The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558

Oxford History of England #7

by J.D. Mackie

This classic volume in the renowned Oxford History of England series examines the birth of a nation-state from the death throes of the Middle Ages in North-West Europe. John D. Mackie describes the establishment of a stable monarchy by the very competent Henry VII, examines the means employed
by him, and considers how far his monarchy can be described as "new." He also discusses the machinery by which the royal power was exercised and traces the effect of the concentration of lay and eccleciastical authority in the person of Wolsey, whose soaring ambition helped make possible the
Caesaro-Papalism of Henry VIII.

Genres: History, Tudor Period, Nonfiction

722 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1952

About the author

J.D. Mackie was a Scottish historian. He was appointed Historiographer Royal for Scotland in 1957.

Reviews

[Helene Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review - This book seems a bit out of its time as it was first published in 1963. Several of the opinions expressed are now out-of-date, but the facts are as accurate as any book released in the last few years. Mackie has quite a dry writing style and I did find it hard to engage with and keep reading at times, but it is a good reference book for any of those little facts or dates that you should know but have forgotten.

General Subject/s? - History / Tudors / Henry VII / Henry VIII / Mary I / Edward VI

Recommend? – Yes

Rating - 15/20

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was distracted while I read this. I can say it was one of the stronger volumes in the series but I can’t give it an accurate review.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old fashioned and turgid prose but still fascinating in-depth insights into the Tudor times. And by "earlier" he means everyone except Elizabeth!