Until now, there has never been a book that sets a detailed personal biography of the King against the cultural, social and political background of his court - the most magnificent court ever seen in England - and the splendour of his many sumptuous palaces.
Alison Weir has breathed new life into a vast supporting cast of queens, nobles, courtiers, artists, scholars, entertainers, ladies-in-waiting and servants. As a result, Henry VIII emerges from the pages of this book as a fully-rounded and realistic personality, not the two-dimensional caricature of popular misconception.