Winter King cover art

Winter King

The Dawn of Tudor England

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Winter King

By: Thomas Penn
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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About this listen

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. Europe Great Britain Historical Political Science Politics & Activism Politics & Government Royalty England Tudor Middle Ages Thought-Provoking United Kingdom Espionage War Winter Italy Renaissance

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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))
All stars
Most relevant
Well written and narrated. Henry VII is not so well known due to the massive influence of his son but this book gives the reader a good insight to a complicated man in complicated times.

Very Good

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After a book on the Wars of the Roses left me feeling confused about how / why Henry VII ended up as a contender for the throne (and especially why people followed him, given his weak claim and lifetime mostly in exile), I thought I'd go for a deeper dive.

This seems to be regarded as one of the better books on Henry VII and his reign, and I can see why. It does a great job of bringing to life the broader geopolitical context - putting England firmly within the wider European sphere, with lots of machinations around alliances with the Habsburgs and/or France in pursuit of creating combined kingdoms that would have radically altered European and world history - as well as domestic courtly intrigued and resentments.

As a prequel to the much better-knowm reign of Henry VIII, this is particularly useful, as Penn frequently has an eye on what's to come, with the young Prince Henry a constant presence, along with others - like More and Wolsey - who would later come to dominate the country.

But if I'm honest, Henry VII himself remains a bit of an enigma - a kind of shadowy, slightly menacing background presence whose motivations are unclear, and whose actions often make little sense. Why, for instance, as a man who'd won the throne by conquest - based on a split-second battlefield decision by someone else, rather than his own actions - did he act so seemingly unfairly to so many of his subjects, appropriating land and forcing people into debt? Did he feel force and threats were the only way to rule? Did he want to be feared rather than loved? If so, why?

I guess asking for more on the psychology of a man who apparently wrote little and seems to have kept his thoughts close is unfair of me, but this is what I was hoping for, and I was left somewhat disappointed. Not the author's fault - it's the fault of the sources.

Still, despite the gaps - and more on Henry's early life and initial motivation to pursue the crown is another big gap, for me - this was interesting. Makes me wonder why this reign so often seems to be skipped over - there's a lot here that lays the foundations for what was to come far more than simply in the seizing of the crown for the Tudors.

interesting and well done

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Well written and narrated. Would have liked it to have been longer but good for an overall basic understanding of the skilful dictator (King Henry VII).

Enjoyable, informative, interesting

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Fascinating but selective. A  very enjoyable history of Henry VII and how he managed to size the English throne, and keep it,  in very unsure times.  The Battle of Bosworth is skated over very quickly, as is how Henry secured the throne.  But longer passages are devoted to more  obscure persons such as the  poet Skelton who became Henry VIII tutor.  It gives a good back ground to the early lives of Henry VIII and Catherine, and all the machinations around their eventually marriage. The final passages on the the death of Henry VII are some of the best, in showing what it was like to be around a dying king.   In the  end Henry VII still remains an  elusive character. A knowledge of the ins and outs of the period is useful, Wikipedia was very helpful.

Classy reconstruction of the period

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I am an avid reader of all aspects of history, I have studied Henry V11's reign at A Level and read other material to supplement my interest. This is a well researched, intelligent and easy to listen/read book. I found the narrative on the many colouful characters of the Tudor court particularly interesting and Mr Penn succeeds in humanising them for good or ill in a way that I have not experienced before. A refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable read which avoids the current trend of authors to follow practically every sentence with 'they probably attended', 'probably thought'. I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in Tudor History. The audio version is one of the best i've listened to.

Winter King

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What did you like most about Winter King?

Following on from the recent TV series on Elizabeth Woodville, the book filled a gap in my knowledge of the period between the Wars of the Roses and the mass of books written about Henry VIII and later Tudors. The author gives a convincing story of how Henry VII's complex personality, and obsession with hoarding money, was formed during his childhood exile. I really liked the way that meticulous research and contemporary quotes were woven into the story so that one could envisage the colour and spectacle of great Court occasions as well as feel the terror of loyal subjects who were baffled by the King's secretiveness. I found the most interesting elements concerned what was going on in England at the high point of the Renaissance in Italy. I knew that Henry VII was deeply engaged in European trade, but the book gives insights into his machinations, as well as to the squandering of huge sums to try to 'buy' security from Plantagenet rivals for the English throne.

Would you be willing to try another book from Thomas Penn? Why or why not?

I like the way solid research and contemporary quotes that were woven seamlessly into the storyline. If this author has written anything else about a little-known period of history, I would enjoy reading it.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Philip of Burgundy was shipwrecked on the English south coast when he was trying to get to Spain to claim the crown of Castile from Ferdinand (of Aragon) after Isabella's death. The book illustrates how the usually sombre Henry VII created a series of extravagant Court pageants to lock Philip into a 'gilded cage' until he agreed to give up the main Plantagenet 'pretender' to the English throne that he had protected for years. Henry was an incredibly astute politician.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Our first Renaissance King

Fascinating link between Plantagenets and Tudors

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A brilliant, comprehensive overview of Henry 7th and his reign. Read wonderfully and with the right pace.

Comprehensive

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What did you like most about Winter King?

Thomas Penn has done a very good job in not only investigating this period but peeling back the layers of history to make it an informative, enjoyable and accessible listen. As a Yorkist Wars of the Roses reenactor my interest has often ended after Bosworth but to hear the rest of the story once Henry VII is on the throne makes me see how much I was missing.

Who was your favorite character and why?

With all the intrigue and politics going on favourite is not the right word. The portrayal of Henry VII in relation to the continental kings with his supposedly bottomless pot of gold was certainly very interesting.

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Keeping my attention held on the story and adapting his portrayal of the characters to more easily reflect who was who.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Usually films of historical events are done very badly so the tag line might well be:

"Don't watch this drivel where the director and production team has no knowledge or respect for history. Go listen to Simon Vance read the intrigue to you instead!"

Though that isn't very catchy.

Any additional comments?

A very enjoyable book indeed and I will certainly be looking for more by both author and reader.

A different perspective on the wrong side

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I didn't know much about Henry VII so this was an excellent introduction. It was really well read and filled in so many gaps in my historical knowledge. I'm not sure I liked Henry but I really do admire his ability to govern and bring a measure of peace and stability. Being about Henry VIII's father it also details Henry VIII's childhood and early life including his courtship of Catherine which is very sad when you know how it ends. What a sad lonely life Catherine had.

I would highly recommend this audio book which once started is quite addictive!

Very interesting and totally engaging.

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The reign of Henry VII is often seen as rather dull compared with the Wars of the Roses and the glories of the Tudor Court under Henry VIII and Elizabeth I but this book makes it very clear that the cautious Henry VII consolidated his victory at Bosworth by careful financial management as well as bringing together the houses of Lancaster and York by marrying the eldest daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. This is history at its best: strategy and politics as well as human tragedy. The narration makes it a real 'audio page turner'

Winter King: Henry VII not just a stop-gap!

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