Thomas Cromwell is a brutal blacksmith's son who rises from the ashes of personal disaster and deftly picks his way through a court where 'man is wolf to man.' King Henry VIII is obsessed with protecting the Tudor dynasty by securing his succession with a male heir to the throne. Told from Cromwell's perspective, "Wolf Hall" follows the complex machinations and back room dealings of this pragmatic and accomplished power broker who must serve king...

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version, with marginal notes and explanations and full descriptions of each character.

"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 kingship, 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...

Part Renaissance prince, part medieval tyrant, Henry VIII is the most famous of English kings. Venture beyond the facade of his glamorous court to understand the danger and intrigue that routinely cost courtiers their heads.

This book is a biography of the king of England who established the Church of England and who increased the power of Parliament leading to England's form of government today.

Mary and Anne Boleyn are sisters unlike in every way. Born into an ambitious family, they're brought to court as girls and dangled like jewels to capture the favor of the king, Henry VIII, married to Katherine of Aragon, who has not produced a male heir. After Mary bears him a healthy bastard son and Henry's interest in her wanes, the Boleyns offer Anne in Mary's stead. This is the story of two sisters who compete for the love of a king. One will...

A fugitive English forester and mercenary defender saves young novitiate Melisande and, defending himself from a vengeance-seeking rapist priest and Melisande's father, finds himself slogging his way to Agincourt as an archer in King Henry V's army.