⇒ Descargar Thomas Cromwell The Untold Story of Henry VIII Most Faithful Servant Tracy Borman 9780802123176 Books

Thomas Cromwell The Untold Story of Henry VIII Most Faithful Servant Tracy Borman 9780802123176 Books

Download As PDF : Thomas Cromwell The Untold Story of Henry VIII Most Faithful Servant Tracy Borman 9780802123176 Books

Thomas Cromwell The Untold Story of Henry VIII Most Faithful Servant Tracy Borman 9780802123176 Books

It was no small thing in 16th century England

--to rise from a son of blacksmith to one of the richest men of a rich kingdom
--to escape from being another lean rascal on the streets of Rome to becoming the protegee of king's confidante, Cardinal Wolsey
--to have no formal schooling yet a polymath, to achieve a mastery of oratory, law, business, and finance, becoming a patron of the arts who could hold his own against highest nobility in hunting, the arts, statesmanship and the game of thrones
--to move rapidly from the periphery to the center of Henry VIII's reign
--to manage Henry's pronouncement of adherence to Catholicism and England's independence of the Pope
--to waft Anne of a thousand days to the Queenship, waft her out 18 months later, insert Queen Jane, marry his son to Jane's sister who thus became an uncle (an Uncle!) to the almost deified Prince Edward, Henry's only legitimate son and Jane's child

and

--and despite cunning, perspicacity, loyal servants and a notable private intelligence service, fulfill the saying "The higher you are, the farther you fall."

"Why" is the central question that makes this book so griping. Why did he rise? How did he rule England in all but name during Henry's merrier years? Why did he wind up like his mentor, the great Cardinal? Had Thomas Cromwell not negotiated a wedding with a woman at whom Henry took one appalled look and called "the Flemish mare," might Cromwell have died a wealthy old man rather than meeting a miserable end in the Tower? May be so....

Or maybe not. This wonderful history combines extensive scholarship including new materials with a fine analytic exploration of the whys and what-ifs. "Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VII's most faithful servant" combines the balanced, intense characterizations of a first-rate novel with the depth of a first-rate history.

Tracy Borman is an historian, a scholar, and a writer of five previous books about this period. This shows in every chapter as she traces the arc of Cromwell's life from what's known of his origins (darn little) through what can be said about his young manhood (considerably more) to the trumpets & diapasons of his long & faithful service of his master, the Tudor king.

Any Reader Alerts? This 400 page book is lengthier than page count alone suggests because every page is packed with ideas, analyses, facts, characters. It is not in any way fast food reading. There are about 20 pages of well-chosen illustrations and about 30 pages of notes & references. Sometimes, stories that seem to belong in the text are in the footnotes, so skipping is not advised. (For instance, want to learn what happened to Anne of Cleves, the Flemish mare? See p 435, note 1).

And for some readers, the extensive details on rebellions, dissolution of the abbeys, suppresions and the growing anger against Cromwell that made his fall as swift as it was----well, not much seems to be left out. There are extensive direct quotes, as other reviewers have noted, that may be off-putting to some readers. For me personally, as a commenter has suggested, it helped to read them aloud without fretting o'er much about the spelling differences 400+ years hath wraughtte.

Finally, as a reader alert, this is a history, not a romance or historical fiction. There are other, many other books, that feature Tudor bodices and beds.

But these, to me, are minor points in a magnificent book, a reader's delight, that connects with "Wolf Hall" admirably and extends our understanding of the rise & fall of men, women, the empires they seek to build, and the dynasties they want---so desperately--to endure.


Tags : Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant [Tracy Borman] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div>Thomas Cromwell has long been reviled as a Machiavellian schemer who stopped at nothing in his quest for power. As Henry VIII’s right-hand man,Tracy Borman,Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant,Atlantic Monthly Press,0802123171,Europe - Great Britain,Historical,Modern - 16th Century,Cromwell, Thomas,Great Britain - Court and courtiers,Great Britain - History - Henry VIII, 1509-1547,Great Britain;History;Henry VIII, 1509-1547.,Great Britain;Politics and government;1509-1547.,Prime ministers - England,Prime ministers;England;Biography.,1485?-1540,1509-1547,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Historical,BIOGRAPHY AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY,Biography,Biography & Autobiography,Biography Autobiography,BiographyAutobiography,British & Irish history,Cromwell, Thomas,,Earl of Essex,,Europe - Great Britain - General,GENERAL,GREAT BRITAIN - HISTORY,General Adult,Great Britain,Great BritainBritish Isles,HISTORY Europe Great Britain General,HISTORY Modern 16th Century,Henry VIII, 1509-1547,Historical - General,History,HistoryEurope - Great Britain - General,HistoryModern - 16th Century,Modern - 16th Century,Non-Fiction,Politics and government,Prime ministers - England,Prime ministers;England;Biography.,United States,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Historical,Europe - Great Britain - General,HISTORY Europe Great Britain General,HISTORY Modern 16th Century,Historical - General,HistoryEurope - Great Britain - General,HistoryModern - 16th Century,Biography Autobiography,1485?-1540,1509-1547,Cromwell, Thomas,,Earl of Essex,,Great Britain,Henry VIII, 1509-1547,History,Politics and government,Biography And Autobiography,Great Britain - History,Biography & Autobiography,BiographyAutobiography,British & Irish history

Thomas Cromwell The Untold Story of Henry VIII Most Faithful Servant Tracy Borman 9780802123176 Books Reviews

