. I don’t mean to imply that he was a stand-up guy, but perspective and nuance are so crucial for any historical research. Well-known aspects of Henry’s life like his being conferred the title of Defender of the Faith for writing his Defense of the Seven Sacraments, his genuine grand passion & love for Anne Boleyn, the reformation of the Church of England etc. are only touched upon in the briefest manner, or even made light of.

The women are understandably relegated to the background in this book on Henry and “the men who made him”, the author didn’t stop at shifting focus in this way, however, but went a bit too far the other way, diminishing their actual importance in Henry’s life and their worth as people in their own right. She treats Henry’s wives almost like mere puppets on a string being moved about by the men in their lives and doesn’t give them enough credit for their many qualities like piety, loyalty, intelligence, courage, political acumen and resourcefulness, to name a few.

The e-book didn’t have any pictures in it, which really should go hand in hand with a biography. A pity.

A well written, meticulously researched biography and Henry and the men who surrounded him. Some for better, some for worse. Easy to read. I've read countless books about the Tudor period, and some (many) fail to hold my interest throughout the book. I read this book in a day, it was fascinating and insightful.

Rating: 3 stars
Tracy Borman’s most recent entry into the history of the Tudors, “Henry VIII and the men who made him: The secret history behind the Tudor throne” is a good solid work of non-fiction. It joins her previous book about the Tudor dynasty, “Elizabeth’s Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes who Shaped the Virgin Queen” and it does a serviceable job of painting the picture of Henry’s court and the myriads of men surrounding him throughout his life. Unfortunately for me, it paints the picture in fits and starts. Due to how it is structured, I often had a hard time keeping track of all the significant players in Henry’s court.

The book is told in chronological order from the beginning to the end (and a bit beyond) of Henry’s life. It focuses on how Henry used to his men in often impetuous and petulant ways. He was nothing if not mercurial. There is no better illustration of this than by seeing the multiple times those close counselors and nobility swung rapidly from boon companions and confidants, to traitors on trumped up charges where the best outcome that could be hoped for was a swift death by beheading.

I have read quite a bit about all the Tudors, so I am familiar with Henry’s story. This book did shed new light on how capricious Henry could be, and suggests some of the reasons why that was. While the book did provide good information, it was a bit long. At times I found it either tedious or hard to follow. I’m not sure what suggestion I’d make to help organize it a different that would have enlightened me in a more entertaining way. Currently, it’s just a bit too fragmented for my reading taste. I think it’s suited to a reader with a fairly good knowledge of Tudor history. The casual reader might soon be daunted or discouraged by all the details.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Grove Atlantic; and the author, Tracy Borman; for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Over the last few years I have come to rely on Tracy Borman’s books about Tudor England. She is an excellent historian, and has a clear-eyed and fresh approach to this well-traveled subject. In this book we do not spend the majority of our time on Henry’s wives, interesting though they are, nor on his split with Rome, momentous as that was. This book is a look at the men with whom Henry surrounded himself, men great and small, and their influence on the king.

Henry was not meant to be king, as the second son he was the spare of the “heir and a spare.” He became king after his brother Arthur’s death, upon the death of their father. He was only eighteen, and who knows how this affected his personality? Borman makes the case that it is hard to grapple with Henry as he was so changeable over the course of his life, and she is very persuasive.

Notwithstanding his marriages, I have always thought of Henry VIII as, in that old-fashioned phrase, a man’s man. Although much-married, Henry was surrounded by men after he left the nursery, and had them as his friends and mentors. These men ranged from the high-born to the low, and from those in positions of grandeur and power to those of lower estate. The interesting biographies of many of these men, drawn from a number of sources, are fascinating, and for many of them would be even without their connection to the king.

I am glad to say that this book is as readable as Borman’s other writings. Without in any way compromising her solid scholarship, “Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him” is never dry nor dull which is another mark in her favor. All in all, for anyone interested in Henry, or one of the major figures covered therein, or for anyone interested in the period in general, this is an excellent work to add to one’s interest, and is highly recommended.

When people think "Henry VIII" they probably think of beheadings and serial marriages. But there is a great deal more to his legacy than this and Tracy Borman explores all of it in Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him. Borman examines Henry's life by looking at the men he surrounded himself with. Henry loved to have intelligent, active young men around him who shared his interests in hunting, hawking, dancing, and every other form of sport available. After a difficult relationship with his father, Henry wanted to be a king as opposite his predecessor as possible. While he may be more well known today as a harsh and paranoid tyrant, in his youth Henry was trusting and could be easily led by trusted confidants seeking power.

