Review: Crown & Sceptre by Tracy Borman

Synopsis: The author of The Private Lives of the Tudors illuminates the almost thousand-year history of the British monarchy.

Since William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel in 1066 to defeat King Harold II and unite England's various kingdoms, forty-one kings and queens have sat on Britain's throne. "Shining examples of royal power and majesty alongside a rogue's gallery of weak, lazy, or evil monarchs," as Tracy Borman describes them in her sparkling chronicle, Crown & Sceptre. Ironically, during very few of these 955 years has the throne's occupant been unambiguously English--whether Norman French, the Welsh-born Tudors, the Scottish Stuarts, and the Hanoverians and their German successors to the present day.

Acknowledging the intrinsic fascination with British royalty, Borman lifts the veil to reveal the remarkable characters and personalities who have ruled and, since the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, more ceremonially reigned. It is a crucial distinction explaining the staying power of the monarchy as the royal family has evolved and adapted to the needs and opinions of its people, avoiding the storms of rebellion that brought many of Europe's royals to an abrupt end. Richard II; Henry VIII; Elizabeth I; George III; Victoria; Elizabeth II: their names evoke eras and the dramatic events Borman recounts. She is equally attuned to the fabric of monarchy: royal palaces; the way monarchs have been portrayed in art, on coins, in the media; the ceremony and pageantry surrounding the crown.

Elizabeth II is already one of the longest reigning monarchs in history. Crown & Sceptre is a fitting tribute to her remarkable longevity and that of the magnificent institution she represents.

Again, I am very wary when it comes to books with the title "new" in them as I invariably find nothing new. And again there was really nothing new here for me. I am going to preface this review, however, by stating that I read only up to the reign of Anne for beyond that was not really within my purview - therefore whether there was anything "new" or not to be gleaned I will leave in the capable hands of another reader.

Borman compartmentalizes the book according to familial term designated for each ruler and their dynasty. As such, it is broken down as follows (making it easier to chose where you want to start):

Part One - Normans: William I to Stephen

Part Two - Plantagenets: Henry II through to Richard II

Part Three - Tudors: Henry VII to Elizabeth I

Part Four - Stuarts: James VI & I to Anne, and also includes the interegnum of the Protectorate

Part Five - Hanoverians: George I to Edward VII

Part Six - Windsors: George V to Elizabeth II.

Each section provides enough detail on and about each monarch and their reign; however, there are the usual tropes associated with a number of monarchs that I would hesitate in recommending it as an unbiased primer for someone starting.  Having said that, there is enough here from which to launch into more detailed or specialised accounts.

Now whilst I mentioned that for me there was nothing new in the bulk of the narrative - there were a couple of little nuggets that I would have loved more detail on, as Borman disappointingly does not follow up with any actual source material. These are:

Page 22: Borman mentions that Matilda of Flanders, wife to William I, had once been told some prophecy foretelling the deaths of three of her sons in the New Forest.

Page 118: Henry IV's last words acknowledging himself as an usurper to his son and heir Henry V - the only reference is the Oxford Book of Anecdotes! But that is hardly a reliable source surely. I want to know who originally documented this.

Page 155: Borman in discussing the discovery of the remains of bones in the Tower - and their general acceptance without any proof that they are the two lost princes - makes mention that workman accidentally damaged the vault of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville (c.1789) and discovered two smaller tombs contained within. These were then attributed to two of their children, whose actual tombs were located elsewhere within St George's Chapel. So who was buried within - again, a source for this would be appreciated.

These nuggets are the type of thing that stands out for me - but as no source was / can be provided, it just falls within the realm of whimsical hearsay, and places this book back firmly on the shelf of popularist general history.

Still, there are many who will appreciate the condensed accounts of England's monarchs, spanning a period of some nine hundred odd years.

Review: Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him by Tracy Borman

When we see Henry through the men in his life, a new perspective on this famous king emerges...

I am not sure what I was expecting when selecting this book; however, on the basis of the title "... the men who made him" I thought I was getting a new spin of the character of Henry VIII.  What I read was nothing new, nothing I could not have read in in number of tomes on this monarch.  The only difference here is that there is very little mention of the wives.

So what was I expecting: I guess a little more on the main figures in Henry's life.  We have plenty on Wolsey, Cromwell, Cranmer, Brandon, and even a little on some of the men who served him in various capacities - his "youths of evil counsel".  But how much of an influence on Henry were any of them?

We read that Henry's father was aloof, cool, suspicious and that when Henry finally came to rule, was determined to not be like him.  We read that his tutor and chaplain John Skelton was "responsible for shaping his spiritual and intellectual upbringing".  But did either man "make him"?

From an early age - usually around the time of Arthur's marriage - we get a sense of a young Henry enjoying the spotlight, of wanting to be the centre of attention, of his future vanity, of his early need for adulation. 

As his rule progresses, we get more of a sense of the man - his jealousies, his fickleness, his insecurities, his need to be surrounded by fawning sycophants, his ability to change from benevolent patron to destroying angel.  But how much an affect did those surrounding the king actually have on him.  He swings from one direction to another - loathe to take on the task of government then micro-managing his ministers.  Some may have been able to briefly bend the ear of the king, flaming his paranoia or indulging him like a doting parent; but did they actually contributed to the development of the king's persona??

