Book Review: "An Alternative History of Britain: The Tudors" by Timothy Venning

I've read plenty of historical nonfiction this year but I also like to have fun with it. Books about the construction and history of Hampton Court are great as are books about the Tudor Court that go on forever just about Henry VIII. But there are also funny books regarding the Battle of Hastings that I have enjoyed and of course, there's this book by Timothy Venning which is about the what if? situations surrounding the Tudors. What would have happened if history had gone slightly differently and how would this have an impact on everything that happened afterwards? I mean, the Tudors were a very important group of people who basically changed the entire history of England. If there's anything this book makes you do it is think about the way in which decisions and deaths, marriages and politics changed the course of history forever even if, back then, they were only a day or few of time.

I think the first question everyone in England has for this book is whether there's a reality in which the Reformation never happened. The answer this book gives us is that there is definitely a reality in which it never happened because the Reformation is very certainly a series of events which starts with Henry VIII becoming king. If Prince Arthur, the first son of Henry VII, had survived then Catherine of Aragon would have still been married to Arthur instead of marrying Henry upon her husband's death. We can then assume that because there was no marriage, there would be no need for a divorce and thus, no Reformation. But it would also be the case that Henry, not being the king, would not have had such high-stakes marriages and requirements for an heir thus solving the problem of the beheadings later on too. In short, if Henry was never the King then none of this would've ever have happened. But even if Henry was the King, he would have done so later and thus, would not have had the marital issues he did. In fact, Edward VI could've still been born (in my opinion). But then again, we probably would not have had Gloriana - Elizabeth I. I mean, this book definitely investigates the politics of Prince Arthur being alive and thus becoming the King instead of Henry but it does force you to think about everything else.

Another thing the book deals with is whether the Pretenders could have effectively overthrown Henry VII. We get some questions about whether Perkin Warbeck could have made it to the throne and what would have happened then. I think one thing that the author is trying to tell us through both of these questions is that the Tudor Dynasty wasn't really set in enough stone to remain absolute in the times of Henry VII and the early days of Henry VIII. There was so much uncertainty about the claim to the throne and how this (Welsh?) family came to sit upon England. It's a funny thing to think about but we also have to assume that things were a lot more violent and vitriolic back then. If someone felt they had a claim to the throne they were going to do whatever in their power to take it. Perkin Warbeck was no exception but, along with other Pretenders, they are symbolic of the fragility of the fragility of the crown at the time. Anyone can have supporters.

If Anne Boleyn survived what would have happened? How would Henry's future be impacted - especially concerning his marriages? Would Catherine Howard still at 19, be dragged back to her rooms ready for execution after running through the Hampton Court Library screaming for the mercy of the king? Would Edward VI ever be born? What would Henry's foreign policy look like? If Edward VI survived his childhood would England never have had any Catholic reign? Well it could be said, as the author puts it, there would have been instead of an ultra-catholic doctrine enforced, an ultra-protestant one from the opposition to his own half-sister. Edward did do everything in his power to stop the Catholic Mary I becoming queen because of his own Protestant beliefs. Would Edward have led a crusade against the Catholics in the same way Mary did against the Protestants? Of course there's also a question of whether Elizabeth marrying Robert Dudley would cause a succession crisis... of course it would have.

Honestly, I cannot stress enough how immersive this book was. There's something really interesting about thinking about what I like to call 'the Macbeth Paradox' or something along those lines. It is where whether someone knows something or is aware of the changes being made that they will continue to make them or will actively avoid them thus, causing a much worse crisis. How can these small decisions have this massive domino effect? Maybe someone will write something about the 21st century someday and how it snowballed into the apocalypse...