1536: The Year That Changed Henry VIII

1536: The Year That Changed Henry VIII

1536: The Year That Changed Henry VIII

By Suzannah Lipscomb (2006)
Buy this book
Buy this book

One of the best-known figures of British history, collective memory of Henry VIII presents us with the image of a corpulent, covetous, and cunning king whose appetite for worldly goods met few parallels, whose wives met infamously premature ends, and whose religion was ever political in intent.Moving beyond this caricature, "1536" - focusing on a fulcrum year in the life of the King - reveals a fuller portrait of this complex monarch, detailing the finer shades of humanity that have so long been overlooked. We discover that in "1536" Henry met many failures - physical, personal, and political - and emerged from them a different man: a revolutionary new king who proceeded to transform a nation and reform a religion. A compelling story, the effects of which are still with us today, "1536" illustrates with chilling clarity what a profound difference can be made merely by changing the heart of a king.

Fact of the Day

The Tudor Privy Council would sometimes punish those who fell out of its favour by making them wait to be seen by the Star Chamber for days, weeks, or months in London, during which time they would run up huge lodging bills. Wolsey made De Carteret of Guernsey wait for over four years.

Quote of the Day

"Revolution is not an apple that falls when it's ripe. You have to make it fall. "
~ Che Guevara

On This Day

1579 Thomas Gresham, merchant, financier, and founder of the Royal Exchange, died suddenly, apparently of apoplexy. He bequeathed his estate, after the death of his wife, to the Corporation of London and the Mercers' Company to set up a college to provide free lectures to the public; Gresham College thus became London's first institution of higher education.
1916 The hospital ship Britannic, sister-ship of Titanic, hit a mine and sank, killing 30.
1918 Ten days after the Armistice, the German navy surrendered to the British in the Firth of Forth. 
1920 The assassinations of British intelligence officers ordered by Michael Collins in the Irish War of Independence led to thirty-one dead (from both sides) in what became known as 'Bloody Sunday'.
1974 21 people were killed and 182 injured when bombs exploded in two Birmingham pubs. The IRA was probably responsible, but the real culprits have never been found. The Birmingham Six, originally convicted of the bombings, were released because of dodgy police practices.
1981 The proceedings of the House of Commons were televised live for the first time.