The Quest for Fame

Henry VIII (Penguin Monarchs)

The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperback 
 
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.

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.

John Guy is a Fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge. His bestselling books include A Daughter's Love: Thomas and Margaret More, Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel, Victim: A 900-Year-Old Story Retold, Tudor England, The Children of Henry VIII, and 'My Heart is My Own': the Life of Mary Queen of Scots, which won the Whitbread Biography Award and the Marsh Biography Award. He appears regularly on BBC radio and television.

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.

The Forgotten Years

Elizabeth

A beautifully rounded portrait of both the woman and the queen . . . This is a masterful biography.

A gripping story of Queen Elizabeth's last years, authoritatively researched and engagingly recounted by the leading Tudor historian of our age

One of the very best historians we have in the country . . . It is brilliant, vigorous history, and a triumph of storytelling and scholarship

Guy's careful work with documents known and unknown, scattered throughout Europe's archives, allows him to paint a novel portrait of a complex - maybe even unknowable - queen

The best biography ever written of the Virgin Queen - a revisionist, sensitive, compelling, majestic masterwork that you can't put down

A gripping story of Queen Elizabeth's last years, authoritatively researched and engagingly recounted by the leading Tudor historian of our age. It will be of special interest to anyone interested in the political world in which Shakespeare's Elizabethan drama is steeped-from anxiety over royal succession to England's costly war in Ireland

John Guy's Elizabeth presents a beautifully rounded portrait of both the woman and the queen. Thanks to Guy's prodigious use of previously untapped material, we see, for the very first time, the full panoply of ambition and insecurity, plotting and deceit that marked the middle years of her reign. This is a masterful biography.

As you'd expect from John Guy, this is a very good read, a vivid and fascinating warts-and-all portrait of the ageing Elizabeth, backed by meticulous research

One of the very best historians we have in the country. Guy is in his element prising off the myths that are barnacled to the queen. It is brilliant, vigorous history, and a triumph of storytelling and scholarship

John Guy is arguably the world's leading expert on Tudor history. When he writes a book, especially this, his first on Elizabeth's life, it should be taken very seriously as having something new to say, and so it does ... a wonderful book and a magisterial account of the latter half of Elizabeth's reign that calmly reassesses every claim and myth by simply reading all the original manuscript correspondence. The result puts the record straight, but it also allows Guy to produce a pacy and compelling story

Guy pored through 250,000 manuscripts in his quest to understand the ageing Elizabeth. Intimidated by that mountain of parchment, most historians have tended to recycle the myths of Gloriana and Good Queen Bess. Not Guy. Guy is no ordinary historian. Few can match his ruthless obsession for accuracy. Between every line comes whispered reassurance: "You can trust me; I touched those documents." Guy the scholar melds perfectly with Guy the storyteller. Small tales are used to illustrate big issues. Under the weight of Guy's scrutiny, familiar myths crumble. The weight of evidence suggests that he understands Elizabeth better than any historian has

[A] most excellent biography. It puts a cruel but clarifying lends on the vain monarch's twilight years. She has never been more exposed than in Guy's tome. A contender for history book of the year

What emerges from the author's great efforts to mine the archives for a truer picture is a more flawed Elizabeth - but perhaps a more human one

John Guy, as eminent a Tudor historian as they come, has set himself the explicit task of correcting Strachey's colourful narrative of Elizabeth's old age. The result is 400 pages of outstandingly documented scholarly detail ... scholarship that should earn the respect of popular and expert reader alike

Superb ... John Guy persuades us that pretty much everything we think we know about Elizabeth is wrong

There is a lot to like about this book. Energetic [in] tone... Guy is a lively guide ... Guy is especially good when describing the political machinations of Burghley and Walsingham ... [and] Guy gives us a clean sense of a man [the Earl of Essex] who was brilliant, vain, petulant and self-serving in equal measure

Enthralling... the book is also beautifully illustrated

Guy is exceptionally good on how various myths took root

Outstanding. This page-turning book is history, biography, scholarship personified, and a crystal-clear look at Elizabeth in the war years that erases the myths and presents the real woman. Absolutely one of the best biographies of Elizabeth ever

With the remarkable advantage of access to long-buried and misfiled primary sources [...] the aging monarch receives a balanced treatment. [Gives] readers a fuller view of the confident, experienced, and adaptable queen

Meticulously researched and highly readable revisionist biography. Recommended for lovers of British history and feminist biography

Oft portrayed as fierce, this reveals an Elizabeth I who is in fact fallible and insecure

Significant, forensic and myth-busting, John Guy inspires total confidence in a narrative which is at once pacy and rich in detail

The brilliance of Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years lies in the energy of its narrative, as well as in Guy's eye and ear for scene and conversation. To interweave all of this with the life of the queen is a formidable achievement. He has captured the complexity of contemporary politics. ... Most striking is Guy's portrait of Elizabeth

John Guy is a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and has published sixteen books, including My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots, Tudor England, Thomas More and The Tudors: A Very Short Introduction. He appears regularly on BBC Radio 2, Radio 3 and Radio 4 and has presented numerous television documentaries for BBC2. He regularly contributes to the Sunday Times, Guardian, Economist and The Times Literary Supplement.

