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    Blood Will Tell: A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII
    Blood Will Tell: A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII
    Blood Will Tell: A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII
    Audiobook13 hours

    Blood Will Tell: A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII

    Written by Kyra Cornelius Kramer

    Narrated by Pam Ward

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    With his tumultuous love life, relentless pursuit of a male heir, and drastic religious transformation, England's King Henry VIII's life sounds more like reality television than history. He was a man of fascinating contradictions-he pursued a woman he loved for almost a decade only to behead her less than four years after their marriage. He defended Catholicism so vigorously that he was honored as Defender of the Faith, but he went on to break with Rome and have himself declared Supreme Head of the Church of England. Worst of all, the King who began his reign praised as "hero" and "lover of justice and goodness" ended it having metamorphosed into such a monster that he was called the "English Nero."

    What could have caused these incredible paradoxes? Could there be a simple medical explanation for the King's descent into tyranny? Where do the answers lie? Blood will tell.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJan 17, 2019
    ISBN9781977335319
    Blood Will Tell: A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII

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    Reviews for Blood Will Tell

    4/5

    41 ratings6 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I really appreciated the deep research and forthright delivery of this completely new evaluation of the mental state of Henry VIII. There's a great deal to learn here and I hope you enjoy as much as I did. Interesting book read with aplomb.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      If you have an unquenchable thirst for Tudor history, as I do, this is the book for you. If you believe Anne Boleyn was framed this is the book for you. A different and fascinating perspective on what may explain why Henry VIII went from the Brad Pitt of his time to the Donald Trump of it. New information presented with humor.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Great narration! Perfect inflection that added the right amount of irony and humor when needed. Fascinating theory for why Henry viii was so grotesque. Well researched and organized, but meanders for several chapters in the middle.
    • 5/5
      It was a really interesting book. Not dry and a little humorous!
    • 4/5
      3.5 stars. This book expounds upon an interesting theory that Henry VIII carried Kell-positive genes, and may also have suffered from a condition called McLeod syndrome.

      Kramer starts off explaining why Henry did not, could not have had syphilis, despite persistent rumors to the contrary. This also shows how persistent a rumor can be, over time. A Victorian physician postulated this theory in 1888 as a possible explanation for Henry’s problems with reproduction and his later tyrannical behavior. This theory was soundly refuted in 1931, yet it continues to be repeated to this day.

      Kramer’s theory, about Henry being Kell-positive, and having McLeod syndrome, is also a theory, and while it makes for an interesting essay and perhaps scholarly presentation, I am not sure that it is strong enough to carry an entire book. The story of Henry VIII and his six wives is retold here, with frequent insertions as to the McLeod syndrome in some places as possible cause for erratic behavior, in others stated as firmly as if it is a demonstrated scientific fact. But as Kramer herself pointed out about the syphilis rumor, simply repeating something over and over again does not make it true.

      The author holds a Masters degree in Medical Anthropology, a field many of us probably did not realize existed. Could her theory be true? Absolutely, but until and unless the body of Henry VIII is exhumed and tested, there is no way of knowing for sure.

      The chapter I found most interesting was about the development of medicine, and the interweaving of astrology, in Tudor historical times. The role of John Dee, Elizabeth’s astrologer, and others suddenly makes much more sense now. The insight on how diet was thought to affect the body, and the different “humours” of the body, and how balancing this needed to also take into account the role of the planets upon the body, was fascinating. I also enjoyed the clarity and separating out the roles of the medical professionals: the doctors/astrologers, the nurses/herbal women, the apothecaries, and the surgeon-barbers all had different parts to play, although from a modern viewpoint, many of the treatments seem ridiculous or barbaric.

      That chapter makes it worthwhile for a Tudor fan to read the book, IMO. Much of the rest is a retelling of the story that we’ve heard before, from other historians and novelists. The author’s voice is inconsistent: in some places very scholarly, in others almost Gossip-Girlish. There are also minor but annoying typos. For example, after making a big deal out of the way she was going to refer to Catherine of Aragon as Katharina, in some places she’s referred to as Catherine anyway. There’s mention of the “wracking” of Anne Askew and others.

      I’m glad I read this, and I hope, someday, that we really discover whether or not this medical theory is true. If you’ve never read anything on Henry VIII and his wives, but saw The Tudors, this is not a bad book for an overall recap of the period, but you might want to consult other books as well.
    • 4/5
      This book explores the theory that HenryV111 had a blood condition (kell positive) which explains the frequency of failed pregnancies in his wives, and his later personality change. The first chapters rather laboured this theory, but the book gathered pace and interest, and challenged some of the stereotypical images we have of Henry's wives.