Promotional Information

The most authoritative and complete history of Tudor England to appear in three decades

About the Author

John Guy is Reader in History at the University of Bristol and was John Hinkley Visiting Professor at the Johns Hopkins University (1989-90). He is the author of many books on the Tudor period and is a contributor to the Oxford Illustrated History of Britain

Reviews

'John Guy's book, lucid, scholarly, remarkably accomplished, provides an excellent overview ... Guy handles the traditional themes of power and religion with authority and conviction.'
Jonathan Clark, The Sunday Times
`It is a full and strong account... Notes of the 16 chapters, a select bibliography, a glossary and a detailed index are an invaluable plus.'
Oldham Evening Chronicle
'John Guy provides a compelling account of political and religious developments.'
Good Book Guide
'This is a huge book. It is a consistently interesting one. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and would expect others to enjoy it also. The sheer range of coverage, based on the author's own work and his extensive knowledge of the writings of others, is deeply impressive. That, and much else besides, makes this quite excellent book a "must."'
Jenny Wormald, Glasgow Herald
`John Guy is easily the most stimulating and vital Tudor historian writing today... a work of formidable erudition... it provides an invaluable and up-to-date guide to the historiography of the period.'
Canadian Journal of History
'Judiciousness and equity are Guy's hallmarks. His sympathetic account of Wolsey is agile and humane, while the Machiavellian Thomas Cromwell emerges as a man of passionate evangelical faith ... painstaking book'
Paul Hartle, Country Life
'closely argued, heavily weighted with detail and supplied with 54 pages of references ... The author's enthusiasm is engaging and his breadth of knowledge impressive.'
Rosalind K. Marshall, The Scotsman
'Guy handles the traditional themes of power and religion with authority and conviction. John Guy's book, lucid, scholarly, remarkably accomplished, provides an excellent overview.'
Jonathan Clark, Sunday Times
'the first comprehensive history of Tudor England for 30 years
Patrick Collinson, Observer
'Guy's treatment of administration under Thomas Cromwell is a model of historical analysis and historiographical tact ... astonishingly up-to-date ... no historian can be expert and original on everything - and John Guy is expert and original on more than most of us'
Christopher Haigh, Christ Church, Oxford. TES
'John Guy ... has now produced a general survey of Tudor England that bids fair to rival, if not replace, that of his mentor. Elton's England under the Tudors is now showing signs of age ... there is hardly a superfluous item in it, for Tudor studies have never been more alive ... This in itself is a tribute to Sir Geoffrey Elton, and Guy's book is a worthy reflection of the master.'
Roger Lockyer, THES
'an effectively organised, well-researched, and highly readable history of England from 1460 to the asendancy of the Stuarts upon the death of Elizabeth I ... a comprehensive history of the period ... Both scholars and the general reading public will welcome Guy's Tudor England which now stands as the best one-volume survey of sixteenth century England.'
William T. Walker, The Month
'His range of scholarship is impressive, even daunting, and his reading is remarkably up to date ... The bibliography and notes are excellent, directing attention to a mass of material, printed and unprinted, original and secondary. I have been unable to find any recent work of importance that he has not used. Guy has not been afraid to grapple with the principal controversies among historians, giving fair weight to the views of others and firmly presenting
his own conclusions. Guy even makes interesting the rule of Cardinal Wolsey - an almost unprecedented achievement. This is a fair and perceptive assessment ... Dr Guy has written a very thorough,
scholarly, and ... admirable book'
Times Literary Supplement
'His range of scholarship is impressive ... and his reading is remarkably up to date ... The bibliography and notes are excellent ... a very thorough scholarly ... admirable book'
Times Literary Supplement
'Guy ... has produced an effectively organised, well-researched, and highly readable history of England from 1460 to the ascendany of the Stuarts upon the death of Elizabeth I. Both scholars and the general reading public will welcome Guy's Tudor England which now stands as the best one-volume survey of sixteenth century England.'
William T. Walker, Month
'Guy's book fulfils the objective he sets himself in the preface: to write a clear narrative account of the period, which is accessible to the general reader and the student. It is also a model of clarity, with complex events and issues lucidly explained in good simple English, uncluttered by obscure or imprecise references or expressions.'
History Sixth
'A compelling account of political and religious developments from the advent of the Tudors in the 1460s to the death of Elizabeth in 1603.'
Oxford Times
'This is a first class survey.'
C. H. D. Coleman, Department of History, University College, London
'The most complete and up-to-date account of the subject.'
D. M. Loades, University College of Wales, Bangor
'This is an excellent textbook: clear, readable and up to date.'
A. J. Fletcher, Durham University
'A refreshing, stimulating survey, full engaged with modern research and recent controversial interpretations.'
G. C. F. Forster, University of Leeds
'An invaluable synthesis, scholarly, judicious, and especially strong on legal and administrative aspects.'
H. A. Lloyd, History Department, University of Hull
'Valuable, and warmly recommended, undergraduate text. The most up-to-date, and lucidly presented account of current Tudor scholarship.'
Dr J. S. A. Adamson, Peterhouse, Cambridge
'Tis is an outstanding book in every respect, not least for the fact that it is so thoroughly up-to-date and eminently readable. It is a bargain at the price.'
Dr J. F. Pound, University of East Anglia, Norwich
'Splendid - this is what we have been waiting for, for years. Up-to-date, readable, reliable. Will be the standard work for the forseeable future.'
A. Dyer, University College of North Wales, Bangor
'A compelling account of political and religious developments from the advent of the Tudors in the 1460s to the death of Elizabeth in 1603.'
Oxford Times
'a valuable book'
C.S.L. Davies, Wadham College, Oxford, Journal of Ecclesiastical History
'very up to date ... All sixteen chapters maintain, as one would expect from Dr Guy, high standards of accuracy and analytical acumen.'
A.G.R. Smith, University of Glasgow, History No. 244, June '90
'it provides some useful insights into constitutional history, combined with a thorough and up-to-date bibliography ... Well written ... it will do a good job of introducing students to the structures of and arguments over Tudor government.'
Norman L. Jones, Utah State University, Parliamentary History, Vol 9 No 2 1990
'a book which gets its priorities right ... Dr Guy gives us a lucid, subtle and persuasive narrative ... With considerable skill, he notices important demographic and economic circumstances, and assesses their importance, without becoming distracted from his main pursuit. No one possesses a more comprehensive grasp of Tudor politics than Dr Guy, and all students of the period will be grateful to him for his many learned and lucid expositions.'
David Loades, University College of North Wales, Bangor, EHR Jan 92