The Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses and Illegitimate Children (IMM Lifestyle Books) Meticulously Researched, Richly Detailed Genealogical Information and Chronology of Henry the Eighth's Court

Filled with even the most minute, even obscure, facts, The Other Tudors offers hours of intense reading, with no story line. And, unless you are a super duper, head-over-heels Lover of All Things Tudor, most readers will find it too tedious. I read the book in doses, as the material became too text-book detailed to follow, let alone process. The book flows as if Phillipa Jones has taken all the historical research she has ever uncovered over the years, and compliled historical facts into a single biography of H8's recognized, and assumed, illegitimate offsrping. Jones does an excellent job of explaining gender roles during H8's lifetime and how being an illegitimate child of a royal, noblemen or someone lucky enough to get their hands on money, carried no negative connotations anywhere in England, or Europe, during the 16th century. Jones details Henry's adoration of his mother, his respect for his father (Henry VII), the sexual appetites of 7 and 8, and the differences between the two men. Jones claims HVII had affairs for physical reasons and fun; while, HVIII had affairs for fun, but, predominately seeking admiration and love. Long-time Jones fans will delight in the amount of detail available in one book. However, they may also be equally disappointed to learn it is basically a biography of facts of how Henry VIII's illigitimate sons and daughters may, or may not, have had a role in English history.

This book was a scholarly portrayal of Henry; one of the few I've read that see him not as the top earthly link in the " Great Chain of Being " but as the unpleasant man he was.

When i first came across this book, I was excited to hear about kids of henry viii that i knew nothing about. i expected something short, funny, and to the point. what i got was something far too long and could not really keep my attention. i expected something short about the king's mistresses and his children with them. the author went into great detail about people that were not even directly contacted to the king. i really did not care for information on his misstress' spouse and what he did, whom he married after she died, and what children they had. TOO MUCH DETAIL. JUST STICK TO THE FACTS. One story about Henry's bastard son, John Perrot was entirely too long and i just skipped over that. I farily enjoyed the story about Anne Boleyn since she is widley known and i know her story in great detail. I am studing to have my BA in history and writing a historial noval about Henry VI's wife, Margaret of Anjou, and i must say that unpublished book as kept my attention far more than this one. The author should have taken a hint when they wrote thatl last chapter in the nove, As rumor has it, it was short and to the point. This entire book should have been this way

This book was difficult to read and I didn’t finish it because the author stated that Mary Bolens son was born first and was therefore Henry’s bastard, but her daughter Catherine was born first and was Henry’s child. I feel like some research was missing and it was disappointing.

I read a lot of Gregory as books and thought this looked interesting. This is not light fiction but, historical fact. Well written.

Did not know what to expect when I ordered this book. I love Tudor History, so I thought, why not?What I found out is that those of Henry VIII's offspring born on the "left sign of the blanket" were really not all that interesting.Because of the dullness of the subjects, for me the book dragged, It took me a long time to read it, because I would find my eyes glazing over.Did not care for it.

I have read a lot of English history over the years. I was beginning to get saturated with Elizabeth I. As fascinating as she was, she must have been a real trial to her advisors. I initially looked at the title of this book and thought, "No more Tudors." However, I finally succumbed. I had no idea about most of these people so it was an eye opener. The author obviously did her research and found as much as she could to relate about each individual. I appreciated her references and the thoroughness of her writing. She told a good story and told it well. A very good read.

This little book will not set the world on fire with its original research. It is, however, a highly readable recounting of the alleged mistresses and possible illegitimate children of Henry VIII. I picked it up to read about Henry's relationships with Anne Hastings and Bessie Blount and found myself caught up in the stories of some lesser known women of the court (Joanna Dingley?) around whom rumors swirled. This is not a scholarly work, but taken for what it is - a sixteenth century version of the tabloids - it is a highly entertaining way for the Tudor-obsessed to pass a rainy afternoon.

Found this book very confusing and hard going

本の装丁から、ゴシップ満載の小説かと思っていたら、まっとうな内容。時系列に愛人、妻、私生児、嫡出子をまんべんなく紹介。この時代の本を読んでいると頭がおかしくなりそうなのは、同じ名前ばかり（メアリー、キャサリン、エリザベス、アン、ヘンリー、などなど）で特にこの本はすごい。（聖人にちなんだ名前をつけたからだとどなたかが書いておられましたが）平均寿命３５歳の時代なので、王侯貴族といえども、乳幼児の致死率も高く、王妃、愛人も比較的短命で、必然的に再婚、再々婚も多く、話はややこしい。一か所、間違いがあった（Philip the handsomeをその祖先のPhilip the fairと）。

有名なテューダー王朝の中でも特に有名なヘンリー８世の、その子達の詳細が綿々と綴られています。ヘンリー８世には認知した非嫡出子がエミリ・ブラント所生のヘンリ・ーフィッツロイを含め、３人いたそう（森護、英国王室辞典）。そのほかにも認知していない非嫡出子もいたらしい。メアリ・ブーリン（The oter Boleyn girlではアンの妹、でも姉という説が有力）の２人の子供はこのどこに位置づけされるのか、そういう興味に答えてくれる格好の書。日本語では皆無。でも英語でも結構レアな書物なのでは？知的好奇心を十分満足させてくれました。

It was interesting to read about the many 'families' who were part of the Tudor period and how they 'related' and 'inter-related' with each other.

Although I love reading about the Tudors, I hesitated to buy this book, having read reviews which described it as being gossipy and inaccurate. Later, however, I read a good review of it from a respected source, and so decided to buy the book.I should have saved my money. The reviewers were right. This book, essentially, is court gossip dressed up as history. Two long chapters are dedicated to the lives of two men who 'were said' to be Henry's sons, but Jones provides no proof that they were, or even that Henry had affairs with their mothers. She seems to base her theories on rumours that the boys looked like Henry, which hardly counts as serious history. At one point, Jones describes Jane Seymour as a 'reformer' which is rather odd, given that Seymour was well-known to be a conservative Catholic. Also, Jones claims that Anne Boleyn was 'assumed' to have been born in 1507, which is simply untrue. The majority of historians believe she was born in 1501, with only a minority preferring the 1507 date. As usual, Jones provides no evidence for this claim. She also perpetuates the myths - long since discredited - that Anne had an extra finger and wore high-necked garments to disguise a disfigurement. Again, this is the type of sensationalism you don't expect from a serious historian.The book is not without its good points. It's easy to read, has some interesting insights and convincingly argues that, despite the commonly held belief (propagated by fictionalised portrayals like 'The Tudors') Henry was not a promiscuous Lothario, but rather was a hopeless romantic, a serial monogamist always in search of The One. As history, however, it's not to be taken much more seriously than one of the many novels about the Tudors. Essentially, it's Philippa Gregory with footnotes.