IN 1501, ENGLAND HAD BEEN RAVAGED FOR DECADES by conspiracy, coups, and violence. Through luck, guile, and ruthlessness, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, emerged as ruler--but as a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England's throne, he remained a usurper and false king to many, and his hold on power was precarious.
But Henry had a crucial asset: his queen and their children, the living embodiment of his hoped-for dynasty. His marriage to Queen Elizabeth united the houses of Lancaster and York, the warring parties that had fought the bloody century-long Wars of the Roses. Now their older son, Arthur, was about to marry a Spanish princess. On a cold November day sixteen-year-old Catherine of Aragon arrived in London for a wedding that would mark a triumphal moment in Henry's reign. But Henry's plans for his son would not happen--and waiting in the wings was the impetuous younger brother, the future Henry VIII.
Rich with drama and insight, "Winter King "is an astonishing story of pageantry, treachery, intrigue, and incident--and the fraught, dangerous birth of Tudor England.

Winner of THE HW FISHER BEST FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE SPECTATOR, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, TLS, FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN, DAILY MAIL and SUNDAY TELEGRAPH BOOKS OF THE YEAR 'Imagine Wolf Hall rewritten by John le Carre ... gripping ... a rare achievement' Tom Holland, Guardian It is 1501. Henry VII has won the throne of England through luck, guile and ruthlessness. But for many he remains a usurper. Now, his elder son is to marry, in a wedding upon which the fate of the country, and the entire Tudor dynasty, will hang ... 'A masterpiece. Rich, resonant and utterly compelling' Helen Castor, Sunday Telegraph, Books of the Year 'Gripping ... brilliant ... The enigmatic Henry is brought thrillingly to life as one of the most unlikely but tenacious kings ever to wear the English crown' Dan Jones, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year 'Thrilling and sinister' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year 'Enthralling ... Penn captures the weirdness, the ferocity, and a glint of unexpected tenderness' The Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year

SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 BY THE GUARDIAN, DAILY MAIL, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH AND BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE 'A gripping, complex and sensational story, told with calm narrative command ... With insight and skill, Penn cuts through the thickets of history to find the heart of these heartless decades' Hilary Mantel The gripping new history by the author of the acclaimed bestseller Winter King It is 1461 and England is crippled by civil war. One freezing morning, a teenage boy wins a battle in the Welsh marches, and claims the crown. He is Edward IV, first king of the usurping house of York... Thomas Penn's brilliant new telling of the wars of the roses takes us inside a conflict that fractured the nation for more than three decades. During this time, the house of York came to dominate England. At its heart were three charismatic brothers - Edward, George and Richard - who became the figureheads of a spectacular ruling dynasty. Together, they looked invincible.. But with Edward's ascendancy the brothers began to turn on one another, unleashing a catastrophic chain of rebellion, vendetta, fratricide, usurpation and regicide. The brutal end came at Bosworth Field in 1485, with the death of the youngest, then Richard III, at the hands of a new usurper, Henry Tudor. The story of a warring family unable to sustain its influence and power, The Brothers York brings to life a dynasty that could have been as magnificent as the Tudors. Its tragedy was that, in the space of one generation, it destroyed itself. 'The Brothers York is savage, exciting, blisteringly good.' - Jessie Childs, author of God's Traitors 'An epic orgy of colour and character.' - Leanda de Lisle, The Times 'Superb ... The tragedy and brutality of the Wars of the Roses jumps out from every page of Penn's book.' - Kate Maltby, Financial Times 'Thrilling, pacy ... Brings a novelist's verve to his telling of events.' - John Gallagher, The Guardian