Tudor: The Family Story

By: Leanda De Lisle I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my review of the book.

  Disclaimer: I am not being in any way compensated for this review outside of getting to read the book before it's released on October 8, 2013. 

Beginning not with Henry VII taking the throne but with the death of Catherine of Valois and the history of her marriage to the squire Owen Tudor, Leanda De Lisle takes the accepted story of the Tudor dynasty and gives the reader a more complex and detailed history.

 She goes on to discuss Margaret Beaufort and her role in the Tudor ascendancy, as well as the more well-known elements of the Tudor history, such as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

 She then proceeds to write a fascinating and factual book that reads like a novel. While Ms. De Lisle provides the dates and details of the history of the Tudors, she also gives life to the events and people that keep the story interesting.

 I've read many books on the Tudor family, and this is definitely one of, if not the best. It is well researched and referenced while remaining accessible to someone new to reading historical nonfiction.  Tudor