The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers: A Novel Paperback – September 15, 1998

Getting to love you, ....Okay, sorry about that. But basically it does describe how this book made me feel about Henry VIII, well, almost.For all of my life I disliked Henry VIII by default. You know, the usual reasons...He had six wives, he beheaded two of them, he had mistresses, illegitemate children, etc. etc.But, being a great fan of Margaret George I felt I needed to read this book. I was not disappointed. Another great historical novel by Ms. George. An extraordinary amount of research appears to have gone into this book, and Ms. George actually accomplishes to almost, _almost_, make you feel sorry for poor Henry, and successfully paints him in a more "human" light. My opinion of him has definitely changed.Okay, so he should not have just thrown Katherine of Aragon away, simply because he fell for that whore Anne Boleyn, which resulted in a break with the Roman Catholic Church. But Katherine did start to become a real bore.I can understand why he beheaded Anne. His public reasons (adultry) may have been questionable, but the witch thing? Back then you could never be too sure about those witches and what they could do. Off with her head!And Jane, poor Jane, she truly loved him and he truly loved her. How tragic that she died so soon.And then that Anne of Cleves! Wow, she must really have been a bow-wow, but then, who the hell marries a woman sight unseen? I don't care how distraught you are over the beheading of the witch. At least he was very fair in his separation of Anne of Cleves, and I think she got the better end of the deal, because by this time, Henry himself was no longer an Adonis either.And then his foolish infatuation with that second hussy, Catherine Howard. How could he not have known? She also deserved to lose her head on the chopping block, no question about that. I mean, he's the KING for crying out loud!And then the surprise marriage to Katherine Parr, dear Kate. Finally he gets lucky and marries someone nice who manages to stay alive in the process. But then of course, he dies. Ah well, such is the comedy of life.The notes by Will Somers are great, although I almost wish there had been more of them. It would have been nice to see what Will and other subjects of the King were thinking about all these crazy goings on in Henry's head.To sum it up, this was a very very good book. I am glad I read it and I am sure I will read it again soon. The descriptions of the characters and places are vivid and colorful, and the description of Henry's life is thorough and memorable.Also, read Ms. George's other books, The Memoirs of Cleopatra and Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles. Both are just as good. Don't let their size intimidate you! In the end you'll be glad they lasted as long as they did.

After the royal wedding on April 29th, I decided that my summer reading list should have a decided English flavor. Having just finished this masterful MG outing, I was absolutely blown away.This was easily one of the best bios I've ever read, and worth every minute and every word on every page.While we can never know the true Henry, George has brilliantly re-created the tempestuous, turbulent times surrounding Henry's court and life in Renaisance England. Understood, we can never know the real Henry, but MG's scrupulous research, pacing and character development combine to create a non-stop, ribald, roller coaster of a read.You gotta love a guy who had the balls and the brass to step up and flip the royal bird to the Vatican and tell the pope to bugger off. Talk about right time, right place.I can't help but wonder what a meeting between him and Martin Luther would have wrought!Seems H8's only problem was the women he was such a sucker for. Aragon seemed perfect until she realized her failure to produce an heir was incurable and made her crazy. Not for nothing but any other guy would have seen that abusive, manipulative, social climbing whore Boleyn coming a mile away. Then there was plain vanilla Jane, gone too soon. If only Cleves had the looks and charm to match her brains...and then, there was that messy Howard business (see Boleyn...they never learn!). At long last "Waitey" Katie Parr. Would that their union had a longer life...too good, too little, too late.And then, there is Will, Henry's Rock of Gibraltar. I think I'll miss him as much.All in all, a great read and a credible, realistic portrait of a man high born and royal, exposing all the contradictions, inner conflicts and dichotomys that complicate his otherwise "party" personae, yet provided for England the king...and heirs...it needed for its time.

Excellent read

Stupendo come gli altri volumi della trilogia di Hilary Mantel

I have read this book more than once, and been gripped by it every time. The Author brings the period, the history, and the man to life. You can laugh with hm, share his joys, depise his weaknesses, but ultimately, weep for his death. A remarkable man in a remarkable time.

The Autobiography Of Henry VIII - Margaret George .... A walk into the realms of the 16th Century. Well written in the words of Henry the Eighth and comments from Will the Jester. Though Henry VIII was portrayed as the worst ruler in England, this books gives in a different perspective... Yes he was not that bad - of course he indulged but had reasons for every thing he did bad. The change of belief in Christianity, between Catholicism and evolution of protestantism has always been blamed on him, but he had been a catholic till the end, only the power centre was changed by him from Rome to his own domain. The tales of his 6 wife's and seeking a male heir were impressively narrated... Since the book contains a intricate plot with details it takes a lot of time to read... The slowest read of my life... But impressive.

Margaret George schreibt wirklich phantastische Bücher. Heinrich VIII ist meiner Meinung nach das beste von allen und richtet sich an alle, die an Geschichte interessiert sind, aber geschichtliche Sachbücher langweilig finden.Heinrich kommt hier selbst zu Wort und erzählt sein Leben sehr lebendig aus seiner Sicht. Hofnarr Will kommentiert an den Stellen, an denen Heinrichs eigene Einschätzungen fragwürdig erscheinen und der Richtigstellung bedürfen. Auch wenn ich auf den ersten Seiten ein wenig kämpfen musste, insgesamt eine absolute Empfehlung, es ist mein Lieblingsbuch. Auch alle anderen Werke von Margaret George sind ausserordentlich empfehlenswert.