Borman explores Henry's relationships with Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Moore, the Howards, the Seymours, and the Boleyns as well as less well known figures. A refreshing amount of the book is based on contemporary sources, most notably ambassador Eustace Chapuys. This means the reader is treated to the gossip and rumors that swirled around Henry's court as well as the reality of court life- brilliantly and subtly illuminating the court's atmosphere of infighting and backstabbing as individuals and factions sought Henry's favor and the money and power that came with it. While Henry's controlling disposition and violent temper increased as he aged, the reader discovers that the popular image of a king who routinely beheads people was enhanced by his followers at court who used their king's paranoia to get rid of their competitors- thinking of themselves more often than the king.

A well-researched, well-written, and entirely fascinating book, Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him is a must-read for anyone interested in English history, and the Tudor dynasty. More readable than might be expected from a tome of its length, readers who know something about Henry's reign will discover new fascinating gems of information and readers new to the time period will get a wonderful and thorough introduction to the life and times of Henry VIII and the men who helped make him who he was.

A fascinating and informative account of the many men who helped to shape the life and legacy of one of the most famous, or infamous men in history. Henry VIII is a fascinating man , and while we often hear about him in the context of his many wives, it was interesting to see the influence of family , companions and advisors in both his public and personal lives.
The book is both well researched and well written, and would be a welcome addition to the library of anyone with an interest in Tudor history.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Tracy Borman's biography on Thomas Cromwell, so I was excited to start reading Borman's new book, Henry VIII. Henry VIII did not disappoint; like Borman's previous work, this almost read like a novel. It was an entertaining read that had me invested in the various characters that played a role in Henry VIII's life.
A good deal of time is spent on the "major players" at the Tudor court such as Wolsey, Cromwell, and the Duke of Norfolk, however, you get a better glimpse at the lesser known courtiers such as Hans Holbein and Dr. William Butts.
My biggest complaint with Borman's Cromwell biography was that the English spelling for cited passages wasn't modernized, so it often took a while to decipher certain passages. However, for Henry VIII, they took the time to modernize the spelling of cited contemporaries which really helped improve the flow of the work.
I would recommend Henry VIII to anyone who has a basic understanding of the Tudor court and wants to learn more about the men who influenced Henry VIII throughout his reign.

Henry the VIII Is best known for his marriages and relationships with women. This book is not about that. Rather it tells things that I didn’t know about his own father and their relationship besides his relationships with his sister and older brother or lack of. The book tells stories of the advisors and servants of King Henry the VIII. The king relied on them from private and/or secret concerns. However betrayal and power-grabbing schemes made him turn from being a cheerful and friendly king into a paranoid king. I found that there was a large cast of characters spanning the years of his life to death was written well and gave me different insights to the king. Henry started to favor the low-born as he became more paranoid. This didn’t go over well with the high-born. Whoever opposed him met violent downfalls. He did manage to assume control of his reign but it was too late.

The author has written a fascinating book about King Henry the VIII that is seldom discussed in books. It is not boring. It brings to the reader how dangerous life could be for those who served King Henry the VIII.

This is a fairly good book about the life of my favorite king, Henry VIII and how he was controlled by outside forces that had designs upon changing England for the better and sometimes the worse. I found it absolutely fascinating.

Divorced, beheaded, died.
Divorced, beheaded, survived.

This oft-repeated rhyme is what many first think of when the name of Henry VIII is mentioned. Thanks to their impact, the conflicts between Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, and Anne Boleyn is probably the most famous segment of English history outside of World War II. New biographies and novels centered upon one or more of the six wives of Henry VIII come out every year, and each of those queens-- particularly Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn-- has developed a small but passionate fandom. We view Henry VIII through the lens of his wives, but there was more to the glamorous, yet dangerous, court of this capricious king who changed England so profoundly.

If you don't know much about the court of King Henry VIII, then names like Charles Bradon, Duke of Suffolk, Cardinal Wolsey, and Thomas Cromwell won't mean anything to you, but their influence on the king cannot be understated. In her new biography, Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him, Tracy Borman sheds a light on these men and others in order to provide a more rounded view of Henry VIII.

