Children of Henry VIII by John Guy

Why do I read? I have a curiosity about people, places and events that I did not experience for myself. The Tudors are my second favorite historical family and the more detail you give me about the day to day events of their lives, the happier I am.

How much better can it start than "In the Beginning"?!  Henry and Katherine's second marriage and coronation anniversaries were upon them. The bloom was not yet off the rose but some wilting was happening for sure. Henry began to realize that women were all about him and many were desirable to him, although his religious convictions interfered with his actions.

The day to day events were intriguing  and well researched.The early years of the children and their interactions were satisfying and realistic. The years when Henry and the children were all the family consisted of were explored and dealt with in a very sympathetic and effective manner, as did the sibling or rather half sibling rivalry between them.

Possibilities were explored for the psychological, emotional and physical failures of Henry and his children  in their personal and interpersonal relationships. We know how these issues impacted on the Isles and the world, and this very well researched and written book gave me an accurate viewpoint.

My favorite sections of books were the family and interpersonal glimpses of very real people living out their lives. The early years were explored extremely well.Less interesting to me are the details of their reigns as these are well known and factual and not based on research guided conjecture.

I now wish to acquire John Guy's prior books and see what might be next. I recommend this to Tudor readers and scholars.