If you’re a fan of the gory and blood lusty Tudors , you’re bound to love this.
We know much of HenryVIII and the way he disposed of his wives, in this book we learn the other ways people in the Tudor period were dispatched. Often cruel long drawn out deaths, it’s hard to imagine someone could endure their demise in such manners!
I really liked this book, it’s well sourced and makes an easy if disgusting compelling read! Its brilliantly done.

Thank you to the publishers at Pen and Sword History and NetGalley for the ARC copy.

Death comes to us all but sometimes it is hastened along. In the times of the Tudors (1453-1603) particularly barbaric methods of torture to extract information (true or false) or recant were used. Executions were so despicable, so appalling it just doesn't seem possible human beings implemented them. Royalty and upper crust people were not exempt, though it did help to have money to bring about death more quickly (possibly, depending on the skills of the executioner). In the House of Tudor Mickey Mayhew describes in painstaking detail what society was like and the various deaths of several people, often at the hands of others or by causes such as childbirth and disease.

The author injects wit into what is a morbid subject. He refers to TV and movie portrayals of people mentioned and includes vivid illustrations. Starting with the Battle of Bosworth, he writes about the death of Richard III, discusses charnel pits, the fate of traitors (hung, drawn and quartered with...extras), boiling to death of poisoners, minute details of the rack and "Scavenger's daughter", botched deaths such as Margaret Pole's hacking, falconers sewing falcons' eyes shut, Margaret Clitherow's horrific ordeal with rocks and so much more. He also explains the reasoning for not retaining keepsakes of those killed and the encouragement of the public to witness such atrocities.

Readers of the Tudor era ought to add this book to their list. Just know that descriptions are graphic and not for everyone. From historical and societal perspectives it is fascinating and informative.

My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this engrossing book.

"Karma could be a terrible bitch, even in Tudor times"

The best way to sum up House of Tudor: A Grisly History is: Horrible Histories for adults- and I absolutely mean that in the best possible way.

Its short, pithy and (importantly) fun ride through the Tudor era through the lens of torture, murder, executions and scandal.

If you are a Tudor history fan, it probably won't tell you much you don't already know, but it is enjoyable to read nevertheless. It's tone is familiar and engaging, relating the historical events and facts to their depictions in well known TV shows and films. Some older readers/fans of traditional history books may not be a fan of the contemporary tone, and may find the use of a-historical terms like 'slut-shaming' jarring, but it works well for a younger audience. It is in no way an academic text or a formal history- there is no central argument and there is little engagement with primary sources, relying more on the texts of other historians- however it is not trying to be. It is an engrossing retelling of historical events for a non-specialised audience.

It would be an excellent introduction to the period to people interested in the Tudor period/early modern England but unsure where to start, and would make a good gift for fans of the period.

The book focuses on the key Tudor monarchs- Henry VIII and Elizabeth, and I would have appreciated some more stories relating to Henry VII, Mary I and Edward VI. However, I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued by the number of chapters devoted to Catherine de Medici and the French court, and Mary Stuart/Mary Queen of Scots. While Mary Stuart is technically a member of the Tudor family (part of the House of Tudor if you will), she is generally treated separately, and while I enjoyed the chapters on her, I think some readers who are just interested in Henry VIII and Elizabeth may find this distracting.

If you are looking for a light (and slightly morbid) survey of the period, House of Tudor would be a fun book to read. It reads like a medieval soap opera and can be easily devoured in a day.

My thanks to Netgalley and Pen & Sword books for providing me with a copy to review.

I am a total history nerd and I love hearing the more gruesome tales from history. So the house of tutor was such a fun book for me. I don't recommend reading it while you're eating or drinking anything or maybe right before you go to bed but I highly recommend you reading it!

I really loved this book though what that says about me I am not sure. It is Horrible Histories for grownups. Despite its often gory and gruesome accounts of the lives and deaths of some of the more famous Tudors, it was gripping and readable. It did seem to end quite quickly, though. I don't think I would necessarily use it if I was writing a Phd thesis ( it did refer quite a lot to the TV series ) it was good humored and entertaining and highly recommended.

