Tudors: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I

About this book

Peter Ackroyd one of Britains most acclaimed writers brings the age of the Tudors to vivid life in this monumental book in his The History of England series charting the course of English history from Henry VIIIs cataclysmic break with Rome to the epic rule of Elizabeth I. Rich in detail and atmosphere Tudors is the story of Henry VIIIs relentless pursuit of both the perfect wife and the perfect heir; of how the brief royal reign of the teenage king Edward VI gave way to the violent reimposition of Catholicism and the stench of bonfires under "Bloody Mary." It tells too of the long reign of Elizabeth I which though marked by civil strife plots against her and even an invasion force finally brought stability. Above all it is the story of the English Reformation and the making of the Anglican Church. At the beginning of the sixteenth century England was still largely feudal and looked to Rome for direction; at its end it was a country where good governance was the duty of the state not the church and where men and women began to look to themselves for answers rather than to those who ruled them.