Tuesday, August 6, 2013

ARC Review: VIII

VIII by H.M. Castor
3.5/5 stars
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013
420 pages
YA Historical
Scheduled to release August 20

Source: Received an e-ARC through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

The Tudor period is one of my favorite times in history and once about which there is a plethora of material. And yet this look at Henry VIII from childhood to death still seemed unique enough to stand out and be worthy of a read.

After finishing, I feel like I received a lot from this book. It is interesting to see how Henry's childhood shapes his future particularly with this first-person narrative guiding us through his life. Though he was born a second son, he does end up succeeding to the throne. He absorbs his father's lesson of having heirs to secure continuity but ignores the warning about practicing thriftiness as he pursues the crown of France. He sees the death of his beloved mother hurt his father but goes on to divorce or kill 2/3 of his wives. Henry is such a complicated, multi-faceted character-it is easy to see how he and his continue to enthrall us after all these centuries.

As usual, Anne Boleyn is pretty much my favorite character. I just want to bring her to our present-I bet she could do great things when her worth isn't based on her ability to produce a son with a particular man. I adore her cunning and ambition and though this isn't my favorite version of Anne, I still enjoyed her.

Some important historical events seemed to be missing to my mind: for instance his affairs with Bessie Blount, resulting in Henry Fitzroy, and Mary Boleyn before his romance with Anne. I think the former would have been especially useful to the narrative, which focuses in large parts on Henry's attempts to ensure the succession and to carve out an empire for his heir. The birth of a son to a mistress gives further proof to Henry that he can father sons and the fact that none are legitimate is the fault of his wives. My memory also brings to mind Charles Brandon, Henry's best friend, who runs off with Henry's sister Mary. This pisses Henry off but the situation is never mentioned in this book, perhaps because Brandon does ingratiate himself again.

I also personally am not very familiar with the War of the Roses and the beginning of Henry's life, having tended to read more about his wives and children; thus I found the early chapters very difficult though a bit of googling helped to clear of some points of confusion. They took a long time to get going. Additionally I thought the later chapters were compressed, missing some of the detail of the Catherine/Anne years. This maybe because it covers fewer years but it felt rushed to me.

SPOILER:
I'm not sure this should be classified as a spoiler as people probably know the history but since it occurs in the final pages, I figured I'd keep it secret just in case. Throughout the book Henry is plagued by visions which he assumes mean that he will be an amazing ruler, but which he later interprets as being the fate of his son. At the time of his death though, he discovers it is his second-born child, Elizabeth, who will be the great ruler of England, to his surprise. I just thought it was so cool how this was done although I was also predicting that was the case based on my superior knowledge of British history :)

END SPOILER

Overall: A different take on Henry VIII that should interest fans of the period. Pleased to see that Castor is working on a sequel of sorts, tracing how Henry VIII and other factors impacted the shaping of the personalities of his daughters as well as looking at the complicated sister-sister relationship of Mary and Elizabeth.

Other Opinions:
A Dream of Books
Once Upon a Time 
Rebecca-Books
Thoughts from the Hearthfire

24 comments:

  1. Ooh, this sounds really interesting! Like you, I read more about Henry VIII's wives and children and not so much about his life before he became king, but it would probably annoy me that some events were missing... Thanks for the review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a really cool take but it left me wondering about some things.

      Delete
  2. I just finished Tarnish by Katherine Longshore, which I adored! A really different version of Anne. I listened to the audiobook, which was amazing, except that it omitted the author's note at the end -- something I was especially looking forward to. I need to find a print copy so I can read it.

    So this book sounds like it had its pros and cons -- but I'm intrigued by the Mary-Elizabeth book. That would be interesting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm really looking forward to Tarnish-love all the takes on Anne but haven't read a new one in a while.

      Delete
  3. Like you might know, I adore everything that has to do with the Tudors :D I'm always looking for new books in this era, so yeaay. And Anne Boleyn is by far my favorite of his wives (might have something to do with a slight girl crush on Natalie Dormer. That girl is so pretty)

    I'm really looking forward to this book. It sounds very interesting despite the fact that some situations are left out.

    Mel@thedailyprophecy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anne is my favorite wife because she's the mother of Elizabeth but I do like Natalie Dormer a lot too-she was lucky to be cast in that role!

      Delete
  4. I don't do much HF, but glad you enjoyed and that it was a unique take on the period

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know you don't tend to like HF but thanks for stopping by :)

      Delete
  5. I love books about the Tudors too! There's something so engrossing about them. I think the things they left out might have bothered me too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Tudors are just crazy! So much good gossip and excitement.

      Delete
  6. I love Anne Boylen as well and this time period in English history. I'm not a fan of Henry VIII and can't believe all the things he got away with, but then again, he was their king. I think I'd enjoy this one. I'll have to take a look at it when it's available. Hopefully the bookstore will carry it! Great review!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, he was the king! And it's just mind-boggling what he did simply because he could as king.

      Delete
  7. I don't actually know a lot about this time period. I feel like I could possibly get lost trying to read this book or others like it. I'm glad it was worthwhile for you though, since you DO love reading about this time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know how this is to read if you're not familiar with the period-would love to hear your thoughts!

      Delete
  8. I like historicals too, but they're usually of the romance type! Lol...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's a bit of romance in this book but it's the history and what I knew was to come that really kept me engaged.

      Delete
  9. I have this one! I've been hoping I could pick it up, but I'm not sure it'll be really soon. I forgot what it was about since I got it so long ago (ALAMW) and you've renewed my interest. I really love hf, especially when it's based on read people. I'll have to make sure I read this the first chance I get.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Would love to read your review of it-hope you can get to it soon!

      Delete
  10. This sounds very interesting because I've read countless stories about his children. For some reason, I've read a lot from his time period too and even watched a play. I never focused on Henry though, so I think I would enjoy this book. He's such an interesting figure and I would love to see the author's interpretation of what shaped him.

    -P.E. The Sirenic Codex

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Elizabeth I was my introduction to the Tudors and I've tended to focus on the women rather than Henry (just because I am female) but I loved this alternative interpretation.

      Delete
  11. Interesting. So many of the Tudor books focus on the women. A YA book with Henry as the central figure is a different take on the same history, but certainly seems worthwhile.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It certainly helps that there is so many of them! I loved getting to think about how Henry's life shaped the fate of so many.

      Delete
  12. I love Tudor history so this is one I'll have to check out sometime. I also want to read Tarnish by Katherine Longshore and The Boleyn King which takes a look at what might have happened if Anne had succeeded in giving Henry his heir. I always feel so bad for Anne. Her character was really demonized by her enemies. It is clear that she was a very intelligent woman and I think she passed some of those traits on to Elizabeth.

    I like the idea of Henry having visions and misinterpreting them until the end. It is interesting from a modern perspective that Henry was so concerned about getting his male heir but it was Elizabeth who really became the strong Tudor monarch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love your second paragraph so much-makes me think of many stories where men fight desperately but the balance of it all lays on the shoulders of women who are giving birth to the next generation.

      Delete

Thank you for commenting-I love to read your thoughts! Feel free to leave a link to your latest post so I can stop by!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...