An excellent foray into the Tudor world by the chief curator of the Historic Royal Palaces charity in England.

Everything you wanted to know about the tudors . Tracey Borman has written several books on the Tudor period all are 1st class .

Loved this book. Even though the history of the Tudors is a well trod subject, Borman with her fresh and accessible writing style bring a new perspective to the great English royal,famil, especially her analysis of Henry and his wives. Recommended

An indepth look at the structure of the royal household and the lives of the Tudor Monarchs from Henry VII to Elizabeth I. Rather than on the political aspects of each monarch's reign, the focus is on the roles within the royal household, with a look at the palaces, coronations, births and deaths. Borman's book manages to capture the essence of the royal court and would be a welcome addition to anyone's "Tudor Library".

This is a well researched book starting with Henry VII and ends with Elizabeth I. It goes beyond the story of the throne and goes into the details of life at court. The book is colorful and is full of interesting people. I was surprised by how sympathetic I felt towards the Monarchs and some of their royal subjects. Just because you are born into wealth and excess doesn’t mean you will lead a happy, fulfilled life.

A thorough rendition of the behind-the-scenes lives of all the Tudor monarchs from Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty, through to the last of the line, Elizabeth I. For the die-hard Tudor fanatic, there is probably nothing new to discover in this book, but it does take the reader through each different monarch's quirky habits and it covers a wide range of personal information on each: from their culinary habits, dress, staffing etc., to the costs involved in all areas of their private lives.

Borman deals with each monarch lovingly, presenting a detailed picture of each of these fascinating rulers, and bringing to life each one of them for the perusal of the discerning reader. A wealth of detail is included throughout the book, showing a huge amount of research has gone into this text, thereby enabling the reader to see into hidden aspects of the lives of these kings and queens. The Tudors have always been a subject of fascination throughout history and this book serves to keep that curiosity alive for the modern day reader of history, through an engaging and genial writing style. At times, the information can border on repetitive and there is occasionally a tendency to lapse into information already shared in other parts of the book, but this doesn't detract from the interesting detail that pervades the entirety of the text.

For those with an endless thirst for knowledge and information about these most enduring of rulers, this is an informative and engaging read.

Amazing! Filled with historical information, yet written in a delightful manner. You will be filled with tidbits that make the monarchs come to life. Enjoy! NetGalley and Grove Atlantic/Grove Press provided an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Hmmm, I wasn't really a fan of this work. The Tudors are a very talked about dynasty and I just didn't feel that this book did it justice. It was much more politically focused than monarchy focused I felt. I'm sure some enjoyed it, but it just wasn't for me.

If you have ever been curious about the Tudor monarchy's clothing habits, bathing routine, toilet and health shenanigans, or general personal life then this book is worth the read! This subject was pretty new to me, having been a long time lover of the Tudor period, pretty much all the books I have read focused more on politics and interpersonal relationships than the nitty gritty aspects of their personal lives, so I found the subject to be rather fascinating.

It is at times a bit of a dry book, and sometimes mid-subject veers off a side tangent that while interesting and necessary for explaining certain quirks of the time's culture was a bit jarring for me. Other than that I greatly enjoyed reading this book and adding a bit more personal context to my usually quite political in nature studies.

I loved the book because of all the history it shared that I did not knew about .

An excellent insight into the private lives of some of history's most enduring monarchs. It is gives a great background for the political upheavals during the reign of the Tudors but also humanizes distant figures from history

This book takes a different approach to the history of the Tudors. Instead of focusing on the complicated politics of the era, it takes more of a summary approach to each monarch. Along the way, tidbits of daily life are described, so that you end up with a better idea of what Henry VIII's wardrobe looked like that how he ruled.

For those who have already read plenty about how these monarchs ruled, this might be a fun read. However, if you have already learned a fair amount about them, there is not much new here. The question really comes down to what you are looking for. If you wish to learn some fun Tudor trivia without reading a dozen biographies, this is right up your alley. If you have already read those dozen biographies, this is not going to enlighten you.

As with most Tudor studies, Mary is almost completely overlooked in favor of her sister. She always seems to be lumped in with Edward, despite the fact that she lived more than twice as long as he did and has a spectacular story. Ah well, most are eager to get to Elizabeth, so they will be happy to discover that approximately 1/3 of the book is dedicated to her.

Thank goodness this is not another boring book about looking at the Tudors through an academic lens. There have really been enough of those already. Instead, this smartly written book gives you a look at what life was really like as a Tudor--and it wasn't all impossible finery and wigs--although there was some of that, too.

This book really delves into the underside of everything Tudor, not just the affairs and romances, but it shows you what people expected of the Tudor family and what lengths they went to to uphold their image before the people. A lot of emotion is expressed in this book, through excellent research. I think, this is an important book for anyone wanting to learn more about this family and the time period they lived in.

Well written and intelligent. Recommended.

This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This book alternated between three and four stars for me. My main issue was the chronological rather than thematic organization. Although the book covers all of the Tudors, the majority of it focuses on Henry VIII and, to a lesser extent, Elizabeth I; these sections read too much like a general biography, especially if you know a lot about the Tudors. However, the details of the clothing, diet, pastimes, court intrigue, and beliefs of the Tudor monarchs and their courtiers are fantastic.

This is simply Brilliant. History of the Tudors and some of there more risky habits... If you like history you are going to like this, there is something new to learn throughout and I was kept riveted throughout.

While well researched and well written, I found this book to drag on in a lot of places. The topic made me curious about some of the artifacts that survived the Tudor reign, but all in all, I felt it to be a bit "ok".

Solid 3 stars, and I'll still try more books from Borman, as it really was factual and at times interesting.