This is a well researched and fascinating book, giving a real insight into Henry VIII's life from the time when Ann of Cleves became his bride. It describes policy, personalities, intrigues, allegiances, conspiracies, religion and politics in a thoroughly readable way. Even Henry's medical history is discussed, and his failed attempts to have a tomb for posterity to remember him by. This is an illuminating, detailed and involving book which makes sense of this somewhat turbulent period of English history. ( )

Oh the Tudors. What a bunch you are --- paranoid, mean-spirited, mean, gluttonous, and in the case of Henry, horny. This book only deals with his last years so a lot of the horny court play had run its course already and what was left was a sick, dying man sadly looking for companionship in his last days.

For a man so concerned with his public image and legacy, specifically an heir, he’s remembered much differently than I’m sure he ever thought possible even in his wildest dreams. In his later years, Henry was incredibly obese and most likely spent every minute of his last days in pain. His ulcerated legs constantly oozed. His diet of meat, meat, and more meat caused digestion issues, and he still worried about maintaining appearances. He’s an interesting figure and it’s obvious why so many people want to write books about him and the Tudor court. Honestly though, a book about Henry’s PR machine is something I’d probably read though.

It’s his final wife, Katherine Parr, who brings his family back together though. Welcoming Mary and Elizabeth into the fold and Henry, at this point, adds them to his succession line. His heir, Edward, dies at the young age of 16, Mary turns out to not be the best at ruling, but Elizabeth, well, she turns out to be Henry’s true legacy. Interesting how that works sometimes isn’t it?

This book is broken into chunks meaning each chapter is about a certain aspect of his life --- his sickness, his will, his last queen, and his death. While it’s interesting to see these aspects broken down this way, the timeline gets muddles and I found it slightly hard to follow in terms of what year it was and what was important.

I’ve read a lot about the Tudors, both fact and fiction, and some of this felt too familiar to be as interesting as I wanted it to be. I’m glad I picked it up and I’m sure it’ll add a new perspective to my next Tudor historical fiction read. I realize that while I am sort of tired (sort of bored would be a better way to put it) of the Tudors, I know I’ll probably pick up another book about them and I’m not sure why. Perhaps that will be many days down the road though. ( )

I thought this was a wonderful book, but the title is somewhat misleading. The book actually recounts all of Henry's reign, in much greater deatail than I expected. It does, however, consider his last days and some of the posthumous events in much greater detail than most histories/biographies. So, if one wants information about his last days, this is a very good choice, it just covers more than his last days. I found it very readable.

That said, I learned a fair amount that I didn't know. The story of Henry's projected, magnificent tomb may may remind readers either of the poem "Ozymandias" ('Look upon my works, ye mighty and despair), or the saying that in Washington DC, it doesn't matter who you used to be.

The book includes 12 pages of mostly color illustrations, an extensive bibliography, a chronology, a list of major people in the history, and a detailed index.

It also contains bibliographic and explanatory notes mixed together. I complement whoever is responsible for the format: the heading for notes for each chapter matches the rlunning title, making it much easier to match up notes. ( )

This title is a bit of a misnomer as much of the book deals with events over the last near decade of Henry's reign from the birth of Prince Edward onwards. The chapters on Henry's health and will are the most interesting in containing material not usually found in the mountain of other books on Henry. The author has a slightly sensationalist tone sometimes that irritates me a little. ( )

Fascinating account of the last days of Henry VIII's reign and the vicious faction fighting that surrounded him. A must read for anyone interested in the Tudors. ( )