The King's Pleasure: A Novel of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

 

 The King's Pleasure: A Novel of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, 202. Historical fiction.

    While Alison Weir has focused prior works on the six wives of English ruler Henry VIII, this hefty novel focuses on the king himself. From childhood, Henry was a golden boy with riches and castles and power at his disposal. The ups and downs of his love life are described in a straight forward manner and readers who are not familiar with his life will easily be caught up-to-date. The difficulties with Wolsey, Cranmer, and More are explored and show how Henry got himself into such troubles with the religious leaders of his day. His quest for a male heir became the dominating focus of his life and it only feels ironic that his daughter Elizabeth I became one of the best and most long lasting monarchs in English history.