Review: Emperor: A New Life of Charles V by Geoffrey Parker

I haven't read any single biographies on Charles V - this was my first. Much of what I had read was contained within other books - more of a secondary character or part of the supporting cast. So whether it stacks up against other known biographies, I cannot comment.

For me, this was an eye-opener into the intricacies of Charles' life and reign. I knew the basics and many of the names that cropped up but not at all in such depth as presented here. Many familiar events were tied together and put into perspective. Each of the "parts" of the book consisted of a series of manageable chapters highlighting his life, his reign, including an assessment of both the man and his political achievements. I was particularly intrigued by the view that Charles' later actions closely reflected the goals and values of his grandfather, Maximillian, ".. whom he imitated and saw as a role model, for better or worse.." - not really knowing much about Maximillian, it left me wondering how true this assessment was - and now leads me down another path of exploration. Other issues have been relegated to the appendices for addressing, allowing the author to explore and elaborate on views and theories, whilst still presenting a fairly unbiased biography.

As a whole, it is quite lengthy at 570 pages- containing biography; chronology; appendices; notes and sources, and bibliography; attesting to that fact that an extensive amount of research went into this tome. This is something I would definitely come back to re-read, and most likely find a place for on the shelves of my own personal library.

"History can never be reduced to a single entry in a ledger .." - and this book certainly proves that.

further reading:

• The Reign of Charles V by William S. Maltby (2002)
• The History of Charles V by William Robertson (1828)
• The Emperor Charles V by Martyn Rady (2014)
• Correspondence of the Emperor Charles V. and His Ambassadors at the Courts of England and France edited by William Bradford (1850)
• The Golden Age: The Spanish Empire of Charles V by Hugh Thomas (2011)
• Emperor Charles V by Willem Pieter Blockmans (2002)
• Charles V: Duty and Dynasty: The Emperor and His Changing World 1500-1558 by Richard Heath (2018)
• Charles V: The World Emperor by Harald Kleinshcmidt (2011)