Winter King

The Dawn of Tudor England

By: Thomas Penn

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

A fresh look at the endlessly fascinating Tudors - the dramatic and overlooked story of Henry VII and his founding of the Tudor Dynasty - filled with spies, plots, counter-plots, and an uneasy royal succession to Henry VIII.

Near the turn of the sixteenth century, England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy and civil war. Henry Tudor clambered to the top of the heap, a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England’s crown who managed to win the throne and stay on it for 24 years. Although he built palaces, hosted magnificent jousts, and sent ambassadors across Europe, for many Henry VII remained a false king. But he had a crucial asset: his family - the queen and their children, the living embodiment of his hoped-for dynasty. Now, in what would be the crowning glory of his reign, his elder son would marry a great Spanish princess.

Thomas Penn re-creates an England that is both familiar and very strange - a country medieval yet modern, in which honor and chivalry mingle with espionage, realpolitik, high finance, and corruption. It is the story of the transformation of a young, vulnerable boy, Prince Henry, into the aggressive teenager who would become Henry VIII, and of Catherine of Aragon, his future queen, as well as of Henry VII - controlling, avaricious, paranoid, with Machiavellian charm and will to power.

Rich with incident and drama, filled with wonderfully drawn characters, Winter King is an unforgettable account of pageantry, intrigue, the thirst for glory, and the fraught, unstable birth of Tudor England.

Thomas Penn has a PhD in early Tudor history from Clare College, Cambridge. Winter King is his first book.

©2011 Thomas Penn (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“I feel I’ve been waiting to read this book a long time. It’s a fluent and compelling account of the cost of founding the Tudor dynasty.” (Hilary Mantel, Man Booker Prize–winning author of Wolf Hall)

“An exceptionally stylish literary debut…[Penn’s] book should be the first port of call for anyone trying to understand England’s most flagrant usurper since William the Conqueror.” (Diarmaid MacCulloch, New York Times best-selling author)

“A definitive and accessible account of the reign of Henry VII.” ( Guardian (UK))

Must read of English Monarchical Succession

This is a very solid and well researched book. I will probably listen to it again because my main problem was that I lost track of some of the characters of Henry VII advisors and they switched from help to hindrance so many times I had trouble keeping track of them, but this is as likely a problem with my memory as with the book. It does a really good job of describing not only Henry VII and his personality but how it came to influence his famous son, Henry VIII. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in English Monarchical history.

Act One of the Tudor Dynasty

This was a most interesting book - we all know about Henry 8 and Elizabeth 1 and probably know about Bloody Mary and the fact that Edward, H8's only son, reigned for a short time but the first in the Tudor dynasty is glossed over. After this book I don't understand why - Henry VII is a most interesting and complex man. He was also a most unfortunate and unlucky man loosing his son and heir and his wife in quick succession - he never full recovered from that despite the fact his second son was to go on to be the most famous King in English history.

There was lots of information and interesting facts and it has rewetted my appetite for all things Tudor. I enjoyed the book and recommend it for those interested in Tudor history and to those that want to know more about H8's father.

A good narrative survey of Henry VII's life...

Henry is a tough case for a biography -- as Penn makes clear, he became darker as he aged...
He was embroiled in a number of complex relationships with other kings and nobility which are explored. (Sometimes, the detail becomes more difficult to follow -- especially in a reading.)
He also worked hard to increase his own riches, at the expense of his subjects, partly through the men who served him.
Still, read in sequence (i.e. earlier kings to his reign), it was a satisfying read/listen.
Recommend -- given the context.

Political

While well-written and read, the history contained too many political details for my taste.

An almost forgotten king brought to life

Having just watched BBC's 1972 dramatic series "In the Shadow of the Tower" and then reading of the discovery of Richard III's body in the car park, I decided to go back a little further and learn more about the man who started the dynasty that has become so glamorized and popular, often at the expense of solid fact.

How easy it to overlook Henry VII, who is left in the shade by some of his larger-than-life children and grandchildren! I have been guilty of this myself, having read about the Tudors for a good thirty years now. But in this biography, Thomas Penn brings the story of a complex and unusual man to life.

I wouldn't say Henry Tudor was a man most of us would like --- we might even "love to hate" him. But I found him fascinating nonetheless. A highly intelligent, deeply suspicious and shrewd man, he sometimes reminds one of a spider weaving a web. Or a dark master of marionettes. But there is more to him than his reputation for parsimony and intrigue, as you will find.

One of the great joys of reading history is when you find a book that makes you want to learn even more about the "supporting" characters. I found "The Winter King" to be one of those books. I have a whole list of people I want to learn more about, which means I'll be going back in time to revisit the Wars of the Roses along with much else besides.

I would gladly read another book by Thomas Penn. Simon Vance's narration made this one especially splendid. Highly recommended for devotees of English history.

Also recommended: G.J. Meyer's "The Tudors," a veritable omnibus of the three generations that ruled England.

Exceptional

Winter King ranks among the best books I have listened to this year. Simon Vance is a terrific narrator.

History, Not Historical Fiction

Where does Winter King rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Highly

Any additional comments?

I usually prefer historical fiction to biographies or history, but I purchased this book primarily b/c Simon Vance is the narrator. Love me some Vance!

Penn did a fabulous job of covering Henry VII. I was only curious about the scant mention of Jasper Tudor; a man who played such a dominant and prolonged part in Henry's early life. Also, I find Margaret Beaufort a fascinating historical character. It's my personal opinion, but I would have liked more on her. But, to be fair, this book wasn't her biography.

I found the methods the author used to jump around different aspects of a theme quite seamless. For example, how he could write about Henry's surprising relationship with Elizabeth (wife) one minute and adroitly transition to his dealing with subversive plots the next was, to me, impressive.

However, if you're looking for something with some action/romance/drama vs. straightforward history, this isn't it. It's history, not historical fiction.

I wish Penn would write more books. Maybe one on Margaret Beaufort...

Nice enough story..

But I got lost many times with so many names thrown out and I felt sometimes the narration diverted to stories of other people when it should be more on the reign of the King. Most of the details were like.. Junk. But overall one would learn a thing or two listening to this.

Great book

This book is meticulously researched and surprisingly emotional.
No one understood why I liked King Henry VII so much and this book explains it so well.

Excellent bio filled with fascinating stories...

If you have an interest in the war of the roses or in the Tudor dynasty, this book is a must read!
In this book, all the characters who make such a stir in the Tudor history appear, even those who make history all on their own... The Dudley's first appearance, the Howard's and Boleyn's; then we read of the Borgia Pope, Alexandre and his famously evil son Cesare; even the Hapsburgs (Marie Antoinette's powerful family) make an appearance. The list goes on... Henry himself is a most unique and intriguing character, who lived a difficult life to bring stability to England in many ways. one of the most important to him was ending the civil wars! He eliminated any chance for a contested succession, among many other things he did, but is not remembered for.

On its own merit, it's very well written and doesn't feel like a textbook. It's fascinating, well-read, and I was sorry to finish the book if the little known but ultimately extremely important monarch: Henry VII!

Very impressive book!