I found this book a really interesting read. I knew the majority of what was written, but also learnt things about those not as well publicised in Tudor times. It did get a little morbid for a couple of chapters, but that was part of the book. Thank you for accepting my request, I enjoyed this read.

Cover: I’ve seen better.

What a brilliant book! While I love me some nonfiction goodies, I’ll admit it’s hard for them to make me go all oh, hey! They evoke awe with photography and polite interest with prose—a literary palate-cleanser? Mind-cleanser? Something like that. Still, hard facts and reality don’t go well with emotions, at least for me.

House of Tudor brings a welcome change to the table. The historical parts, while well-researched, are nothing new; the way they’re presented is. Mayhew’s style is spot on. He’s funny, references back both books and tv series, and doesn’t pull punches. The dark and gritty details are all there, from torture to botched executions—don’t read it when you’re eating.

The book covers a lot of ground. Henry VIII and his unlucky wives, Mary Tudor, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, their issues—boy, they had a lot—and the people caught in the middle of them. Yet, it wraps everything up in 187 pages, a good choice if you ask me. Overdoing it is a real risk with nonfiction.

Let me stress on it: this is not a happy-go-lucky story nor a clinical recount of facts. This is a unique spin on history.

From a technical standpoint, Mayhew and his editors polished their grammar to the nth, while the flow is pleasant enough. Thank you.

5 stars on GR.

This was a nice overview of the horrors of the Tudor years. From botched beheadings to torture to illness, it covers a pretty wide range of topics, all gory and grisly. It isn't a comprehensive history of the Tudors, in fact, it barely mentions Henry VII or Edward VI at all.

Overall, I thought it was an interesting read, but probably not the best starting place if you are new to the topic.

4 stars
Publisher: Pen and Sword

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen and Sword for the ARC! another well researched book. Author did a great job loved the story. Will recommend

Books - or anything else for that matter - that concern the Tudors are always popular, and this one puts a gruesome spin on events that is bound to appeal to the teenage historian. It starts at the beginning of the Tudor dynasty at the Battle of Bosworth and the death of the reigning king, Richard III. The injuries to his body, particularly his head, are listed alongside one particularly undignified post-mortem injury. So the tone is set.

The book refers to television programmes and Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, that have portrayed significant Tudor personalities a particular way, and compares them to the evidence showing what they were really like and some of the things they got up to. It looks at injuries, beheadings, physical and mental illness and childbirth as well as the treatment of enemies and traitors. All with a macabre spin, of course.

In terms of historical information, there is nothing new to add to the known facts and theories. The evidence and research has not been updated - just the horror aspect. However, the history is sound enough.

This is an easy to read book, fairly short with plenty of brief chapters that would appeal to fans of Horrible Histories, and the layman who learns about history from watching television. Comparing the 'Sweating Sickness' to Covid-19 brings everything up to date. Easy to dip into for that grim fix.

3.5 stars rounded up

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I absolutely love the Tudor period so any chance of reading something about I jump all over
This was great
Really well researched and it shows
Wonderful

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. I am a history buff and will read anything Tudor-related. I did know most of it already but there were a few things i learned as well. Great read any history lover

What's not to love about this book?
It gives concise chapters on all the gory details you always wanted to know about the Tudors. What happened to the body of Richard III? How did torture work? What happened to Mary Queen of Scots husbands? How did Elizabeth I die? This has it all and Mickey Mayhew ensures these are all told in a far from dull way. There's humour woven in along with references to The Tudors TV show (an inaccurate but guilty pleasure) as well as other recent adaptations of Tudor themes.

It doesn't just focus on the gruesome aspects people did to each other, it also covers things like disease including Sweating Sickness and Syphilis.

This book can be picked up and put down easily due to how concise and different the chapters are, or you can skip to those that really interest you which for me was Margaret Clitheroe but I'd recommend reading it all as its fabulous!

Many will know alot of the details but the way Mickey Mayhew writes makes reading fun, even if you do already know! I particularly like how Mayhew notes the current state of locations as to whether they're a ruin or abandoned etc. I made a note of a couple to visit thanks to this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen and Sword for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge Tudor fan and will read anything about the Tudor's. This book was amazing. I couldn't put it down and fully enjoyed all the aspects of this book. It was very well written. I truly enjoyed that it didn't just focus on Henry VIII.

I thought well written and concise history of the Tudors from Richard III’s death to Mary, Queen of Scots’ execution. There is obviously a huge amount that went on in the time period covered, so I appreciated the fact that the author picked the more interesting stories and characters to focus on.

Although I studied the Tudor dynasty in high school for history, there were still things I discovered for the first time. I also enjoyed reading some of the things I remembered as well as one of my favourite Tudor mysteries of all time did Amy Robsart fall or was it murder?).

