3.5 stars

The Wars of the Roses is over, with Elizabeth (House of York) having married Henry VII (House of Lancaster) to join the two warring houses for the crown of England. This book starts when Elizabeth is pregnant with her first child (Arthur) and ends with Henry’s death. It follows the births of all their children; the two “pretenders” to the crown pretending to be Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville’s missing princes from the tower – the “rightful” heirs; Katherine of Aragon’s marriage to Arthur and subsequent betrothal to the soon-to-be Henry VIII. Henry VII was always concerned about someone coming along to claim the throne.

It was good, but – especially at first – I found it a bit hard to follow as it followed many different viewpoints of many different characters and transitioned without any indication of a transition! I think it got a bit easier once we were following Henry VIII and his generation, as I know the people and characters better, so I could figure it out. The story moved forward very quickly, as years would pass with only a sentence or two (or nothing, and it’s a few years later). ( )

I enjoyed the book as I always do when it is written by Jean Plaidy. However, I understood the book to be about Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Instead it really focused on Henry VII and his life and his constant insecurities during his reign. It never delved into his relationship with Elizabeth and just made her appear to be a robot wife - always agreeing with Henry and never having thoughts, feelings or opinions of her own. Jean Plaidy rarely does this in her novels and usually gives great thought and personality to all that she writes about. So that is why I gave the book only 4 stars. This is the first in the Tudor Series. ( )

After the killing of Richard III at Bosworth Field, King Henry VII takes the throne of England. But can he keep it? Traitors. Schemers. Pretenders. Henry VII believes many are lurking in the shadows with designs on his throne. He hastily plans an alliance with Spain, by planning a marriage between his heir Arthur and the young Spanish Infanta, Katherine of Aragon. But plans will go awry when Arthur dies and his younger brother Henry becomes Prince of Wales in his place. What will happen to Katherine? Will King Henry marry again? Who will the new heir be wed to? So much political intrigue! An aging king desperate to keep hold of his throne. Heirs dying. Alliances, planned marriages, scheming. Henry VII finds himself in a power struggle of sorts with his own son, the soon to be Henry VIII.

The Tudor era in English history is one of my favorite time periods to study. So much change, upheaval, and intrigue! The Plaidy books stick relatively close to historical fact, diverging a bit here and there to take advantage of historical guesswork and conspiracy theories (like the fate of the two princes in the tower). Plaidy's books are fictionalized history.....the basic bones of the story are factual with some heaving bosoms, passionate speeches and drama thrown in for entertainment purposes.

Jean Plaidy is a pen name for author Eleanor Hibbert, who also used multiple other pseudonyms such as Victoria Holt and Philippa Carr. Each genre she wrote in used a different name. I have been collecting Plaidy novels for about 10 years, trying to get them all (or at least one or two complete series). I have three shelves of her novels -- it's time to start actually reading them! I decided to start with the Tudor Saga. There are 11 books in the Tudor series. Uneasy Lies the Head (also published as To Hold the Crown) is the first book in reading order, but actually the last published.

Very interesting read! I'm already reading the second book in this series, Katharine, the Virgin Widow. It repeats a bit of the story told in this first book, starting with the Katharine's arrival in England.

Just an aside....Plaidy's writing is NOT historical romance, but historical fiction. She focuses on the history, and splashes in a bit of drama and passion to round out the story. Readers who want a story that is lighter on history and more about romance, sex, courtly melodrama, heaving bosoms, etc might be happier with a historical romance author. There are many of them to choose from! Plaidy gives details on politics, social issues, and historical figures....and molds fiction around the actual history. Readers looking for detailed sex scenes with the king/queen, tales of sexual exploits, melodrama and more excitement......I recommend choosing another author. That sort of thing just isn't in her books. Those who like a fictionalized fleshing out of historical events -- you are in the right place. Just had to say this after reading a few reviews saying Plaidy's books have "too much history'' in them. lol. For a naked, horny Henry VIII, you will have to look elsewhere. He's out there strutting his kingly stuff....just not in Plaidy's novels. :) ( )

Having read numerous books by Jean Plaidy, I’ve concluded that her earlier books are better than the later ones. “To Hold the Crown” is a later book, published after the last novel in her Plantagenet saga.

Like with the Plantagenet saga, the author's attempts to pack several years’ worth of history into one volume results in a serious rush job. While I like fast-paced novels, I dislike rushing through bland scenes that should’ve been dramatized.

It could be the author’s “rush” to finish that led to a few historical errors. For example, the Earl of Warwick is occasionally referred to as the Duke of Warwick, while on another occasion we’re informed that Wawrick “had no close relations”. Didn’t his sister count? What about his Plantagenet aunts and his cousins?

The main reason why Plaidy’s works are so dry is because there’s far too much *telling*, as opposed to *showing*. Many times in this book the reader is told what happened in a few sentences, when the author could’ve dramatized scenes to show what happened.

Something else Plaidy’s guilty of is her continuous use of the passive voice. It’s always, “The coronation of the Queen” or “one of the sons of Edward”, as opposed to the active voice: “The Queen’s coronation” and “one of Edward’s sons”.

Passive voice = passive prose.

Some of the character exchanges are good, but most lack substance. At times, we don’t even know where conversations are transpiring. A new scene opens with two characters talking, yet there’s no sense of place. The author/narrator hasn’t given a shred of detail where the characters are. It’s like they’re floating in limbo. This is poor imagery. At least have them seated at a table, or lying in bed, or taking a walk – anything to give the reader a sense of place to visualise the scene.

Also annoying is characters talking with the benefit of hindsight, such as the young Henry (future Henry VIII) seeing himself as king because his older brother is fragile (we're repeatedly told how fragile he is).

The Battle of Stoke in 1487, which was the last significant conflict during the Wars of the Roses, is treated the same as the battles featured in the Plantagenet saga. Here, Stoke is no more than a three-sentence summary (I’ve omitted names to avoid spoilers for anyone unfamiliar with this history):

>The opposing armies met at Stoke and battle ensued. The Germans fought valiantly and, professional soldiers that they were, came within sight of victory; but the King’s forces were too much for even them and gradually they had to face defeat. **** was slain; **** managed to escape and **** and ****, who were not actually involved in the fighting, were surprised together in a tent and taken prisoner. ( )

This book should have been described as being about Henry VIi, since Elizabeth was very much a minor character. It fills the gap between Edward and Henry Viii. Describes the King as a miser, and the future king as a braggart. I was unaware of the treatment of Katherine of Aragon between the time of Arthur's death and her marriage to Henry, lots of English history here, told in a very abbreviated style. I probably wouldn't have been able to follow it without advance readings. ( )