The complicated personality and dramatic reign of England's King Henry VIII - visionary, tyrant, monarch, bully, defender of the faith, destroyer of monasteries, lover and libertine - have been immortalized (and fictionalized) in literature, on stage, and in film by leading writers of their generations. This catalogue to the Grolier Club exhibition Vivat Rex! (March 3-May 2, 2009) brings the real Henry, his life, reign, and times, to life through books, manuscripts, handwritten letters, and prints. Many of the works described and illustrated are unique in themselves, or belonged to Henry himself, to his family, or to members of his court.

Catalogue of a Grolier Club exhibition held March 29 - May 26, 2000, describing eighty books, prints, and manuscripts from the author's wide-ranging collection illustrating various aspects of English history--royalty, succession, social commentary, architecture, and the Reformation. Printed at the Ascensius Press, in an edition of 500 copies.