The author has woven examples from contemporary TV shows such as The Tudors to highlight what is historical fact and what is more “Hollywood treatment” of the time period. Having never seen the TV programs - I’m more of a “read the book” type - it did get a little disconcerting, but I can also appreciate that it opens up history to a wider audience who’s only exposure to the historical period may be through TV. And the history was still very enjoyable!

Worth a read for newcomers to the Tudors as well as those who’ve sat school exams in history on the topic. An enjoyable and well researched read.

If I had to categorize the type of person who this book is aimed at, it would be someone who thought all history books are dry and stodgy, guaranteed to put one to sleep. Author Mickey Mayhew has made sure this book is anything but. His tongue-in-cheek style is present from beginning to end, interlaced with a factual history of the time of the Tudors.

The main figures are here, Henry VIII and Mary Queen of Scots, and the lesser known are also given time at the head of the table. Along the way, all the plans and plots are laid out for us to learn and the title’s promise is fulfilled. Yes, there are grisly moments in history, and the Tudors were present for a number of them.

This is an enjoyable book, both delightful and insightful. This my first read into enemy territory (yes, Tudor fanatics, I would have been carrying a Plantagenet banner) and it has interested me enough to pursue further reading of some of those detailed in Mr. Mayhew’s book. Highly recommended. Four-and-a-half stars.

This was an okay book. I liked reading about all the kings and queens in ancient times. Catherine of Aragon, Henry the 8th, Elizabeth the 1st, Anne Bolynn. I enjoyed reading it but it wasn’t as interesting as I thought it would be. The ones I had heard about I enjoyed reading about but those I hadn’t read about before or heard of, not so interesting. But it was worth the read for those interesting parts. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review with my honest thoughts and opinions.

If you are a fan of Tudor England and all the family drama, this book is for you! This book is quick and dirty, serving up the scandals and butchery of the Tudor reign. This isn’t a chronological treatise of the monarchs, it really is just a cutting of atrocities. And boy are there ever atrocities! Short and to the point, this book lets you have all the murderous, sinful details, mostly focusing on Henry VIII. (Um, because who is actually worse than him?)

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for granting my wish and providing me a copy of this e-arc.*

This was a well researched book that is perfect for the interested reader but not suitable for an academic reader.I have read much about the Tudor period and still found information here that I did not know. This is a famous/infamous period in English history and many books have been written about it but this was centering on the more bizarre and gruesome facts that have not been so well documented before. I loved the short chapters which gave enough information about each incident. and still left me room to investigate further in places.
I am not a history buff but this is a period that I have read much about and I still managed to find lots of information that I was unaware of in this book.
A great read.

House of Tudor: A Grisly History is an accessible and unflinching history of the Tudors by Dr. Mickey Mayhew. Due out 30th April 2022 from Pen & Sword, it's 232 pages (in print) and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

I enjoy history and especially English history with bonus engagement on my part for late medieval to the early modern periods. This selection hit a lot of high points for me. The author has done a good job of selecting the mildly to moderately salacious bits which we never get to read about in school history classes. It's arranged thematically and roughly chronologically in chapters, each of which tell a particular bit of the history of the Tudors during and after their dynastic reign of more than 100 years. Despite their fame and relative wealth, their lives were most often bloody and short, often because of intolerance, war, political infighting, and/or disease.

This is a layman accessible and eminently readable book. Despite the bonafides of the author, it's not written in formal academic language, and there are no chapter notes or citations in the text. There is a fairly comprehensive bibliography and index, however, which will provide many hours of further background reading if readers wish for more in-depth background.

Four and a half stars. Definitely not a formal academic work, but fascinating for history fans who want a readable book about the Tudors.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This period of history is my favourite of all time, there’s just something about the tudors which is absolutely fascinating and I can’t get enough. This book is amazing and continues beyond king Henry the eighths reign which a lot of the books out there on this subject don’t cover, I learned from this book in more ways than one

I would first like to thank Netgalley for granting me permission to access this book before it was released. I had a great time reading this book. The title of the book says it all. The book was definitely grisly! The author does a great job being biased of all the rulers and manages to point out both the good and bad things that were accomplished during their reigns as political and religious leaders. The only nit-picky thing that I have is the fact that the book kind of stops abruptly. There is no real ending chapter. Aside from that, the book was very informational and highly entertaining to read through. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about English history or who is fascinated with the Tudors. Overall, I would give this book a four out of five stars.

This is seems a rather basic history book aimed at those who may not know much about the Tudors. Personally, I did not really learn anything new. Thanks to Netgalley.

As a lover of History. This book was quite the read especially knowing more things about the House of Tudor and England under the Tudors
I loved reading this book and would recommend this to anyone looking for their next read

I enjoyed this book. Being an avid Tudor reader ,some of the information I already knew. However I was pleasant surprised,that some I did not which doesn't happen very often. The only slight niggle ,is that I found the book jumped a little bit.