This book was such an engaging read! Typically, I read the glittering and illustrative side of the Tudor history but this offered a bit darker take on many well known historical figures and stories I have previously read. There was just SO MUCH DRAMA and SO MUCH DARKNESS in the lives these people had to endure. I highly recommend this as I feel it offers balance to the typical fantasy type reads where we all imagine our lives transported back to a much earlier time. Was I learning while I read? Of course! However, the style in which this is written is appealing and engaging and it tricked me into retaining many new facts and ideas while I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience. I recommend this very much and hope to see more books of this nature in the future!

Full disclosure: I received an ARC for my honest review.

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.

I was hoping for an expanded section on Henry VII but that was all that I felt could be expanded upon. I really enjoyed the overview of perils of Tudor life: disease, medical intervention, infertility, patriarchy, and the often shifting definition of treason.

The author did a great job using accessible language for those new to Tudor history. It was inviting and peppered in different pop culture references for those wanting to learn more with film, book, and television.

I really enjoyed this book.

This is a nice short read that I would recommend as a beginners' guide to the House of Tudor. Each chapter shines a light on a different Tudor but only runs about two to three pages. This is refreshing if you don't want to get too bogged down into the deep history of the English. This is more of almost a guide to find the Tudor you are most interested in and than research them even more. Also, it is good for breaking a reading slump because of it's small size and short chapters.

I got this book for free from Netgalley in exchange of a honest review.

A very well-researched book, showing the reader the reverse side of the Tudor coin. Instead of jewelry, masques

and feasts, we are presented with the nastier side of life in sixteenth-century England. Unpleasant

natural events such as sweating sickness, alcoholism, miscarriages, death in childbirth, and immoral liaisons

are only part of a larger picture filled with torture, executions, poisonings, and warfare.,

Violence and rivalry are joint rulers despite the lavishness of the court, This book is full of all the grisly, horrid

details.. although,on a lighter note, written with a sense of humour.

.

This book was a lovely collection of the gruesome side of the tudors.

I really enjoyed it and it was a nice light read. I already knew most of the stories but one I didn't really care for was the chapter on animal baiting. I know this happened in history but I could have done without reading all the details.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Tudor and Mary Queen of Scot's history.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

House of Tudor proved to be a rather quick, but engrossing read. The title indicates a ‘dark’ take on events surrounding the Tudor dynasty, and the author accomplishes just that purpose. Through a readable prose and connections to modern-day material, this work brings the reader through forty-five events occurring during the Tudor reign. Each event is extrapolated across three to five pages in length, making the tales easily accessible and quickly read. Additionally, each event is explained on an individual basis, rather than as a connected, languid tale, which allows readers to delve into a chapter or two at will and not feel compelled to read a forty-five page chapter in order to understand the full event. Rather than explore a new take on historical controversy, House of Tudor instead simply retells the events with an emphasis on the ‘darker’ parts, which, for one who has studied the Tudors, are generally well known facts anyways. The end of the book includes an index of pictures and historical artifacts of each of the events discussed, which would have been nice if inserted within each of their respective chapters.

The book does lack some conviction in that there is no argument presented and is, as stated, just a retelling of events. At the beginning of one chapter, an interesting and nuanced remark is made regarding the Tudor dynasty being stuck between the ending of the medieval period and the beginning of the Renaissance, thus the Tudors encapsulated ideas and practices from both sides of history. The book would have been much more compelling if this statement was the opening argument and reflected the Tudors as more of a ‘dark’ and medieval ruling family rather than a burgeoning Renaissance ruling family as many historians choose to portray them. This sentiment is briefly touched upon at the end of the foreword by Linda Porter, wherein she establishes that many historians have tried to provide balance for the Tudor rulers and focus more on their investment in and contributions to art, politics, and society. Thus this book would be offering a new voice and approach to the field of study regarding the Tudors with the use of the aforementioned claim. The book also lacks a conclusion and abruptly ends with the final chapter focused on the execution of the Earl of Essex and the death of Queen Elizabeth. An addition of a conclusion would provide an analysis and final argument regarding the Tudors and would grant the opportunity to tie all of the stories together. Based on the title alone, I assumed the entire book would only focus on the Tudors, but the book does take a right turn and delves into Catherine de Medici and Francis II. Neither of which are Tudors, albeit Francis II is through marriage to Mary; however, these additions felt weird in a Tudor-based book and would have felt more appropriate in a Tudor “era” book. Additionally, at times, the prose and comparisons feel weird. Modern euphemisms and phrases are inserted into some stories, which simply feel off. The Tudor and Reign TV series are consistently referenced, which, at times, made the reading feel more like a critique of modern fictional portrayals rather than an accurate historical account of events. Finally, the book does have various spelling and punctuation errors; Lochleven is spelled both as Lochleven and as Loch Leven, and periodically queen is not capitalized when referring to the Queen of England or Queen of Scots, amongst some other minor errors.

