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Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck, and Warwick Paperback – Jan. 15 2023
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Yet, all was not well early in the Tudor reign. Despite later attempts to portray Henry VII as single-handedly uniting a war-torn England after three decades of conflict, the kingdom was anything but settled. Nor could it be after a tumultuous two-year period that had witnessed the untimely death of one king, the mysterious disappearance of another, and the brutal slaughter of a third on the battlefield.
For the first time in one compelling and comprehensive account, Nathen Amin looks at the myriad of shadowy conspiracies and murky plots which sought to depose the Tudor usurper early in his reign, with particular emphasis on the three pretenders whose causes were fervently advanced by Yorkist dissidents—Lambert Simnel, Perkin Warbeck, and Edward, Earl of Warwick. Just how close did the Tudors come to overthrow long before the myth of their greatness had taken hold on our public consciousness?
- Print length96 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherAmberley Publishing
- Publication dateJan. 15 2023
- Dimensions16.51 x 2.54 x 23.39 cm
- ISBN-101398112461
- ISBN-13978-1398112469
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"Amin has produced a balanced, thoughtful examination of the pretenders who threatened Henry VII’s throne. Going back to the primary evidence, he has carefully and meticulously peeled away the rumours, innuendos and propaganda to present his findings in engaging, accessible prose. . . . An essential addition to every War of the Roses library." —History . . . The Interesting Bits!
"There have been other books that have touched on the topic of the pretenders, but what Amin has done in this particular book is nothing short of remarkable. By acting as a historian/detective, Amin dived deep into the archives to follow the path that these men took from obscurity to prominent threats to the crown. . . . Amin created an outstanding narrative that balances scrupulous attention to details with a coherent and engaging writing style to bring the complex story of Henry VII and the pretenders to life for the modern age." —Adventures of a Tudor Nerd
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Amberley Publishing (Jan. 15 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 96 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1398112461
- ISBN-13 : 978-1398112469
- Item weight : 304 g
- Dimensions : 16.51 x 2.54 x 23.39 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: #447,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #902 in Royalty Biographies (Books)
- #3,760 in English History (Books)
- #4,881 in Historical Biographies (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Nathen Amin is an author from Carmarthenshire, West Wales, who focuses on the 15th Century and the reign of Henry VII. He wrote 'Tudor Wales' in 2014 and 'York Pubs' in 2016, followed by the first full-length biography of the Beaufort family, 'The House of Beaufort' in 2017, an Amazon #1 Bestseller in three historical categories (Wars of the Roses, Norman England, and The Plantagenets & Medieval History). His fourth book, ‘Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders; Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick', is due for release in 2020.
Nathen is an experienced public speaker, presenting talks on the Beauforts, Wars of the Roses, and Henry VII, for more than fifty societies and book festivals, including the BBC History Weekend, Windsor Castle, HistFest, Gloucester History Festival, Alison Weir Tours, Lichfield Literature Festival, Oundle Festival of Literature, Lancaster Historical Writing Festival, Bosworth Medieval Festival, Barnet Medieval Festival, and the Richard III Society. He has also featured on British, Australian and German radio and television, as well as in print and online media across the UK. As of 2020, he is a trustee and founding member of the Henry Tudor Trust, and in 2022 was elected a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
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Great insight how Henry VII handled the problems with the pretenders wisely.
This book is meticulously researched, yet reads like a novel with speculative insights into the characters' thoughts, feelings and interactions. Even though all the minute details cannot be known to us, Nathen's research is so in depth that the reader can be assured that his speculations are the result of known historical facts. He turns these historical figures into thinking, feeling people, rather than just names on the page.
Definitely read this book if you are interested in learning more about the pretenders and in fact learning more about Henry VII, the man and the king. He is so often lost in the shadow of his famous son that books like this that bring him out of the shadows are always welcome!
