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  • Blood Will Tell

  • A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII
  • By: Kyra Cornelius Kramer
  • Narrated by: Pam Ward
  • Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (21 ratings)

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Blood Will Tell cover art

Blood Will Tell

By: Kyra Cornelius Kramer
Narrated by: Pam Ward
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Summary

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

What listeners say about Blood Will Tell

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting and enjoyable.

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.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Informative and seemingly unbiased

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.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Refreshing

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.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Surprisingly enjoyable

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.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent

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

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Interesting

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

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Impossible

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

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Where's the medicine?

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.

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