Book Review - 'Henry: Virtuous Prince', by David Starkey

Henry: Virtuous Prince by David Starkey

David Starkey is the most well known of historians working on Henry's reign, due to his numerous appearances on television. Virtuous Prince is his first attempt to deal exclusively with Henry himself, and focuses on his childhood and the early years of his reign.

I found the range of the book disappointing, since it ends abruptly in about 1512 without, as I was expecting, discussing the rise of Wolsey and the war and diplomacy before 1520. The chapters on Henry's childhood take up most of the book, which leaves the reader still yearning for a more detailed look at Henry's early reign, a historical period which is often brushed over. Indeed, there is so much written about Henry's father (Henry VII) in Virtuous Prince, that the book almost becomes a biography of this King instead.

The few chapters about the start of the reign focus on Henry's love of jousting, but in a way which seemed to leave so much more to be said. The print in the hardback version of the book is huge, and the book could have been condensed to half its length were it not for this. Starkey's style is that he writes in the same way as he presents on television. The paragraphs are short and sharp, with as much impact as possible drawn from very few words. Unfortunately, this can lead to the presentation of theories as facts, and to some rather odd statements, such as that a recording herald 'says nothing about what either party thought of the other' (p142). In fact, it was not the job of herlads to do this. The tone that comes from the book, then, is one of a sanctimonius 'I know best', where Starkey perhaps feels that so many television programmes on Henry's reign have made him the authority on this subject, and forgets that the real foundation of a good historical work is back-breaking yet thorough research.