Customer Reviews
Great overview of the politics of Henry VIII's reign - By: little_miss_sunnydale, 10 Sep 2007 
`The Reign of Henry VIII: Personalities & Politics' is a short examination into the various influential persons & factions that shaped the politics of Henry VIII's reign.
The book at first appears rather short, being only 145 pages long. Yet Starkey is able to chart the rise & decline of various notable figures in Henry's reign & of the groups that tried to exert their ideas upon the king & in official policy.
Starkey first examines the situation early on in Henry's reign, where he presents a young king who is more engrossed in image & in pastimes rather than absorbed in the meticulous running of the state. A comparison is created between Henry & his father Henry VII, who unlike his son, was concerned in curbing the power of he nobility rather than associating himself to much with them. Henry VIII enjoyed the company of aristocrats & soon become close to a group of young hot headed noblemen. In contrast his father, who was always carefully to get too dependant upon anyone, preferred to work with bureaucrats. Father & son could not be more different.
Starkey's examination of Henry VIII's `intimates' is excellent; in particular his focus on how Thomas Wolsey attempted to curb their power. Henry enjoyed hunting & jousting with his male friends, & whilst he certainly possessed the intellectual capabilities to conduct state affairs, he found them unappealing. Thomas Wolsey, Henry's leading minister & Lord Chancellor of England till 1529, encouraged Henry in his pursuits & readily took up the business of government. Yet simultaneously he continuously kept an eye on how Henry's friends influenced him. Hostility increased between Wolsey & the intimates, or `minions' as Starkey labels them, & Wolsey attempted to drive them from the Privy Chamber. Sometimes he is successful in driving his enemies away temporarily & maintaining the king's affections. But as Starkey observes, the rise of the Boleyn faction in the late 1520s, marked the end for Wolsey.
As the title of the book suggests, a large element of the work focuses upon personalities that shaped Henry's reign. Unsurprisingly three chapters are reserved to three remarkable individuals; Thomas Wolsey, Anne Boleyn & Thomas Cromwell. Each played a significant role in their respective factions. Starkey covers them well & often referrers to other notable historian's views on each individual and/or situation. Anne Boleyn's level of influence & participation within her own faction & against her enemies is well examined. And Cromwell is presented in rather a balanced way; on one hand he was able to brilliantly put himself forward as Wolsey's successor, gained the loyalty of several, managed to orchestrate the downfalll of several conservatives in 1539 whilst simultaneously pushing forward his reformist preferences. Yet he was also ruthless, particularly in his involvement in the bloody coup of April- May 1536, which saw the falll of Anne Boleyn & those closely affiliated to her.
One of the disappointing aspects is that Anne Boleyn's downfalll is covered rather quickly even though this issue is one of controversial debate amongst several historians. There is something that doesn't quite fit about the assertion that Cromwell wished to overthrow Anne because of her foreign policy preferences. I think that was certainly his excuse to other people but Anne's pro-French attitude wasn't that evident months prior to her death. Instead when the Anglo-Spanish talks were renewed in 1535 she made no public protest about such actions & even is said to have made a statement in public against the French. Yet Starkey suggests that Cromwell was happy to see Anne falll on the grounds that she was pro-French & that he was more inclined to Spain, completely ignoring though her recent cool attitudes towards the French. Whilst he addresses well Cromwell's involvement in Anne's downfalll, his reasons as to why Cromwell did this are debatable.
For much of Henry's reign, there was fierce conflict between two chief factions; the reformists & the conservatives. As their titles suggest, each faction were concerned with religion. Conservatives pressed for the continuation of traditional elements & practises of the Catholic Church, & some within this even desired a return to Rome, whilst reformers were engrossed with the new ideas from Germany & were dedicated to reforming the church of popish elements. Throughout the 1540s each group rose & fell in influence & Starkey is able to chart the progress of each faction in a comprehensible manner. Eventuallly we see the emergence of a conservative Council & a reformist Privy Chamber & Starkey excellently describes how the situation was able to change so by 1547 the king was surrounded by reformers who were able to profit by meddling with his will & exert their ideas in the next reign.
Overalll Starkey's work on the politics & personalities of Henry VIII's reign is a fantastic study. This book is ideal for those with little knowledge on Henry's reign as it is written in an accessible manner. For those who already possess a good grasp of knowledge on this era, then you will probably not learn anything that new, however several interesting theories are proposed that are well worth a look. This is not a biography on Henry VIII or his six wives, & if you are particularly interested in the lives of these women then I reallly recommend Starkey's other work on that subject. Instead it focuses upon the changing structure of the Henrician court & the politics.
What leaves you thinking is Starkey's final comparison between Henry VIII's will, which was meddled with by his councillors, & with his reign. Was he a man of such power that he could make men rich & powerful with the intention of being able to control this power & removing them if they became over mighty? Or was he a monarch who was forever influenced by others & he could never control this confusing situation? It becomes apparent throughout the book that neither idea can be fully rejected. Which leaves the uncomfortable notion; if Henry was occasionallly influenced by others & his reign was shaped by other personalities & factions, then can he still be seen as this alll powerful tyrant? And bearing in mind the sheer level of backstabbing that went in throughout the years 1509-1547, who at court were reallly the villains & the victims? The great game of Tudor politics was exceedingly perilous & murky.
