Thomas Penn

Winter King Thomas Penn

Rich with incident, drama, and vivid characters, this is a fresh look at the endlessly fascinating Tudors filled with spies, plots, and an uneasy succession to Henry VIII. Near the turn of the sixteenth century, England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy and civil war. Henry VII clambered to the top of the heap, a fugitive with a flimsy claim to Englands crown who managed to win the throne and stay on it for twenty-four years. Although he built palaces, hosted magnificent jousts, and sent ambassadors across Europe, for many Henry VII remained a false king. But he had a crucial asset: his family. Thomas Penn re-creates an England that is both familiar and very strange—a country medieval yet modern, in which honor and chivalry mingle with espionage, realpolitik, high finance, and corruption.