Different, interesting, alternative history.
I had heard about the concept of alternative history while studying history at the University of Copenhagen, but I have never really dabbled in it or taken much interest in it. However, this was a very interesting look into the intricacies of the Tudor period - put the whole era into a new perspective. However, this is not a book for folks who know nothing about the Tudors. Getting into this alternative history takes serious knowledge of the actual, factual history.
👍 What I Liked 👍
Knowledge: I was seriously impressed by Venning's obvious knowledge of the subject matter. He demonstrated great knowledge of all the different avenues of Tudor history, even those that weren't directly related to English history. I was always very impressed by his ability to take the subject and make it understandable and easy to comprehend.
Structure: The structure of this book, how it was centered around a series of hypothetical question and arranged chronologically, made this easy to get into and follow.
👎 What I Disliked 👎
Digress: Sometimes I felt like Venning digressed a bit. Like he got carried away. On the one hand it displays passion and interest in the subject, on the other I do feel like it is the ob of the author to adhere to his own structure and not go down tangents.
Same conclusions: I got the impression that many of the questions and musing ultimately lead back to the same conclusions, which is not necessarily bad per say. It just made me feel like I was reading the same thing over and over again and I wondered whether, perhaps, some of the questions could have been left out.
Read it if you like: The Tudors, 'what ifs', well researched history
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ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review