The book begins during the reign of Henry VII, the first Tudor king who was desperate to legitimize his line, as his claim to the throne was dubious at best and there were many nobles who had nearly as much claim as he did. Young Henry was the spare heir for the first years of his life and was largely left in his mother's care and that of tutors, who provided the first influences on the young prince. Upon the death of his older brother, Arthur, young Henry's status rose immediately, and his companions changed radically, too. The story passes quickly through Henry's childhood, and once he ascends to the throne, we begin to see the rise of such court officials as Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. Borman details how these two men learned to handle Henry VIII's changeable nature and navigate the treacherous waters of the Tudor court until they, born as commoners, rose in turn to become some of the most powerful and wealthy men in England. We also see the rise and fall of Thomas More and Stephen Gardiner and discover how a previously unknown church official named Thomas Cranmer helped change the course of England's future. And winding through nearly all of Henry VIII's life, his friendship with Charles Brandon threads through it as Brandon's status rises and falls and rises again, depending upon Henry VIII's moods and Brandon's actions.

These are not comprehensive biographies of these men. This book serves as a sort of survey overlooking Henry VIII's life and times, and many lesser names pass in and out of the narrative without seeming to have much impact upon it. But we get a clear sense of how men like Cardinal Wolsey manipulated the king when he was young, and how an aging Henry turned into a moody tyrant who was easily influenced by whoever flattered him the best. We also see how these men worked behind the scenes to bring about Henry VIII's marriages and divorces, and how their own fortunes could rise and fall if they allied themselves with the wrong woman at the wrong time. As a longtime fan of Tudor history, I was fascinated by this book. While I was already familiar with these men and what they did, Borman's decision to focus on their stories rather than looking at them through the lens of Henry VIII's wives brought new life to historical details I wasn't completely familiar with.

If you are just starting to look into Tudor history, I would probably not recommend Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him, simply because these men are not as familiar to modern readers as Henry VIII's wives. In that case, I would recommend something like Antonia Fraser's Six Wives of Henry VIII or Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall. But for readers who are already familiar with the essential details of the Tudor court and wish to know more, I would definitely recommend this book. It is full of excellent details about the lives of the men who are often pushed to the side in favor of sexier stories about, say, Anne Boleyn or Katherine Howard. These men are fascinating in their own right, and their influence upon Henry VII was every bit as important as his wives.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is quite a deep dive of a history book. Spanning Henry VIII's extensive reign, Tracy Borman covers nearly every man who served Henry. I thought given my extensive reading on the Tudors that this would be old hat, but I learned quite a bit with this book! Wolsey, Cramner, Cromwell, Suffolk, More, these men are always discussed when Henry VIII comes up, but we finally get to hear about the men in lesser positions who still served Henry in important roles and functions.

I would recommend reading this slowly. It isn't difficult subject matter, but Borman does not skip or ignore anything. It can get confusing with similar names and positions, but taking your time helps with it. She is a talented writer and doesn't succumb to laboured academic styles of writing. If you are looking for a gift for someone who thinks that they know everything about the Tudors, this is the book to give!

This book was interesting from the perspective that the focus was on the men who surrounded Henry VIII and not him. The book addressed the relationships with some of the better known names of that time - Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell and Charles Branson (Duke of Suffolk) and also a number who are not as well known. It clearly shows that being a part of the court of Henry VIII was a challenge due to the swings in mood and personality of the monarch that would have someone in favor one day and losing their head later on.

I recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in Henry VIII.

I received a free Kindle copy of Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him by Tracy Borman courtesy of Net Galley  and Grove Atlantic, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have always had an interest in Henry VIII and this book focused more on the men around him than Henry himself. This is the first book by the author that I have read.

Henry VIII – Tracy Borman

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Summary:
“Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived” Thus goes the old mantra on how to remember what happened to Henry VIII’s six wives. It is accepted as fact that his marital intrigues were all about begetting a male heir, to bolster and shore up the shaky claim the Tudors had on the throne.

Most books on Henry deal with the man’s marital status, but this one is different. The author looks at the king from a viewpoint rarely if ever considered – that of the men who served him, entertained him, fought and died for him, and most of whom were betrayed by him.

Main Characters:
Henry VIII: He is the colossus in this book, and is the hub around which the other characters circle.

Thomas Wyatt: The man who introduced the sonnet to England, he was also in and out of favour. He luckily escaped execution along with Anne Boleyn’s lovers, and

Charles Brandon: A life-long friend of the king, temporarily under a cloud when he married the King’s sister without permission, but soon restored to favour. Brave, a womaniser, and the King’s equal in jousting.

