I'm surprised people like this book. The writing is overheated, the story jumps around confusingly and it contains rather ridiculous claims. For example, early on, Hogge states that Henry VIII was motivated primarily by the fear that England would sink into civil war if he died without leaving a male heir. I didn't realize Henry had such noble intentions!I'm about a third of the way through and considering giving up, which is unfortunate because I usually inhale books from this period. It doesn't help, I suppose, that I just finished a book by Jasper Ridley, who does a remarkable job of providing reams of historical information within a cracking good story.