The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog.

Hunting the Falcon:  Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and the Marriage That Shook Europe by historians John Guy and Julia Fox (husband and wife team)is a deeply researched tome larded with the tumultuous history of the reigns of Henry VIII, Francis I of France, and Charles V Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Hapsburg Empire, Germany, Spain, parts of Italy and the lowland countries.  Figuring prominently are all the era’s royal families, power brokers (including Sir Thomas More, Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell), and Popes Leo X, Adrian VI, Clement VII and Paul III.

For those of you who thought you knew this saga, much more is unearthed. Guy and Fox have conveniently provided a chart of key players covering the Tudors, the Boleyns, Henry’s Court, Anne’s Court, France, Italy, Spain and the Habsburgs. We are introduced to their spouses, their mistresses, their alliances, intrigues and betrayals. It’s sometimes hard to tell the players even with this score card, but, fortunately, there will be no pop quiz.

This hurly-burly is held together by the main threads of the book: Henry’s disappointment with the failure of Katherine of Aragon (widow of Henry’s brother Arthur) to provide a male heir; Henry’s infatuation with Anne Boleyn (educated in the courts of Austria and France), who held Henry at bay for five years; Henry’s scheme to divorce Katherine in defiance of the Catholic church and Katherine’s Catholic family; and, finally, his marriage to Anne. Just three years after Anne is crowned Queen, Henry’s frustration with her failure to produce a living male heir, her power grabs, and promiscuous court lifestyle comes to a head when Henry plots with Cromwell to trump up criminal charges against Anne.  She is tried before a biased jury of Boleyn haters and Henry loyalists, convicted of treason and beheaded on short notice. There are no spoilers here. You’ve heard it before.

What’s different is how the authors have brought fresh eyes to centuries of research and also uncovered new documentation through archival letters (some in Henry’s own writing). They also provide newsletters, acts of parliament, royal edicts and journal observations by members of the court at home and abroad. The personal intrigues are all intertwined with the turbulent histories of western European countries in the 16^th century, including Henry’s repeated attempts to ally with France to bring down Spain and the Hapsburgs as well as the multinational church battles among Martin Luther reformers and the corrupt papacy.

While the focus is on Henry’s pursuit of the falcon (Anne Boleyn’s heraldic signature), the book includes family histories predating Henry and Anne as well an epilogue that touches on the stunning reign of Anne and Henry’s daughter, Elizabeth 1. We are also treated to poetry by Thomas Wyatt and paintings by Hans Holbein, both significant figures at court during the period.

The authors’ wealth of details is remarkable. But, if you still want help in picturing these characters, you can watch Wolf Hall on PBS’s Masterpiece Theater, based on Hilary Mantel’s book of the same name and rooted in the same period portrayed in Hunting the Falcon. If you think gender relations are complicated in today’s politics, or that Donald Trump has carved new depths in vulgar and ruthless politics, or that the President-elect’s cronies and potentially lawless revenge crusaders  are historic, they pale in comparison to the manipulation, misogyny, conspiracies and capital crimes more than four centuries ago. This book is a tour de force and a must read for anyone who finds that period of history spellbinding.