Thomas Cromwell: A protégé of Wolsey’s, and highly intelligent in his own right. He was bluntly spoken, and had a wit that even his enemies admired. See my summary of Wolf Hall for more detail on this most complex of men.

Cardinal Wolsey: A faithful servant for over twenty years, he fell from favour when he couldn’t arrange the annulment of Henry’s first marriage, and died on his way to trial.

Minor Characters:
See below.

Plot:
Henry VII married Elizabeth of York in 1486 to put an end to the War of the Roses, and create peace in a country torn by civil strife. Elizabeth did her duty, and produced a brood of children, among them Arthur and Henry.

Arthur was the heir apparent, and from an early age was schooled in all of the kingly arts, and needed skills. Henry was the spare, and was allowed more freedom than Arthur. Arthur married Catherine of Aragon, but died shortly after without producing an heir. He was a frail boy, and he official cause of death was phthisis. Unbeknownst to everyone, this was to spell a lot of trouble for millions of people for centuries afterwards.

Henry was thrust into the spotlight as the heir apparent, and being a gregarious youth took to it like a duck to water. He soon surrounded himself with “lusty bachelors”, and though he did seem to have retained a fear of his father (even after the King’s death), he was refused nothing that he asked for. He married Catherine, his brother’s widow, and in time they had only Margaret who survived to adulthood.

Henry was highly intelligent, physically impressive, war-like, and was every inch the Renaissance prince. He could speak two or three languages extremely well, and has at his court the likes of Erasmus, John Skelton, Colet, and Hans Holbein, amongst others. He had at his beck and call the nobility of the land, and the sumptuousness of his court had international renown. He also had a coterie of servants drawn from all other ranks of society.

It is the story of all these men that makes up this book.

His “minions’ (from the French “mignons”) served his every desire. The author believes the monster king was actually very insecure, and why he was relatively easily manipulated (more so earlier in his life, than later when he took more control over affairs of state).

This allowed “low born” but highly capable men such as Wolsey to rise in his service, to attain great heights of power and wealth. It seems it also helped to have Thomas as your first name!

Thomas More spent many years at court, sometimes precariously so, but survived and in time he headed the list of forty-four charges that were levelled against Wolsely. He of course was firmly Catholic, and resisted all attempts at Reformation.

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, led the Reformatin of the English Church, supported Royal Supremacy, but eventually ended as a Protestant martyr in the pyre upon the accession of Mary I (to be covered in “The Burning Time” by Virginia Rounding, which I am reading).

Thomas Cawarden, master of revels, his was the responsibility to remind the king of his former glories by arranging masterful displays and pageants, etc. Upon Henry’s death, Cawarden received a generous sum “in token of special love”

William Butts was Henry’s personal physician, and I was surprised to learn he served the Tudors for over twenty years. I was also surprised to learn of the potential influence this relatively unknown man had over the king, in particular his religious views which could have prompted Henry towards splitting with the Catholic Church.

George Boleyn was brother to Anne and Mary, both of whom were lovers of Henry. He comes across as arrogant and scheming, he did act as ambassador for Henry, but was ultimately accused of and executed for treason.

While many of those who surrounded Henry were bred to it, and took it as their right to have this level of access to the King, Henry did seem to favour those who were somewhat of the outsider [maybe, the author suggests, he saw something of himself in them]. The author likes to give examples of his heretofore unknown kindnesses [e.g. his treatment of his court jester Somer].

What I Liked:
- The freshness of this perspective.
- The level of research was excellent.
- The book was written with a lay reader in mind, so no special knowledge needed of the various characters. The author made an excellent job of keeping the flow seamless.

What I Didn’t Like:
- The breadth of characters is both a strength and weakness. Some deserved more depth and coverage than others, I think.

Overall:
The world shows no signs of tiring of all things Tudor, and this is a good book which will stoke interest. It gives an original insight into the very male world of Henry. It does make you think of the huge anxiety levels that must have been so prevalent, as this court was literally a nest of vipers, with constantly shifting loyalties, favours and alliances.

Henry’s own fickleness is thrown into greater relief, as we see how callously he treated those around him. He raised people up, and as quickly threw them down, and they were never certain of whether what he asked for was what he really wanted.

It is well-researched, and would make a great Christmas stocking filler!

