What could he have become

A most delightful story on King Edward VI. Told through his eyes as well as Princess Mary's, an interesting tell of their lives as they manipulate their way after their father's death. I felt so bad for Edward as he had so much to live up to with Henry the eighth being your father as well as being crowned at the age of nine. Great book for any Tudor fan. ( )

This book is quite interesting, as the major viewpoints come to you via the young boy who is King in name, and his older half-sister, Mary—the daughter Henry VIII sometimes referred to as a Princess and at other times a bastard.

The boy, who is crowned Edward VI at the age of nine, has only some of the duties and virtually none of the responsibilities of his office, a fact that frustrates him more and more as the story goes on. With counselors who gain his trust by manipulation, and friends who are often sent away on the slimmest of excuses, Edward is often lonely and uncertain of his destiny. The one thing he clings to is his father’s wish to make the Anglican Church the religion of the country.

His longing to rule his Kingdom is mirrored by Mary’s determination to bring England back to Catholicism, and the more Edward turns away from her Church, the more stubborn Mary becomes in her practice of it, refusing to accede to the young man’s demands. Which, of course, creates ever greater frustration for Edward, as Mary is one of the only constants in his life.

Many times suspense builds, then the story jumps ahead by a week, month, or season. I would have liked to see more detailed descriptions in the narrative: there’s little information about the art or artifacts of the time, and the surroundings are only generally described in most cases. These are things I find pull me into the time period.

The story was nonetheless interesting enough to hold my attention—I enjoyed seeing into the life of this boy King about whom so little has been written. I was surprised at the length of his rule, as well as by his success in combating the papacy. I would recommend it particularly to anyone who finds the Tudor dynasty or the Reformation in England of interest. ( )

I am a fan of all things Tudor so The Boy King was right up alley. Wertman obviously did quite a lot of research and the details she added really enhanced the stories. Edward was not a Tudor I knew much about, but the political intrigue contrasted with the fears of a young boy really kept me engaged and interested.

Edward VI is one of the saddest Tudors in my opinion. He was a much wanted child but once he arrived his life was not his own. Add in the fact that his mother died so quickly after his birth and he was born to a father who wanted him less for himself and more to satisfy kingly need. He ran ragged through wives to find one who could finally give him that much needed son, while we understand today that it wasn’t their fault that his children were mostly female.

This is the third book in a series but it stands alone very well. I did not have the opportunity to read the first two books but felt no loss in reading this one. The series is about the Seymours so while this book is ostensibly about Edward VI it is more about how he interacts with his Uncles Edward and Thomas (Seymour) – Edward becoming Lord Protector and Thomas becoming jealous.

Ms. Wertman presents the book from the young king’s point of view and in my opinion she does a very good job of writing from a confused 9 year old boy’s point of view. After all, Edward was just a child when his father died and suddenly he was a King – but a king in name only as the council fought for power all around him. The Seymour brothers in particular did no good service to their King or country with their desire to rule the young king – or was that England?

It is also obvious how well researched the book is on the religious issues of the times as the two factions – the Catholics and the Reformers – were each fighting for control. Edward for all his young age wanted the country to abolish Catholicism where his sister Mary who would come to reign after him would be known as Bloody Mary for all of the executions of Reformers as she fought to make Catholicism the religion of the land.

This was a fascinating book pairing both a compelling story and solid research. Edward VI is often overlooked as some of the others in his family left a far larger imprint on history. But brotherly greed and jealousy such as between the two Seymours is a story as old as time and one brother responsible for the death of an other is downright Biblical. ( )