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Lead book review

Tudor, by Leanda de Lisle - review

The Tudors, England’s most glamorous ruling dynasty, were self-invented parvenus, with ‘vile and barbarous’ origins, <em>Anne Somerset</em> reminds us

10 August 2013

9:00 AM

10 August 2013

9:00 AM

Tudor: The Family Story Leanda de Lisle

Chatto, pp.539, £20

As parvenus, the Tudors were unsurpassed. In the early 15th century no one would have predicted that within a couple of generations these minor Welsh land-owners would mount the English throne and rule the kingdom for more than 100 years. Notwithstanding their ‘vile and barbarous’ origins, their name would become synonymous with historical glamour and the ruthless exercise of regal power.

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Anne Somerset’s books include Elizabeth I and Ladies in Waiting: From Tudors to the Present Day.

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