I have read many biographies of Cromwell, who has fascinated me since childhood, but this is the best. In the 1960's, I saw Leo McKern's superb portrayal of Thomas Cromwell as a Machiavellian political thug in the Oscar-winning A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, in the last few years, Hilary Mantel made him the hero of her Man Booker prize-winning fiction. It's hard to know who the real Cromwell is, and several biographies have tried to tell us; I think this one has helped me most. There's no question that much of the English Reformation is due to Cromwell, that many highly intelligent and modern reforms were Cromwell's, that he was corrupt as anyone else in that place and time, that he was loyal and generous to his friends, that he believed firmly in an Evangelical God, and that he quite definitely tortured, murdered, imprisoned, defrauded, or framed anyone Henry VIII wanted him to, while frequently showing his brilliance and/or his compassion. Who was the villain - Cromwell or Henry VIII, and how do you come to understand such a man? I recommend this book to help you make up your own mind.
This was a good biography although it dragged in places. Cromwell is a man of contradictions and reading Hilary Mantel’s novels about him led me to this, In comparison, this is obviously not a novel, and it is hard to get a real grasp of who he was because so many of his actions seemed to negate others. Poor boy made good, hard worker, a formidable enemy but generous to many, intelligent but apparently unable to see where his own trap laid. Henry VIII was a hard boss, probably even a worse boss than he was a husband, and that’s saying something.
4 and 1 / 2 stars

This is a very good book about the life and times of Thomas Cromwell. It chronicles the period of time from his birth through his death. Contrary to historical opinion, Thomas Cromwell was not wholly bad, but had many good qualities as well. He was generous, kind and funny to his friends. He loved his family and was caring and very loyal to his friends. He was pious and abstemious and did not buy into the fanciful clothes or possessions of the day. While the public part of his house was decorated and very nice, his private quarters were ordinary. But he was also ambitious, driven and could be ruthless. This was especially true where matters of dissolving the monasteries and religious houses were concerned.

Cromwell was both brilliant and determined to achieve his aims. Those were ones of making Henry VIII the richest king in all the land and achieving prominence at court. He was a very astute lawyer, accountant and moneylender. He also had a rather cruel side, especially when dealing with the dissolution of the monasteries and abbeys. He rose in the eyes of Henry and his court very quickly. He brought about the divorce from Queen Catherine and engineered both Anne Boleyn’s rise and her downfall. During his tenure in office, Cromwell created the first bureaucratic state. This made the country run far more efficiently than ever before. England had become a modern state.

The book outlines in detail the power behind the scenes of the English throne. His relationship with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, his relationship with King Henry VIII, Queen Catherine, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and their friends and relatives and various nobles and courtiers are discussed in depth and with clear detail. The book is written linearly and in easy (with the exception of the olde English quotations), English. It is an easy and enjoyable read.

This is not my first Tracy Borman book, and I was just as pleased with the level of competence and depth of scholarship with which she approached her subject.
It was no small thing in 16th century England

--to rise from a son of blacksmith to one of the richest men of a rich kingdom
--to escape from being another lean rascal on the streets of Rome to becoming the protegee of king's confidante, Cardinal Wolsey
--to have no formal schooling yet a polymath, to achieve a mastery of oratory, law, business, and finance, becoming a patron of the arts who could hold his own against highest nobility in hunting, the arts, statesmanship and the game of thrones
--to move rapidly from the periphery to the center of Henry VIII's reign
--to manage Henry's pronouncement of adherence to Catholicism and England's independence of the Pope
--to waft Anne of a thousand days to the Queenship, waft her out 18 months later, insert Queen Jane, marry his son to Jane's sister who thus became an uncle (an Uncle!) to the almost deified Prince Edward, Henry's only legitimate son and Jane's child

and

--and despite cunning, perspicacity, loyal servants and a notable private intelligence service, fulfill the saying "The higher you are, the farther you fall."

"Why" is the central question that makes this book so griping. Why did he rise? How did he rule England in all but name during Henry's merrier years? Why did he wind up like his mentor, the great Cardinal? Had Thomas Cromwell not negotiated a wedding with a woman at whom Henry took one appalled look and called "the Flemish mare," might Cromwell have died a wealthy old man rather than meeting a miserable end in the Tower? May be so....

Or maybe not. This wonderful history combines extensive scholarship including new materials with a fine analytic exploration of the whys and what-ifs. "Thomas Cromwell The Untold Story of Henry VII's most faithful servant" combines the balanced, intense characterizations of a first-rate novel with the depth of a first-rate history.

Tracy Borman is an historian, a scholar, and a writer of five previous books about this period. This shows in every chapter as she traces the arc of Cromwell's life from what's known of his origins (darn little) through what can be said about his young manhood (considerably more) to the trumpets & diapasons of his long & faithful service of his master, the Tudor king.

Any Reader Alerts? This 400 page book is lengthier than page count alone suggests because every page is packed with ideas, analyses, facts, characters. It is not in any way fast food reading. There are about 20 pages of well-chosen illustrations and about 30 pages of notes & references. Sometimes, stories that seem to belong in the text are in the footnotes, so skipping is not advised. (For instance, want to learn what happened to Anne of Cleves, the Flemish mare? See p 435, note 1).

And for some readers, the extensive details on rebellions, dissolution of the abbeys, suppresions and the growing anger against Cromwell that made his fall as swift as it was----well, not much seems to be left out. There are extensive direct quotes, as other reviewers have noted, that may be off-putting to some readers. For me personally, as a commenter has suggested, it helped to read them aloud without fretting o'er much about the spelling differences 400+ years hath wraughtte.

Finally, as a reader alert, this is a history, not a romance or historical fiction. There are other, many other books, that feature Tudor bodices and beds.

But these, to me, are minor points in a magnificent book, a reader's delight, that connects with "Wolf Hall" admirably and extends our understanding of the rise & fall of men, women, the empires they seek to build, and the dynasties they want---so desperately--to endure.