This book recasts one of the most well-studied and popularly-beloved eras in history: the tumultuous span from the 1485 accession of Henry VII to the 1603 death of Elizabeth I. Though many have gravitated toward this period for its high drama and national importance, the book offers a new narrative by focusing on another facet of the British past that has exercised an equally powerful grip on audiences: imperialism. It argues that the sixteenth century was pivotal to the making of both Britain and the British Empire. Unearthing over a century of theorizing about and probing into the world beyond England’s borders, Tudor Empire shows that foreign enterprise at once mirrored, responded to, and provoked domestic politics and culture, while decisively shaping the Atlantic World. Demonstrating that territorial expansion abroad and national consolidation and identity formation at home were concurrent, intertwined, and mutually reinforcing, the author examines some of the earliest ventures undertaken by the crown and its subjects in France, Scotland, Ireland, and the Americas. Tudor Empire is a thought-provoking, essential read for those interested in the Tudors and the British Empire that they helped create.

This book will delve into how the Tudors exerted their control over their empire and domains, stretching from the Old War to the colonies of the New. The Tudors remain one of Britain’s most fascinating royal dynasties. Their thirst for control surged due to the family’s paranoid obsession about being interlopers who were never destined to be monarchs. Throughout the sixteenth century, the Tudors added more and more territories to their portfolio, but this growth came at a bloody cost. Each monarch attempted to expand their control of the kingdom: Henry VII consolidated his authority across the realm, Henry VIII had visions of a French empire, and Elizabeth I oversaw the travels and travails of the seadogs in the New World. This book will delve into how the Tudors exerted their control over their empire and domains, stretching from the north of England, Wales, Ireland, Cornwall, all the way to European possessions, as well as fresh colonies in the New World. It utilizes contemporary sources with further engagement in wider historical debate to provide an accessible introduction into this era for readers.

This book recasts one of the most well-studied and popularly-beloved eras in history: the tumultuous span from the 1485 accession of Henry VII to the 1603 death of Elizabeth I. Though many have gravitated toward this period for its high drama and national importance, the book offers a new narrative by focusing on another facet of the British past that has exercised an equally powerful grip on audiences: imperialism. It argues that the sixteenth century was pivotal to the making of both Britain and the British Empire. Unearthing over a century of theorizing about and probing into the world beyond England’s borders, Tudor Empire shows that foreign enterprise at once mirrored, responded to, and provoked domestic politics and culture, while decisively shaping the Atlantic World. Demonstrating that territorial expansion abroad and national consolidation and identity formation at home were concurrent, intertwined, and mutually reinforcing, the author examines some of the earliest ventures undertaken by the crown and its subjects in France, Scotland, Ireland, and the Americas. Tudor Empire is a thought-provoking, essential read for those interested in the Tudors and the British Empire that they helped create.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • For the first time in decades comes a fresh look at the fabled Tudor dynasty, comprising some of the most enigmatic figures ever to rule a country. “A thoroughly readable and often compelling narrative . . . Five centuries have not diminished the appetite for all things Tudor.”—Associated Press In 1485, young Henry Tudor, whose claim to the throne was so weak as to be almost laughable, crossed the English Channel from France at the head of a ragtag little army and took the crown from the family that had ruled England for almost four hundred years. Half a century later his son, Henry VIII, desperate to rid himself of his first wife in order to marry a second, launched a reign of terror aimed at taking powers no previous monarch had even dreamed of possessing. In the process he plunged his kingdom into generations of division and disorder, creating a legacy of blood and betrayal that would blight the lives of his children and the destiny of his country. The boy king Edward VI, a fervent believer in reforming the English church, died before bringing to fruition his dream of a second English Reformation. Mary I, the disgraced daughter of Catherine of Aragon, tried and failed to reestablish the Catholic Church and produce an heir. And finally came Elizabeth I, who devoted her life to creating an image of herself as Gloriana the Virgin Queen but, behind that mask, sacrificed all chance of personal happiness in order to survive. The Tudors weaves together all the sinners and saints, the tragedies and triumphs, the high dreams and dark crimes, that reveal the Tudor era to be, in its enthralling, notorious truth, as momentous and as fascinating as the fictions audiences have come to love. Praise for The Tudors “A rich and vibrant tapestry.”—The Star-Ledger “A thoroughly readable and often compelling narrative . . . Five centuries have not diminished the appetite for all things Tudor.”—Associated Press “Energetic and comprehensive . . . [a] sweeping history of the gloriously infamous Tudor era . . . Unlike the somewhat ponderous British biographies of the Henrys, Elizabeths, and Boleyns that seem to pop up perennially, The Tudors displays flashy, fresh irreverence [and cuts] to the quick of the action.”—Kirkus Reviews “[A] cheeky, nuanced, and authoritative perspective . . . brims with enriching background discussions.”—Publishers Weekly “[A] lively new history.”—Bloomberg

Tudor monarchs have consistently attracted more popular and scholarly attention than any other royal dynasty in British history. The peculiar origins of the Tudor family and the improbable saga of their rise and fall and rise again in the centuries before the Battle of Bosworth have, however, received far less attention. ?Based on original sources from Britain and France, The Making of the Tudor Dynasty sets the record straight by providing the only authoritative account of the ancestors of the Tudor family in North Wales at the start of the thirteenth century; their royal English and French connections in the fifteenth century; their unique role in the Wars of the Roses; and Henry Tudor’s victory at Bosworth Field in 1485.

The effect of the Tudors on English history.

The Tudors are England’s most notorious royal family. But, as Leanda de Lisle’s gripping new history reveals, they are a family still more extraordinary than the one we thought we knew. The Tudor canon typically starts with the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, before speeding on to Henry VIII and the Reformation. But this leaves out the family’s obscure Welsh origins, the ordinary man known as Owen Tudor who would fall (literally) into a Queen’s lap—and later her bed. It passes by the courage of Margaret Beaufort, the pregnant thirteen-year-old girl who would help found the Tudor dynasty, and the childhood and painful exile of her son, the future Henry VII. It ignores the fact that the Tudors were shaped by their past—those parts they wished to remember and those they wished to forget. By creating a full family portrait set against the background of this past, de Lisle enables us to see the Tudor dynasty in its own terms, and presents new perspectives and revelations on key figures and events. De Lisle discovers a family dominated by remarkable women doing everything possible to secure its future; shows why the princes in the Tower had to vanish; and reexamines the bloodiness of Mary’s reign, Elizabeth’s fraught relationships with her cousins, and the true significance of previously overlooked figures. Throughout the Tudor story, Leanda de Lisle emphasizes the supreme importance of achieving peace and stability in a violent and uncertain world, and of protecting and securing the bloodline. Tudor is bristling with religious and political intrigue but at heart is a thrilling story of one family’s determined and flamboyant ambition.