The Tudors

Excellent, full of tiny details that expand our knowledge of even the best-known Tudors - Lucy Davies, The Telegraph

Situating the Tudor dynasty, their court, and the country, in an international context, The Tudors is highly illustrated and features contemporary research in an accessible way. The book provides an overview of the ways in which the Tudors engaged with the world and were impacted by broader currents: the internationalism of court culture, religious shifts, trade, naval conflict, and the expansion in the Americas. The introductory text considers the legacies of the Tudors as the monarchs who reigned during the tumultuous years of the Reformation and the emergence of the transatlantic slave trade and English colonialism.

Taking a thematic and biographical approach, The Tudors features some of the most famous royal and court figures from the sixteenth century, including Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, Elizabeth I, and Walter Ralegh. The works shown are explored from a multitude of perspectives, examining the sitters' impact at home and abroad in Europe and the Americas. The international impact of the Tudors is evident in the portraits featured, created by artists from the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Italy.

Artworks are arranged by key themes such as court culture, religion, queenship, conflict, empire, piracy and trade, and translation. Each theme features an opening text from various voices exploring the historical contexts of the works and new research on the topics. The book also includes biographical sketches of individuals whose roles in Tudor history have often been overlooked, such as the trumpeter John Blanke.