Beverley Murphy

I appreciate biographies focusing on the lesser-known figures of a well-known era. In this case, the author details the life of Henry VIII's illegitimate son - Henry Fitzroy, the Duke of Richmond. Since the documentation of Fitzroy's life is sparse and Fitzroy himself died young, this book digs into what is known, and engages in a little bit of speculation that anyone who knows the Tudor story would enjoy. Overall, I felt this book did a good job of being both accessible and well-researched while highlighting the less famous people in Tudor history.… (plus d'informations)

This is the only full biography of Henry Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII by Elizabeth Blount, a healthy and vigorous youth until he died at the age of 17. He was loaded with titles and honours, including Duke of Richmond and Somerset (at a time when there were only two other Dukes in the land, Norfolk and Suffolk), Head of the Council of the North and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He could at times have been considered a possible heir to the throne, illegitimacy at the time being partly political as well as marital (cf. the changing status of Mary and Elizabeth and, over a century earlier, the retrospective legitimation of the Beaufort line by Act of Parliament). He was by all accounts a chip off the old Henrician block in being an active sportsman and hunter, and Henry clearly rated him highly, also shown by negotiations for a prestigious foreign marriage for him (though he eventually married Mary Howard, the Duke of Norfolk's daughter). Young Henry died in July 1536, aged 17, before Edward was born, so history was denied any rivalry between the half brothers after their father's death. The slight problem with books like this is that there isn't enough known for a full biography, so there is a fair amount of general retelling of key events and how young Henry might have reacted to them, or how the key players may have taken him (or not) into account in their actions. Parts get a little tedious with recounting of endless relatively minor property disputes, but in general this gives an interesting, slightly alternative viewpoint on a very familiar historical era. 4/5… (plus d'informations)

Dying at the age of 18, Henry Fitzroy is, in the end, a person of little or no historical significance. There was the potential that he could have become historically significant, but he didn't; this may make him a little interest to general history readers. On the other hand, as the king's acknowledged son, there is also considerable documentation about his life, and it did intersect with some of the flashpoints of history. For the reader interested in the period, his story fleshes out the life and upbringing of a high-ranking male. Murphy also checks upon some of the minor, disputed details of the question of the succession.

]What is very interesting about biographies like this is that they bring out the details of the period better than biographies of the famous. The latter are so filled with political and social events that very often the subject isn't developed as a person, even when there is copious information. In a way, that is a shame. It would be nice to have "personal" biographies of such people where the already heavily documented major historical events are a background to their daily life. I had read a great deal of information about the Tudors before I learned that Henry played cards with (and lost to!) his cellarer, or that Anne Boleyn, obviously a woman after my own heart, insisted that he move his fighting cocks so that she could sleep in in the morning.

One problem that I do have with Murphy is that she struggles so hard to make him seem more important. If his neighbors were bringing him gifts when he was 12, I think it is more likely to ingratiate themselves with him and his father, not because he was personally doing a fabulous job of managing his estates. His life wasn't one that was eccentric or fascinating or wittily told that I would recommend it to everyone, but I think that people really interested in the period will find it improves their general understanding.… (plus d'informations)