
The King's Pleasure
A Novel of Henry VIII
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Narrated by:
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Rosalyn Landor
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By:
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Alison Weir
The New York Times bestselling author of the Six Tudor Queens series explores the private side of the legendary king Henry VIII and his dramatic and violent reign in this extraordinary historical novel.
Having completed her Six Tudor Queens series of novels on the wives of Henry VIII, extensively researched and written from each queen's point of view, Alison Weir now gives Henry himself a voice, telling the story of his remarkable thirty-six-year reign and his six marriages.
Young Henry began his rule as a magnificent and chivalrous Renaissance prince who embodied every virtue. He had all the qualities to make a triumph of his rule, yet we remember only the violence. Henry famously broke with the Pope, founding the Church of England and launching a religious revolution that divided his kingdom. He beheaded two of his wives and cast aside two others. He died a suspicious, obese, disease-riddled tyrant, old before his time. His reign is remembered as one of dangerous intrigue and bloodshed—and yet the truth is far more complex.
The King's Pleasure brings to life the idealistic monarch who expanded Parliament, founded the Royal Navy, modernized medical training, composed music and poetry, and patronized the arts. A passionate man in search of true love, he was stymied by the imperative to produce a male heir, as much a victim of circumstance as his unhappy wives. Had fate been kinder to him, the history of England would have been very different.
Here is the story of the private man. To his contemporaries, he was a great king, a legend in his own lifetime. And he left an extraordinary legacy—a modern Britain.
©2023 Alison Weir (P)2023 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...




















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Love this author
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good perception of Henry's life
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Humanizes Harry
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Definitely details in writing
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Anyway, the story -There's much telling, little showing. The book is weirdly rushed in some places and stretched out in others. Henry is very one dimensional and lacks nuance. He's portrayed as he's usually portrayed in all her books and every book about him. This is disappointing as I was hoping there'd be a slightly different interpretation from his side - as they say in complicated relationships, there's her point of view, his point of view, and the truth. his point of view lacks depth and converges too much with the perception of his ruthlessness and self-righteousness with no depth or even emotion at times. This may have been truly how he thought and felt in his later reign but unlikely as a child and perhaps even early in his reign.
I love all of the other books. This is not one of them. Devastingly disappointing.
Surprisingly tepid, and I'm so sick of Rosalyn Landor
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Great narration
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Getting To Know You
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Fascinating to hear a different perspective than her usual books!
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Very cool summary of Henry VIIIs life
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Sympathetic to King Henry.
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