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me a free copy of this book, in return for an honest and objective review.

.3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Thanx you Grove Atlantic for sending me this eARC through NetGalley. It is a solid biographical study of the men who served Henry the VIII. Most books about this period focus on his six wives or Henry the VIII. The author has done an impressive amount of research, quoting extensively from primary sources, letters, diaries, official records, etc.
Henry the VIII was obsessed with producing a male heir to carry on his reign. His father had ended a civil war and Henry the VIII worried that there would be another civil war without a male heir.
A personal note: I just returned from a UK visit and toured Castle Howard, in the Howard family for more than 500 years. It is now owned by The National Trust. The last Howard turned it over to the Trust with the proviso that he continue to live there. He died recently, but used to give tours while he was alive. Castle Howard was a stately mansion and not a Castle. Actual castles in the UK have the town name first, as in Caernarfon Castle. Katherine Howard was one of Henry the VIII's wives.
Interestingly, many of the men who served Henry the VIII were named Thomas-- Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Cranmer, and Thomas Howard.
One complaint: Chapter 2 has 57 footnotes, but only two and a half are listed in the footnote section.

I would give this book a four on just based on its readability. There were some historical figures around Henry VIII that I found uninteresting. However, they might have been interesting to a British audience so I was a little generous in my rating. I am an American and frequently I find when I read English history books I feel that if I were British I would know something about the subject but because I am an American I am totally confused.

The strengths of the books are that I learned a lot about British history. This book answered a longstanding question I had about how Catholic/Protestant the Church of England was. Sometimes my understanding of the Church of England was that it was really the Catholic Church under an English head. This book made me understand how some members of the Church of England had strong Lutheran sympathies and maybe would have wanted England to become Lutheran if the political establishment allowed that to happen.

In addition, I learned that Henry VIII did not only kill two of his wives but he killed other people to whom he had been close. He can turn on people who were once his close associates. Furthermore, Henry VIII was unusual because he promoted some common people into high positions of power which at that time was unknown.
Some of the historical figures in the book where more interesting than others. I enjoyed the parts of Erasmus, Thomas Wolsey, Thomas Crammer and Thomas Cromwell. One of the most interesting people in was Will Sommer, Henry VIII’s clown. I wish the author spent more time on him. Previously I thought clowns in the King's court existed only in Shakespeare's plays.

In short, I found this book a highly readable and informative book about Henry VIII's inner circle.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have no complaints about the writing, the research, the overall presentation - it is an acceptable biography on this great Tudor monarch (though very pro-Tudor).

Much to the ire of Tudorphiles everywhere - I did not find this especially enlightening. And like Oliver Twist - I wanted more and was left wanting.

*Many thanks to Tracy Borman, Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for provong me with ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
I requested this book for at least three reasons. The first one was that I enjoy Tracy Borman's ways of presenting history and having read some of her books, I am still a fan of hers. The second reason was my interest in the Tudor period and the need to extend my (not scholarly) knowledge. And, last but not least, I thought that reading more about the men who stood behind Henry VIII, and not just the king himself, might be an insightful. After reading, I can honestly admit that I was absolutely right to request this particular book. It reads very, very well, and is a source of information which is often ommitted for different reasons in biographies of this famous Tudor monarch. The book concentrates on men who surrounded the king and who had influence on him in various ways, not only political. I definitely recommend this non-fiction to anyone interested in expanding their knowledge.

This is a well-researched and well-written book. It's a credit to Borman that when dealing with so very many people, she keeps the reader focused and makes sure they're not confused. It's an interesting exploration of Henry VIII, his personality, and the men around him, both how he influenced them and how they influenced him. I would recommend it to most libraries, people love their Tudor history and this book is very readable.

How refreshing to read a book about this remarkable man, that is not a re-hash of information that we already know.
This book focuses on the men in Henry’s life and how they have influenced him.

I've read extensively about the men and women of the Tudor royal courts, and this book managed to offer up a significant amount of detail I've never encountered before. By reframing the story with a focus on the men with influence on Henry VIII, the author highlights the changeable nature of Henry's moods and favor - easily flattered, vacillating between easily influenced and immovable depending on how it suited his ends. The author also includes men who rarely get much attention in the standard story of the king who married six women and broke with Rome to do so, including Dr. William Butts, Thomas Heneage, and more. The book also really dives deep into the claustrophobic and paranoid world of power politics in the English Reformation. Well done!