I am not sure if the brief is actually met - I had no understanding of how any of the men in Henry's circle really had so much of an influence on him that they "made" the king the man as we have come to know him.  What I would have liked, rather than yet another history of Henry and his reign, were vignettes of the more prominent men - detailing what role they played.  I wanted to know how these men actually contributed to the making of this monarch - but I was left unsatisfied. I could pick up any number of books on my own bookcase and glean the same information that was contained herein.  

Also, I am not sure that you could consider the rule of Wolsey and Cromwell to be anything other than two lowly born men, who had an aptitude for government, which merely facilitated Henry's self-indulging and aggrandizing lifestyle.  I just had no real sense that any of them shaped the man.  Afterall, to whom do we ascribe the tyranny, the volatility, the cruelty, the almost bipolar nature of Henry - who will put his hand up to this?  I had many questions that went unanswered.

I have no complaints about the writing, the research, the overall presentation - it is an acceptable biography on this great Tudor monarch (though very pro-Tudor).  But, like Oliver Twist - I wanted more and was left wanting.

Thomas Cromwell - A Life In Print

Aside from the famous six wives, Henry VIII's "faithful servant" Thomas Cromwell has recently come to the fore with both the reading and viewing public alike. There are now more "modern" accounts (both factual and fictional) of the life of this dogged Tudor statesman than you can poke a stick at - and I will share a few with you.

The most current rendition of the life of Thomas Cromwell is Tracey Borman's "Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant" (a copy which sits on my own library shelves). A review by The Independent says: " ...  Tracy Borman shows in this excellent, scrupulous biography, Anne’s shockingly fast fall from grace was largely engineered by Thomas Cromwell, a rather plain and overweight Putney-born man in his fifties whose intelligence and daring had made him the king’s closest advisor." The articles goes on further to say that "Borman has scoured the sources to explore the life and personality of the man who in effect created the break from the Church of Rome and her book is an impressive investigation into one of our most elusive characters in history."

This was in comparison to Hilary Mantle's "Wolf Hall" (2009) and "Bring Up The Bodies" (2012) (and the third, soon to be released book in the trilogy - "The Mirror & The Light") whom the same article says "Hilary Mantel’s crafting of Cromwell in her bestselling novels has been a triumph: sensitive, intellectual, brutal, strong. "

For many, however, Thomas Cromwell was not particularly well-known until Hilary Mantel’s best-selling novels (and the series based upon them) brought this protagonist to wider public attention. The Independent article goes further to say: "But the publishers have given Tracy Borman’s biography of Thomas Cromwell an unfortunate subtitle: “The untold story of Henry VIII’s most faithful servant.” It is no such thing. Besides Ms. Mantel’s fictional versions, Ms. Borman lists 10 previous lives of Cromwell in her bibliography."

And well she may - and here are a few worthy tomes to consider:

• "Thomas Cromwell: Servant to Henry VIII (2013) by David Loades
• "Thomas Cromwell: The Rise And Fall Of Henry VIII's Most Notorious Minister" (2012) by Robert Hutchinson
• "The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell: Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant" (2011) by John Schofield
• "Thomas Cromwell" (2013) by J Patrick Coby
• "The Rise of Thomas Cromwell: Power and Politics in the Reign of Henry VIII, 1485-1534" (2015) by Michael Everette
• "Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell" - 6vols (2000) by Roger Bigelow Merriman
• "The Crown and the Cross: A Biography of Thomas Cromwell" (1950) by Theodore Maynard
• "Thomas Cromwell: Tudor Minister" by B. W. Beckingsale (1978)
• "The Character and Times of Thomas Cromwell: A Sixteenth Century Criticism" (1887) by Arthur Howard Galton
• "Thomas Cromwell" (1991) by Geoffrey Rudolph Elton
• "Policy and Police: The Enforcement of the Reformation in the Age of Thomas Cromwell" (1985) by G. R. Elton 

There are indeed numerous books on the English Reformation, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the Reign of Henry VIII in which Thomas Cromwell plays a role not consigned to the shadows.

Further readings & reviews:

• The Guardian: Thomas Cromwell - The Untold Story
• The Telegraph: Hilary Mantle's Thomas Cromwell Is All Wrong
• The Sunday Times: Thomas Cromwell - The Untold Story
• BBC iWonder: Who Was The Real Thomas Cromwell
• The Guardian: Thomas Cromwell Review
• The Financial Times: Thomas Cromwell - The Untold Story
• The New Statesman: Behind The Mantle - In Search of the Real Thomas Cromwell
• The Telegraph: Wolf Hall - The Changing Faces of Thomas Cromwell
• The Weekly Standard: The King's Good Servant
• Reviews In History: The Many Faces of Thomas Cromwell
• English History: Thomas Cromwell - Facts & Figures
• The New Republic: The Real History of Thomas Cromwell