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The Warship Mary Rose: The Life & Times of King Henry VIII's Flagship Kindle Edition

by David Childs (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 33 ratings
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This new paperback edition brings the history of Henry VIII's famous warship right up to date with new chapters on the stunning presentation of the hull and the 19,000 salvaged artefacts in the new museum in Portsmouth.Mary Rose has, along with HMS Victory, become an instantly recognisable symbol of Britain's maritime past, while the extraordinary richness of the massive collection of artefacts gleaned from the wreck has meant that the ship has acquired the status of some sort of 'time capsule', as if it were a Tudor burial site. But she is much more than an archaeological relic; she was a warship, and a revolutionary one, that served in the King's navy for thirty-four years, almost the entire length of his reign.This book tells the story of her eventful career, placing it firmly within the colourful context of Tudor politics, court life and the developing administration of a permanent navy. And though the author also brings the story right down to the present day, with chapters on the recovery, the fresh ideas and information thrown up by the massive programme of archaeological work since undertaken, and the new display just recently opened at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, it is at heart a vivid retelling of her career and, at the end, her dramatic sinking.With this fine narrative and the beautiful illustrations the book will appeal to the historian and enthusiast, and also to the general reader and museum visitor.
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  1. Print length
    628 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Seaforth Publishing
  5. Publication date
    April 30, 2014
  6. File size
    75760 KB
  7. Page Flip
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Childs is the Development Director of the Mary Rose Trust, currently responsible for the design and layout of the new museum which will bring together for the first time the remains of the ship and the vast range of artifacts recovered from the wreck site. He is a long-term student of maritime affairs, has written many articles on the period, and won the Naval History Prize for a study of Drake's circumnavigation.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00TGBP91E
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Seaforth Publishing (April 30, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 30, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 75760 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 628 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 33 ratings

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David Childs

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
33 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

F. A. Sprunk
5.0 out of 5 stars The Warship Mary Rose: The Life & Times of King Henry VIII's Flagship
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2010
Verified Purchase
Author David Childs obviously made good use of his time as development director of the Mary Rose Trust. The salvage and eventual raising of this once-proud vessel in 1982 brought international attention to the true beginnings of the Royal Navy more than five centuries ago. Childs' knowledge and ability to weave this exciting piece of British naval history into a pleasantly digestible form was a surprising treat. For those wishing to delve beyond the traditional history of Lord Nelson and the romanticized stories of Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey, this book is a must. Those real and imagined heroes of the nineteenth century can trace the origins of their stately, sail-borne warships back to the reign of King Henry VII and his famous son, King Henry VIII. To those unfamiliar with the Mary Rose of the 1500s, it is a true story of triumph and tragedy. However, Childs goes beyond simply telling a good story, helping educate a new generation about England and its neighbors in the sixteenth century. This a valuable addition to any naval library as well as a fun read.
4 people found this helpful
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Ron
4.0 out of 5 stars I would recommend this book
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2016
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A very interesting account of the ship and of life aboard. I would recommend this book.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars and the final lifting of her and the amazing artifacts. Absolutely fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2018
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Complete and very detailed history of the ship, from building her, to life on board, and the final lifting of her and the amazing artifacts. Absolutely fascinating.
One person found this helpful
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Donald F.Snellings
5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent book on the history of the ship and its ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2015
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This is an excellent book on the history of the ship and its role in the beginning of the British Royal Navy. I am not and have never been in the service, but I am very interested in military history and history in general.
One person found this helpful
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Chris the Train guy
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book. It tells the whole history of the ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2015
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Good book. It tells the whole history of the ship from when it was built to when it was lost, refound and raised and the efforts to get it into a fine museum.
One person found this helpful
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love to read
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book with pictures of Tudor life and times
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2009
I just found this book. It is full of the history of Henry V111, his huge interest in ships and the English Navy. Everything in the ship which was sunk right in front of Henry V111 was preserved. The pictures of these items, clothing, and naval instruments are fascinating. I wish I had found this book years ago.
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

keith
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, very comprehensive.
Reviewed in Australia on December 2, 2018
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Very well written and well researched book. Highly recommended.
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Ralph Cook
5.0 out of 5 stars A colourful, well written and (especially) well balanced account
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 30, 2011
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This is an excellent book, very nicely produced, though it is not large format and is perhaps a bit expensive at the £25 cover price. There are many illustrations throughout, mixed in with the text, most of them in colour- although generally they are rather small in size. Mr Childs sets out to describe the ship and her construction, though I'd have liked to have seen her statistics given in clear, tabular form.

The Mary Rose is referred to as a carrack, but this is missleading. In his book on the Tudor Navy Mr Childs quotes her keel length as 96ft, but here it is measured at 32 metres- which is close to the 106ft given my Peter Marsden in his book on Mary Rose. The point is important because at 106ft the keel length to beam ratio becomes 2.7:1 and it should have been pointed out that this is the same as the Elizabethan Ark Royal and similar to many other 'race built' galleons of that time. In fact the hull form of Mary Rose is quite unlike the average commercial carrack (ratio usually about 2.2:1), the main thing distinguishing her form from the later galleons being her high castles, especially forward. In reality she was a fine sailing ship and every inch a modern warship of her time.

There is a chapter on armament and this tries to make reasonable sense of the confusing 'mix' of old style breach loaders and modern cast bronze cannon and culverine- a mix that changed constantly over the years. There are also interesting chapters describing and picturing equipment and the life led by the men who manned her: this is not really my own interest, but of course the wreck revealed much we did not previously know- mostly demonstrating how 'ordinary' and identifiable most things were- even down to a backgammon board.

The history of the ship is largely the history of Henry's three wars against France and this is well told. Mr Childs reminds us that Henry was not a very pleasant man and no great warrior: were it not for his fine new navy and those six wives he would have provided only a 'footnote' in history. Mercifully there are only single chapters detailing the loss of the ship and her recovery (starting at page 163): most Mary Rose books lead one to believe nothing else about her mattered other than those events, an impression Mr Childs is very keen to dispel and he does so very well.

If you want a book that gives a balanced account of the 'whole story' then in my opinion this is the best to date, and so worth the five stars: it is also acceptable value at the reduced price on offer from Amazon.
10 people found this helpful
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Colin Carron
4.0 out of 5 stars All most of us ever need to know about Henry VIII's navy,
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2018
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An interesting book but with a somewhat misleading title. This is a fascinating book about the development of English sea power during Henry VIII's reign. But the Mary Rose and the 1545 Battle of the Solent during which it was lost occupy only the last four of the 15 chapters. So if you want detail about the ship and its recovery then something like 'The Mary Rose' by Margaret Rule might be more useful.

Having said that I found the rest of the book interesting, especially the way Tudor warships were constructed and maintained. The detailed description of life in the Tudor navy was also interesting. The book succeeds in putting the Mary Rose into its historical context. But there is a lot of context and not so much about the Mary Rose.

So recommended as a broad view of Henry's navy.
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Roy Bennicke
5.0 out of 5 stars In depth review of the people, politics and culture during the life time of the vessel.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 16, 2018
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A lot of research has been done on maritime, social and economic conditions at the time. Only the last two chapters deal with the sinking, the archeology and the raising of the flag ship "Mary Rose". This is not a criticism of this book, which is written to give an in depth background too the vessel.
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Judy in Whiteley
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and informative
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2019
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Love this book. I am very interested in Portsmouth’s Naval history and this book is really interesting
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