History has pictured Elizabeth I as Gloriana, an icon of strength and power -- and has focused on the early years of her reign. But in 1583, when Elizabeth is fifty, there is relentless plotting among her courtiers -- and still to come is the Spanish Armada and the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. We have not, until now, had the full picture. 
 
This gripping and vivid portrait of her life and times -- often told in her own words (and including details such as her love of chess and marzipan) -- reveals a woman who was insecure, human ('You know I am no morning woman'), and unpopular even with the men who fought for her. This is the real Elizabeth, for the first time.

Warrior, Priest, Rebel, Victim: A 900-Year-Old Story Retold

Thomas Becket

From Thomas Becket's early life as a merchant's son and his time as the Archbishop of Canterbury to his assassination in the Cathedral itself, this enlightening book brings to life a colossal figure of British history. 
 
'Lively, effortlessly readable, superb. A beautifully layered portrait of one of the most complex characters in English history' The Times 
 ____________________ 
 
This is the man, not the legend . . . 
 
 Thomas Becket lived at the centre of medieval England. Son of a draper's merchant, he was befriended and favoured by Henry II and quickly ascended the rungs of power and privilege. He led 700 knights into battle, brokered peace between warring states and advised King and Pope. 
 
Yet he lost it all defying his closest friend and King, resulting in his bloody murder and the birth of a saint. 
 
In award-winning biographer John Guy's masterful account, the life, death and times of Thomas Becket come vividly into focus. 
____________________ 
 
 'Suspenseful, meticulously researched . . . however well you think you know the story, it is well worth the read' Financial Times 
 
 'Wonderfully moving and subtle. Reading of the assassination is almost unbearably intense and brings tears to one's eye' Daily Express 
 
 'Compelling, marvellously measured, entertainingly astute, and in places positively moving' The Independent 
 
 'Scintillates with energetic scene-setting, giving us a tactile, visual feel for early medieval England . . . breathes new life into an oft-told tale' Financial Times

John Guy is an award-winning historian, accomplished broadcaster and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. His previous books include My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots, winner of the 2004 Whitbread Biography Award and the Marsh Biography Award, the highly acclaimed dual biography A Daughter's Love: Thomas and Margaret More and a history, Tudor England, which has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide.

This is the man, not the legend . . . 
 
Thomas Becket lived at the centre of medieval England. Son of a draper's merchant, he was befriended and favoured by Henry II and quickly ascended the rungs of power and privilege. He led 700 knights into battle, brokered peace between warring states and advised King and Pope. Yet he lost it all defying his closest friend and King, resulting in his own bloody murder and the birth of a legend. In John Guy's masterful account the life, death and times of Thomas Becket come splendidly alive.

The Life of Mary Queen of Scots

My Heart is My Own

Now a major film, this is a dramatic reinterpretation of the life of Mary Queen of Scots by one of the leading historians of this period. 
 
For centuries, Mary, Queen of Scots has been a figure of scholarly debate. Where many have portrayed her as the weak woman to Elizabeth's rational leader, John Guy reassesses the young queen, finding her far more politically shrewd than previously believed. 
 
Crowned Queen of Scotland at nine months old, Queen of France by age sixteen and widowed the following year, Guy paints Mary as a commanding and savvy queen who navigated the European power struggles of the time to her advantage. 
 
Her life was one of drama and conflict - Scottish lords constructed labyrinthine plots to wrest power from her and attempts to prove her claim to the English throne were thwarted by English ministers bent on protecting Elizabeth. 
 
My Heart is My Own re-examines the original sources, resulting in a riveting new argument surrounding Mary's involvement in her husband Lord Darnely's murder and her subsequent marriage to his suspected assassin. 
 
Guy's accessible treatment of the well-trodden story, his deft storytelling and insightful new arguments provide compelling and dramatic reading. 
 
'An absorbing biography . . . meticulously researched . . . scholarly and intriguing' Peter Ackroyd, The Times 
 
'Rarely have first-class scholarship and first-class storytelling been so effectively combined' John Adamson, Daily Telegraph 
 
John Guy is an award-winning historian, accomplished broadcaster and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. His previous books include the highly acclaimed dual biography A Daughter's Love: Thomas and Margaret More a history, Tudor England, which has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide and a biography of Thomas Becket, published in 2012.

John Guy is an award-winning historian, accomplished broadcaster and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. His previous books include the highly acclaimed dual biography A Daughter's Love: Thomas and Margaret More a history, Tudor England, which has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide and a biography of Thomas Becket, published in 2012.

Acclaimed Tudor historian John Guy offers a compelling re-interpretation of Mary Queen of Scots in My Heart is My Own. 
 
For centuries, Mary Queen of Scots has been a figure of scholarly debate. Where many have portrayed her as the weak woman to Elizabeth's rational leader, John guy re-assesses the young Queen, finding her far more politically shrewd than previously believed. 
 
