Blood Will Tell cover art

Blood Will Tell

A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII

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Blood Will Tell

By: Kyra Cornelius Kramer
Narrated by: Pam Ward
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About this listen

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.

©2018 Kyra Cornelius Kramer (P)2019 Tantor Europe Great Britain Politicians Politics & Activism England Royalty Medical Tudors

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All stars
Most relevant  
I usually struggle with American narrators but I found the narrator absolutely perfect for this book. The book is amusing at times and the narrators delivery of the little jibes works perfectly.

I’ve read so many books on the Tudor court but this one really held my interest and was really enjoyable.

Interesting and enjoyable.

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Absolutely loved this book as I am a history buff. The thought that Henry could've had such an illness hasn't been explored before in all the literature I have read. Would love to listen to more from this author.

Refreshing

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I found it very interesting and well explained. Very plausible reasoning in relation to the checkered history of the lack of surviving male heirs and is other co-morbidities.

Surprisingly enjoyable

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The narrator mangled the pronunciation of many English place names, she should've learnt the correct pronunciation before narrating a book about an English monarch. Also the omission of the contractions when speaking about dates was intensely annoying and lazy.

Informative and seemingly unbiased

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Gives an overview of the history of Henry 8th and life during Tudor times. An interesting medical postulation, though we will never know.

An investigation into Henry’s possible medical diagnoses whilst reviewing his life course

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A really thought provoking at the Tudor King and his consorts from a different perspective. Greatly enjoyed this.

Excellent

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A very interesting book, the author is very knowledgeable and very witty. My only complaint is the narrator

Interesting

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Unfortunately, due to quality of narration, this book was difficult to listen to. I cannot recommend it therefore.

Impossible

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After listening to many enjoyable Audible books about Tudor History, I was looking forward to this medical take on Henry VIII's mental and physical health. Sadly by chapter three I was left wondering why the medical explanations had vanished and it had become a personal rant slagging off respected historians. The authors explanation about Kells disease in chapter 2 isn't really conveyed in layman's terms so difficult to follow and not really that conclusive. Generally I like American accents but found her's difficult to listen to. Very disappointed all round - will be returning this one.

Where's the medicine?

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I was looking forward to listening to this book. Unfortunately, the narrator’s grating accent and mispronunciation made it impossible to listen to and I had to abandon it before the end of the chapter on Katherine of Aragon. I am just glad it was free with my audible membership!

Really Grating

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