Mr. Turton, an Oxford don, has hitherto been known in this country as a purveyor of fictionalized histories (e.g., My Lord...

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BUILDERS OF ENGLAND'S GLORY

Mr. Turton, an Oxford don, has hitherto been known in this country as a purveyor of fictionalized histories (e.g., My Lord of Canterbury). He comes into his own with this, his first work of purely narrative history. Builders of England's Glory begins with the origins of the Tudors in the hinterlands of Wales and ends with the extinction of the dynasty, at Elizabeth's death, in 1603, narrating the events of each reign, describing the personality and achievements and failures of each monarch, and appraising his or her stature in the light of history. His style is brisk and lively. Anecdotes abound, and the whole is colored by an intelligent if somewhat donnish irony. One might wish that Mr. Turton had consulted, for instance, J. J. Scarisbrick's Henry VIII on the complexities of the divorce question; but such faults of omission, minor as they are, will not impede the enjoyment of the history buff in this excellent and readable work.

Pub Date: June 27, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1969

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