A biography "as enthralling as a detective story" ( New York Times Book Review ) of the woman who reigned over sixteenth-century Scotland.Basis for the movie starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie.Winner of the Whitbread AwardIn Mary Queen of Scots, John Guy creates an intimate and absorbing portrait of one of history's most famous women, depicting her world and ...

WINNER OF THE WHITBREAD BIOGRAPHY AWARDNow a major film, this is a dramatic reinterpretation of the life of Mary Queen of Scots by one of the leading historians of this period.For centuries, Mary, Queen of Scots has been a figure of scholarly debate. Where many have portrayed her as the weak woman to Elizabeth's rational leader, John Guy reassesses the young queen, finding her far more politically shrewd than previously believed.Cro...

Thomas Gresham was arguably the first true wizard of global finance. He rose through the mercantile worlds of London and Antwerp to become the hidden power behind three out of the five Tudor monarchs. Today his name is remembered in economic doctrines, in the institutions he founded and in the City of London's position at the economic centre of the earth.Without Gresham, England truly might have become a vassal state. His manoeuvring released Elizabeth from a crushing burden of deb...

Charismatic, insatiable and cruel, Henry VIII was, as John Guy shows, a king who became mesmerized by his own legend - and in the process destroyed and remade England.Said to be a 'pillager of the commonwealth', this most instantly recognizable of kings remains a figure of extreme contradictions: magnificent and vengeful; a devout traditionalist who oversaw a cataclysmic rupture with the church in Rome; a talented, towering figure who nevertheless could not bear to meet people's ey...

From Thomas Becket's early life as a merchant's son and his time as the Archbishop of Canterbury to his assassination in the Cathedral itself, this enlightening book brings to life a colossal figure of British history.'Lively, effortlessly readable, superb. A beautifully layered portrait of one of the most complex characters in English history' The Times____________________This is the man, not the le...

The monarchs of the Tudor period are among some of the most well-known figures in British history. John Guy presents a compelling and fascinating exploration of the Tudors in the new edition of this Very Short Introduction. Looking at all aspects of the period, from beginning to end, he considers Tudor politics, religion, and economics, as well as issues relating to gender and minority rule, and the art, architecture, and social and material culture of the time. Introducing all of...

First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, John Guy's Very Short Introduction to The Tudors is the most authoritative short introduction to this age in British history. It offers a compelling account of the political, religious and economic changes of the country under such leading monarchs as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The work has been substantially revised and updated for this edition. In particular, the reigns of Henry VII, Edward VI, and Phili...

Now a major film, this is a dramatic reinterpretation of the life of Mary Queen of Scots by one of the leading historians of this period.For centuries, Mary, Queen of Scots has been a figure of scholarly debate. Where many have portrayed her as the weak woman to Elizabeth's rational leader, John Guy reassesses the young queen, finding her far more politically shrewd than previously believed.Crowned Queen of Scotland at nine months old, Queen of France by ag...

Behind the façade of politics and pageantry at the Tudor court, there was a family drama. Nothing drove Henry VIII, England's wealthiest and most powerful king, more than producing a legitimate male heir and so perpetuating his dynasty. To that end, he married six wives, became the subject of the most notorious divorce case of the sixteenth century, and broke with the pope, all in an age of international competition and warfare, social unrest and growing religious intolerance and discord. ...

Leading British historian John Guy, author of Thomas Becket and My Heart is My Own, uncovers one of the most touching and compelling family relationships in history in A Daughter's Love.Sir Thomas More is a stalwart figure of British history. Lord Chancellor in Henry Tudor's government, opposed to Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn and famously executed for treason, he is a well-studied and eminent figure.John Guy's revealing new work sheds ligh...

Kent has an impressive collection of castles, over sixty including the scanty ruins and earthwork remains of now vanished ones, as well as the more celebrated castles, such as Leeds, Rochester and Dover. Because of their picturesque and dramatic appearance they have often been the subject of antique prints, and early photographs and in Castles of Kent Through Time author John Guy draws on his extensive collection of historical images of Kent castles to produce an illustrated history throug...

“A fierce, scholarly tour-de-force. . . . Hunting the Falcon brilliantly shows how time, circumstance and politics combined to accelerate Anne’s triumph and tragedy." —Tina Brown, New York Times Book Review“A sumptuous drama of lust, intrigue, and betrayal, underpinned by the harsh reality of politics.”—Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana: Duchess of DevonshireA groundbreaking, freshly-researched work of Tudor history and a dual historical biography that examines one of the...