Top reviews from other countries
On 22nd August 1485, 28years old Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond faced the English King, Richard iii across a Battlefield in Leicestershire, close to the town of Bosworth, pressing home his claim to the English throne. Outnumbered, not a seasoned commander like Richard, it was the King who was expected to prevail. However, it was Henry who was victorious and the death of Richard iii saw him crowned as Henry Vii two months later. Despite making every effort to bring unity to a war torn and divided nation through marriage with the York heiress, the beautiful Elizabeth, daughter of King Edward iv, Henry's reign was anything but peaceful. Elizabeth's two brothers had been declared illegitimate and housed in the Tower of London under Richard, suspected of their murder and now it was rumours that these boys were still alive which gave rise to a series of young men who claimed to be those same boys. One from a boy named Lambert Simnel and another from one Perkin Warbeck plagued Henry and his family for 16 years. Many believed the former to be either Edward, Earl of Warwick, in custody of the new regime or the missing Edward V, while the latter posed as his brother Richard, Duke of York for nine dangerous years. It is the fate and history of these two Pretenders which are the subject of this wonderful book.
Who where these two young Pretenders? Was Lambert Simnel the innocent boy of ten or twelve that Henry Vii claimed him to be? Who was behind his rise and why? Why did some claim that he was young Warwick, a child with a better claim than that of Henry himself while others insisted he was the lost son of King Edward iv? What do the sources have to say and why was Henry bothered about a boy he said was just an pawn taken from obscurity? What happened to the boy? Nathen has masterfully assessed all of the available material and argued that this boy, trained by a priest, backed by members of his Court still loyal to the late Richard iii and household of the Duke of Clarence, crowned in Ireland and later left on the Battlefield of Stoke in the Midlands in 1487 was just as Henry had always suspected, an innocent pawn. He reveals a web of conspiracy and international espionage, backed by Margaret of Burgundy, the fiery sister of Richard iii, who would stop at nothing to undermine the fledgling Tudor regime. Anxious to avoid the errors of his predecessors, Henry used a network of spies and good advisers, his own shrewd judgement and patience before pouncing on the conspirators, who were swiftly dealt with. In addition to this, Henry had the real Earl of Warwick in custody in the Tower of London and had shown the boy in public in order to dispel rumours of his kidnap or sudden demise.
Henry's actions gained him time to consolidate his forces and to expose the weakness in his enemies endeavours. Nathan also argued that these set of localised and separate plots were flawed and that despite proclamations and demands from this so called King Edward, the citizens of York remained loyal and refused to allow his army into the city.
Nathen's assessment of Henry as a man reveals a capable ruler, a man who was shrewd and wise and likable, but firm and ruthless when he needed to be, a family man who was a devoted father and husband and whose leadership allowed him to chose those he trusted with great care. He was able to form strategic international relationships and he was not afraid to use military tactics in order to warn the Royal Houses of Europe that he meant business and was here to stay. These qualities served him well during the 1490s when the most serious and enduring threat to his crown appeared in Ireland. This stranger set tongues wagging when he claimed to be Richard, the younger of those two lost Princes. He travelled from Court to Court, gaining support and aid and attempted at least three failed landings and an invasion from Scotland.
Henry had to go to extraordinary lengths both to expose his real identity and to stop the possibility of his enemies on the Continent banding together and allowing a consolidated invasion of England with Richard at its head. In order to expose this man, known to history as Perkin Warbeck, Henry invaded France, forced him to find refuge elsewhere, backed old enemies like the Earl of Surrey, brought loyalty in Ireland and the North, may even have attempted to assassinate Warbeck, raised taxes in Cornwall, put down rebellions, executed members of his own inner circle including the man who had put him on the throne, Sir William Stanley and sent out spies and Ambassadors all over Europe to uncover the truth. Nathen argued that the inconsistencies in the stories Warbeck himself told in his letters to Isabella of Spain, in his own confessions, in the evidence from Portugal and so on, all confirmed Henry's earlier suspicion from a very early stage. He also reveals the mastermind behind the whole scheme. Yet one might ask that if Warbeck was indeed an imposter, why was Henry so anxious about him? Nathen himself admits that there are still enough unanswered questions to give some room for doubt and that as we don't have access to his remains we may never know his true identity after all.
Finally, Nathan tells us the details of the fate of Warbeck and how a widely spread web of conspiracy and deceit led to his downfall. How did Henry regard this young man who had caused him so much trouble? Impostor or real Prince of York? That is for the reader to decide.
I would recommend this book without any hesitation. Its full of conspiracy, plots, murder, terror, drama, espionage and adventure. It is written by an author who genuinely has done his homework and is the result of years of empathetic and scholarly research. If I could give it more than five stars I would. Thoroughly enjoyable.






