A Brief History of Henry VIII: Reformer and Tyrant

Was England's most famous king 'a fool, a liar and a damnable rotten worm'?

Henry VIII changed the course of English life more completely than any monarch since the Norman Conquest. In the portraits of Holbein, Henry Tudor stands proud as one of the most powerful figures in renaissance Europe. But is the noble stance a bluff? In his book acclaimed historian Derek Wilson explores the reality behind the image of the Tudor Lion.

Henry VIII was the monarch who delivered the Reformation to England yet it was Luther who called him 'a fool, a liar and a damnable rotten worm'. As a young man he gained a reputation as an intellectual and a fair prince yet he ruled the nation like a tyrant. He treated his subjects as cruelly as he treated his wives.

Based on fascinating new source material and a lifetime's knowledge of the subject, Derek Wilson builds a new portrait of bluff King Hal.