Fascinating

I really enjoyed this detailed and fascinating insight into the social and political life of Henry Vll. It offers pragmatic reasons for why this monarch ruled in the manner he did, with a tantalising taste of why his son, was the way he was!! Most enjoyable.

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Superb

A very enjoyable book. A fascinating, detailed and well researched history that is very ably read.

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Enjoyable, informative, interesting

Well written and narrated. Would have liked it to have been longer but good for an overall basic understanding of the skilful dictator (King Henry VII).

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Very enjoyable

I really enjoyed listening to this book, the pace was just right for me. Fascinating

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Outstanding

A fascinating and gripping book on Henry VII, as well as Early Modern England and Europe. It has a rich cast of characters, none more interesting than Henry VII... a criminally overlooked English monarch compared to his infamous son and revered granddaughter. I found the book a touch heavy going in places but never dull, in fact the quality of Thomas Penn's work means listening to it is time well spent. The narrator, Simon Vance, is wonderful.

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Dreadful Narration ruins this title

What made the experience of listening to Winter King the most enjoyable?

It was just dreadful! I somehow didn't notice that Simon Vance had narrated this and bought it only to discover it was he! Seriously, ham acting doesn't begin to describe this.
He narrates so many books that I can only conclude that he reads aloud without actually bothering to look at the words he's saying, rendering it pointless really.

Would you be willing to try another book from Thomas Penn? Why or why not?

It may be a fantastic book, in fact I suspect it is as it's a great subjecct and Penn is usually very thorough. Such a shame about the narration which meant that I listened to about a fifth of the book and gave up.

What didn’t you like about Simon Vance’s performance?

Dreadful. Renders the book unintelligible as he puts no intelligence into his narration. One may as well have an automaton reading. Truly the worst performance on audible so far.

Any additional comments?

Hopefully someone else will narrate this at some point as I would truly love to hear it, but preferably by a narrator who has the ability to READ and understand what he is voicing.

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1 person found this helpful

Classy reconstruction of the period

Fascinating but selective. A  very enjoyable history of Henry VII and how he managed to size the English throne, and keep it,  in very unsure times.  The Battle of Bosworth is skated over very quickly, as is how Henry secured the throne.  But longer passages are devoted to more  obscure persons such as the  poet Skelton who became Henry VIII tutor.  It gives a good back ground to the early lives of Henry VIII and Catherine, and all the machinations around their eventually marriage. The final passages on the the death of Henry VII are some of the best, in showing what it was like to be around a dying king.   In the  end Henry VII still remains an  elusive character. A knowledge of the ins and outs of the period is useful, Wikipedia was very helpful.

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12 people found this helpful

Outstanding

Incredible insight into life of early Tudor Dynasty. Highly recommended. Educational. Brilliant narration. Spell binding.

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Excellent History

Clearly read in a calm manner.
The complex political machinations of the 15th century are delivered in a no-nonsense style with little,obvious bias.

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A Lesser-Known But Fascinating King

Not having been to school in the UK, I had never heard of Henry VII, and purchased this title on a whim, based on other reviewers' praise for this audiobook. I do not regret it.



On the one hand it is a perfect "prequel" to the life of Henry VIII and sheds much light into the context in which Henry VIII became king (in particular his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the immense wealth he found when acceding to the throne, and the wild popularity he enjoyed at the beginning of his reign).



On the other hand it depicts Henry VII, an immensely interesting king in his own right. At a time when all European monarchs were cash-strapped due to their incessant wars, Henry VII studiously avoided wars and became the only cash-rich king of Europe. His attention to details (micromanagement) was probably also a plus as compared to other kings who let councilors run amok.



The book is a bit frustrating at times as it often doubles-back to tell the story of a new protagonist, just at the time when we are getting to a crucial point (such as the wedding of Arthur to Catherine of Aragon).



One point I liked about the book is that it did not end abruptly with the death of Henry VII, and goes on for about 30 minutes with the aftermath of his reign. Having had other biographies (Jean Edward Smith's FDR and Eisenhower come to mind) stop within half a page of the death of the biography's subject, it was nice to have the author's take on the transition to come.



The reader is excellent and nicely emphasizes the quoted, old English, parts of the text, so that one always knows what is a quote and what is the author's text.

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14 people found this helpful