Overall, House of Tudor is exceptionally interesting as a layout of major ‘dark’ events during the reign of the Tudors. It reads quickly and is easily accessible, even if the reader does not often read historical non-fiction.

Modern soap operas have nothing on life in Tudor England. Neither do horror movies. Subtitled A Grisly History, House of Tudor describes the darker details of life under the Tudors. Botched beheadings, disease, poison (intentional and unintentional), oozing wounds, torture, burning at the stake - it’s all here and it is fascinating. From the mystery of the princes in the Tower of London to the lonely death of Queen Elizabeth l, author Mickey Mayhew tells the stories behind historic facts. For instance, Henry Vlll injured his leg in a joust and reinjured it several years later. The suppurating wound caused intense pain. But the pain also led to a personality change that turned him into a mean, angry, paranoid ruler. Elizabeth l wore makeup whitened with lead but she also painted blue lines on her forehead to mimic actual veins. One of the princes In the Tower may have been spirited away and raised in a distant village. The House of Tudor is full of intriguing stories like this and is a 5 star enjoyable read for all lovers of English history.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pen & Sword History and Mickey Mayhew for this ARC.

Even for someone who has read a lot of various Tudor books, this one still has a lot to offer. The author uses humour to tell the Tudor story and give it a new lease on life. I got a kick out of this book, it is factual history, but told in such a way that it makes you forget you are learning something.

If you enjoy lighter history books without all of the lengthy scholarly discourse, this would be a perfect book to choose. I thought the author did a good job of keeping up with the theme of the book and not getting sidetracked. I found myself laughing in some spots and cringing in others, but enjoying the read the entire time. It also made me grateful, Once more; that I am not a woman in Tudor times. Or a priest. Or anyone else, to be honest.

This book is not extremely long, so it would be great for an afternoon escape. I would recommend it to anyone with a curiosity about the stranger side of royal history.

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

It was ok, if you are a Tudor fan then you won't gain much from this book. If you are looking to learn more then I would give it a look.

Review: House of Tudor: A Grisly History by Mickey Mayhew

I want to start by thanking Mickey Mayhew for granting my wish for this title on Netgalley. I also want to say I have already pre-ordered a physical version of this to add to my bookshelf. I was lucky to be brought up in a household that loved learning. Encouraged particularly by my Nan and Mom to pursue knowledge and learn and most of all how fun learning can be. My mother has always had a love for the Tudors and it seems that I have inherited it as well. A fascinating period of Not sure here history it founded the basis of my MA studies into Renaissance Literature and History. So I was a little more than excited for this title.

House of Tudor focuses on the gruesome, darker take on the Tudors reign from 1485 to 1693, covering some of the forty-five ‘events’ that shaped the fascinating epoch of history. It deals with everything from the death of Richard III to the botched execution of Mary Queen of Scots and a host of horrors in between. With particular attention paid to the various gruesome ways in which the Tudors dealt with and dispatched their various villains and lawbreakers, from simple beheadings, to burning and of course the dreaded hanging, drawing and quartering. Other chapters cover the various diseases prevalent during Tudor times, including the dreaded ‘Sweating Sickness’ as well as the cures for these sicknesses, some which were considered worse than the actual disease itself. The day-to-day living conditions of the general populace are also given consideration, as well as various social taboos and the punishments that accompanied them, i.e. the stocks, as well as punishment by exile. Tudor England was not a nice place to live by 21st Century standard, but the book will also serve to explain how it was still nevertheless a familiar home to our ancestors.

