The Tudors by G.J. Meyer

In 1485, young Henry Tudor, whose claim to the throne was so weak as to be almost laughable, crossed the English Channel from France at the head of a ragtag little army and took the crown from the family that had ruled England for almost four hundred years. Half a century later his son, Henry VIII, desperate to rid himself of his first wife in order to marry a second, launched a reign of terror aimed at taking powers no previous monarch had even dreamed of possessing. In the process he plunged his kingdom into generations of division and disorder, creating a legacy of blood and betrayal that would blight the lives of his children and the destiny of his country.
The boy king Edward VI, a fervent believer in reforming the English church, died before bringing to fruition his dream of a second English Reformation. Mary I, the disgraced daughter of Catherine of Aragon, tried and failed to reestablish the Catholic Church and produce an heir. And finally came Elizabeth I, who devoted her life to creating an image of herself as Gloriana the Virgin Queen but, behind that mask, sacrificed all chance of personal happiness in order to survive. 
The Tudors weaves together all the sinners and saints, the tragedies and triumphs, the high dreams and dark crimes, that reveal the Tudor era to be, in its enthralling, notorious truth, as momentous and as fascinating as the fictions audiences have come to love.

* * *

Tauted as "the complete story of England's most notorious dynasty," this non-fiction book doesn't quite deliver, but only just. I wish more of Henry VII's reign would've been covered, but the rest of this thick read (the last listed page number is 623) is quite good. It not only goes in decent depth through the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizzabeth I, but also goes on asides through such topics as "The Old Church," "Schooling and the Schools" and one I found quite interesting, "Torture" among other things. What I also like about this book is that it's easy enough to read while not being over simple. Like all biographies, there's an insert of color photos as well. While I don't tend to favor biographies, this is one I find enjoyable and informative...not easy to do with biographie, especially on a subject that's been done to death like the Tudors. But then again, I'm one of those that never grows tired of seeing them presented in fresh, new ways. Anyway, if this happens to be your first time reading about the Tudors, or like me, an old fan, this is deffinately worth a read. Just be sure you have the time to finish it! 3 1/2 out of 5 🙂