Day 04- Blog Challenge ~ Family ~ An Alternative History of Britian

An Alternative History of Britain: The Tudors by Timothy Venning
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For all of you following along today is day 4 of the Blog Challenge and todays theme was Family. A novel that makes you think of strong family ties. I know this may seem a little out of the box but nothing says family ties to me like the Royal family.

Summary:
Continuing his exploration of the pathways of British history, Timothy Venning examines the turning points of the Tudor period, though he also strays over into the early Stuart period. As always, he discusses the crucial junctions at which History could easily have taken a different turn and analyses the possible and likely results. While necessarily speculative to a degree, the scenarios are all highly plausible and rooted in a firm understanding of actually events and their context. In so doing, Timothy Venning gives the reader a clearer understanding of the factors at play and why things happened the way they did, as well as a tantalizing view of what might so easily have been different. Key scenarios discussed in this volume include: Did the pretenders Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck ever have a realistic chance of a successful invsasion/coup? If Henry Fitzroy, Henry VIII s illegitimate son, had not died young, might he have been a suitable King or at least Regent on the King s death? What if Edward VI had not died at 15 but reigned into the 1560s and 70s? How might the Spanish Armada have succeeded in landing an army in England, and with what likely outcome?

My Take:

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I have a deep fascination with the Tudor Dynasty. This novel takes an interesting twist. Timothy Venning goes through and step by step explores what might have happened if fate had fallen a different way. Every possible time line is explored. From what would have happened if Arthur Tudor had lived to possible suitors for Henry's daughters. Essentially we get a glance at alternate time lines. For those readers who are not up on their Tudor history this was a great way to learn some history. To explore alternate possibilities you have to have a basic understanding of what really happened.
This was a nice break from all the crime serials and an enjoyably educational time travel experience. I'm really enjoying the Blog Challenge by Great New Reads. What a fun way to keep Quarantine interesting!