The book is brilliant. Informative and to the point. The writing is concise and enjoyable. One thing I have found with some reference and history books is that you get an air of almost pretentiousness (not all of course but some) and this is not the case with Mayhew. We certainly are aware that Mayhew is an authority on the subject. I was able to finish this in two sittings and have since gone back to it several times. It is definitely a must read for those interested in or specialising in the Tudor and Renaissance period who want an accessible and in depth history of the darker aspects of the period, a refreshing look in and of itself.

As I have said I have already pre-ordered a physical copy and I’ve also ordered a copy for my mom who I know will adore this being interested not only in the period but in historical forms of crimes and punishment.

I truly enjoyed reading this book.  I am glad that I toured the Tower of London before reading it though because now I would visualize exactly what took place there making it so real!

Having read over 30 different novels on the history of the Tudors, I was eager to read Mayhew's book which delves into the more gruesome aspects of that time period.  The book was very interesting to read although the distinct description of beheadings, burnings, and drawing and quartering of bodies did cause me to flinch occasionally.

House of Tudors gives us a behind the scenes look at the ghastly ways in which the criminals and those in court were "brought to justice."  And yet the townsfolk found it quite entertaining!
" Mass executions meant a whole day out for all the family, and people would arrive early or even sleep out overnight in order to get the best positions.  There would be stalls set up selling fruit and drinks......"

If you have any interest in the Tudors or medieval history, you'll want to grab this fact filled book.
Many thanks to #Netgalley and Pen & Sword for granting my wish for this ARC.

An thoroughly interested novel on the history of the Tudor reign in Britain. The stories of the various monarchs and the political dealings and double crosses will keep you entertained and intrigued. If you are interested in this period of time and the individuals involved, this is a must read novel!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is subtitled "A Grisly History" and that is the perfect description! Do not read if you have a weak stomach.

When you think about the Tudors, the beheadings of Henry VIII's wives quickly come to mind. But there's so much more than that. This presents 45 chapters ranging from Richard III's death all the way through Elizabeth I. The stories cover gruesome events like executions (including Anne Boleyn and so much more), torture, animal cruelty, as well as just the health risks of living in that timeframe, such as disease or childbirth. 

I found this absolutely fascinating, and the short chapters were easy to digest and get through. I love learning about the Tudor era, and I also love gory horror, so this was really the perfect blend for me! 

I also really liked how popular myths or pop culture interpretations were dispelled throughout, putting into context why the book Wolf Hall or the show The Tudors might choose a certain interpretation, even if it's likely inaccurate (or just unknown.) Having read or seen most of the references in the book, I really enjoyed getting that extra context. If you haven't seen/read those, the references are not excessive, so you can easily skip those sentences. 

This does assume some knowledge of the Tudor era and the key players. There are some short explanations as to who people are, but if you don't have that baseline knowledge, it might be hard to follow. 

But if you're already familiar with the timeframe, and are interested in a somewhat morbid view, this is a great book to pick up!

Wildly Entertaining! If you are a Tudor or Stuart fan, do not miss this book. Put it on your list and you will not be disappointed. Told in 45 chapters of just the right amount of detail, I was surprised how much "truth" I found to be false and how much I didn't know of certain events that I thought I was pretty educated about. The author does a great job of detailing without it being dry and with a sense of humor where appropriate. I loved this book! And if this book wasn't great enough - the author has added some amazing pictures at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mayhew offers us the history of the Tudors, told in 45 “episodes” spanning the death of Richard III through the death of Elizabeth I. Rather than solely focusing on Henry VIII and his wives or the saga of Mary Stuart’s reign and downfall, the events are woven together with a nod to pop culture references and some bits of humor sprinkled throughout.

Many thanks to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this work.