Crowned Queen of Scotland at nine months old, Queen of France by age sixteen and widowed the following year, Guy paints Mary as a commanding and savvy queen, who navigated the European power struggles of the time to her advantage. 
 
Her life was one of drama and conflict - Scottish Lords constructed labyrinthine plots to wrest power from her and attempts to prove claim to the English throne were thwarted by English ministers bent on protecting Elizabeth. 
 
My Heart is My Own re-examines the original sources, resulting in a riveting new argument surrounding Mary's involvement in her husband Lord Darnely's murder and her subsequent marriage to his suspected assassin. 
 
Guy's accessible treatment of the well trodden story, his deft storytelling and insightful new arguments provide compelling and dramatic reading.

Thomas and Margaret More - The Family Who Dared to Defy Henry VIII

A Daughter's Love

Leading British historian John Guy, author of Thomas Becket and My Heart is My Own, uncovers one of the most touching and compelling family relationships in history in A Daughter's Love. 
 
Sir Thomas More is a stalwart figure of British history. Lord Chancellor in Henry Tudor's government, opposed to Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn and famously executed for treason, he is a well-studied and eminent figure. 
 
John Guy's revealing new work sheds light on a little known aspect of More, as a politician and as a man. His daughter Margaret played a key role in More's private and public life, but has been all but hidden from his story. 
 
Neglected from previous historical works, A Daughter's Love uses original sources to reveal a deep and loving relationship between father and daughter. Margaret, a prodigy encouraged by her father, was highly skilled in Latin and Greek, even emending texts from the prominent scholar Erasmus. She became her father's advisor, confidante and friend, exchanging long, loving letters during his incarceration and providing comfort in his final hours. It is these letters, which she smuggled from the Tower, that provide compelling new insights into the famed politician. 
 
A Daughter's Love is a riveting new portrait of Thomas More and the daughter who played a central role in his life and work, from one of Britain's most acclaimed historians. 
 
'An arresting reassessment . . . An outstanding talent for stop-the-reader-dead-in-their-tracks gripping storytelling. Guy's convincing page-turner of a double life has restored my faith in biography as a genre' Lisa Jardine, Sunday Times 
 
'Gripping . . . Guy's scholarship is irreproachable' Independent on Sunday 
 
'Brilliantly observed and told . . . [Guy's] absorbing, thoroughly researched book does justice to two exemplary women - and reminds us that history is full of ironies' Claire Tomalin, The New York Times 
 
John Guy is an award-winning historian, accomplished broadcaster and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. His previous books include My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots, winner of the 2004 Whitbread Biography Award and the Marsh Biography Award, a history, Tudor England, which has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide and a biography of Thomas Becket published in 2012.

John Guy is an award-winning historian, accomplished broadcaster and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. His previous books include My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots, winner of the 2004 Whitbread Biography Award and the Marsh Biography Award, a history, Tudor England, which has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide and a biography of Thomas Becket published in 2012.

Leading British historian John Guy, author of Thomas Becket and My Heart is My Own, uncovers one of the most touching and compelling family relationships in history in A Daughter's Love. 
 
Sir Thomas More is a stalwart figure of British history. Lord Chancellor in Henry Tudor's government, opposed to Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn and famously executed for treason, he is a well studied and eminent figure. 
 
John Guy's revealing new work sheds light on a little known aspect of More, as a politician and as a man. His daughter Margaret played a key role in More's private and public life, but has been all but hidden from his story. 
 
Neglected from previous historical works, A Daughter's Love uses original sources to reveal a deep and loving relationship between father and daughter. Margaret, a prodigy encouraged by her father, was highly skilled in Latin and Greek, even emending texts from the prominent scholar Erasmus. She became her father's advisor, confidante and friend, exchanging long, loving letters during his incarceration and providing comfort in his final hours. It is these letters, which she smuggled from the Tower, that provide compelling new insights into the famed politician. 
 
A Daughter's Love is a riveting new portrait of Thomas More and the daughter who played a central role in his life and work, from one of Britain's most acclaimed historians.

John Guy

Film Tie-In

For centuries, Mary, Queen of Scots has been a figure of scholarly debate. Where many have portrayed her as the weak woman to Elizabeth's rational leader, John Guy reassesses the young queen, finding her far more politically shrewd than previously believed. 
 
Crowned Queen of Scotland at nine months old, Queen of France by age sixteen and widowed the following year, Guy paints Mary as a commanding and savvy queen who navigated the European power struggles of the time to her advantage. 
 
Her life was one of drama and conflict - Scottish lords constructed labyrinthine plots to wrest power from her and attempts to prove her claim to the English throne were thwarted by English ministers bent on protecting Elizabeth. 
 
Mary Queen of Scots re-examines the original sources, resulting in a riveting new argument surrounding Mary's involvement in her husband Lord Darnely's murder and her subsequent marriage to his suspected assassin. 
 
Guy's accessible treatment of the well-trodden story, his deft storytelling and insightful new arguments provide compelling and dramatic reading.

John Guy

Mary Queen of Scots

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