Henry VIII (Penguin Monarchs) cover art

Henry VIII (Penguin Monarchs)

The Quest for Fame

Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Henry VIII (Penguin Monarchs)

By: John Guy
Narrated by: John Banks
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £7.99

Buy Now for £7.99

About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Henry VIII: The Quest for Fame by John Guy, read by John Banks.

Henry VIII's reign transformed the physical and spiritual landscape of England. Magnificent, tyrannical, a strong ruler, a 'pillager of the commonwealth', this most notorious of kings remains a figure of extreme contradictions: a devout traditionalist who oversaw a cataclysmic rupture with the church in Rome; a talented, charismatic, imposing figure who nevertheless could not bear to meet people's eyes when he talked to them. In this revealing new account, John Guy explores how Henry himself understood the world and his place in it - from his sheltered and increasingly isolated upbringing and the blazing glory of his accession; to his desperate quest for recognition, fame and an heir, and the terrifying paranoia of his last, agonising, 54-inch-waisted years - and in doing so casts new light on his choice of wives and ministers, his impact on the European stage, and his extraordinary legacy.

16th Century Europe Great Britain Historical Modern Politics & Activism Renaissance Royalty England Middle Ages Tudor

Critic reviews

An immensely satisfying introduction to the large and moody monarch ... John Guy is a very good historian who knows Henry VIII better than almost anyone. (Diarmaid MacCulloch)
No reviews yet