England’s Tudor Dynasty (1485-1603) encompassed the reign of five monarchs. But just three of them ruled for a combined total of more than a century: Henry VII (reigned 1485-1509), Henry VIII (1509-47), and Elizabeth I (1558–1603) They ushered in unprecedented change in England’s fortunes, crafting a strong central government, extending the country’s footprint worldwide as a major power, and launching the English Renaissance. And the very best way I’ve found to understand these remarkable people is to read novels set during that period. Read on, for my choice of the best novels about the Tudors.
Few periods in English history can match the eventfulness of the Tudor Age. Henry VII brought the Wars of the Roses to an end. His son broke with Rome, establishing the Church of England. Sir Francis Walsingham and William Cecil brought codebreaking and espionage into the modern era during Elizabeth’s time on the throne. Then, too, England’s fledgling Royal Navy (and the weather) trounced the Spanish Armada. And Shakespeare, Marlowe, and others broke new ground in drama and poetry.
All this and much more comes to light in the plethora of history books written about the period. But novels more often offer a visceral experience of what life was like then: its sights, sounds, and smells. I’ve read a great many such novels. Here I’m listing those I rate as the best of the lot.
The very best novels about the Tudors
Hands down, the most outstanding novels I’ve read about the Tudors are those of Hilary Mantel, Ken Follett, and the late C. J. Sansom. In fact, I consider the seven books of Sansom’s Matthew Shardlake series to be the very best historical mystery series I’ve encountered in decades of reading books in the genre. You can read capsule descriptions, with links to the full reviews of the series, at The #1 top historical mystery series.
In the Shardlake novels, Sansom introduces us to a brilliant and incorruptible hunchbacked lawyer and the succession of able assistants who accompanied him. He seeks nothing more than to ply his trade in the London law courts defending those who would otherwise be at the mercy of their landlords or others of higher status. But there’s no comfortable life in store for Matthew Shardlake. The monarchy intervenes again and again. First Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s extraordinary aide, then others, draw him into perilous cases that endanger his life and the lives of others. The seven books trace Shardlake’s career from 1536 to 1548, encompassing the final decade of Henry VIII’s life and the first hints of Princess Elizabeth’s future greatness as she, in turn, presses him into service.
Following are the two other books I rate as highly as Sansom’s series.
Wolf Hall (Wolf Hall Trilogy #1) by Hillary Mantel (2010) 604 pages ★★★★★—Hillary Mantel won the Booker Prize for this sprawling historical novel
Five hundred years ago England was taking its first, tentative steps into modernity. At a time of religious and political conflict, the middle class was growing, literacy spreading, and the country’s government was staggering toward parliamentary democracy as the king came to depend more and more on tax revenues that only Parliament could levy. In this turbulent setting, a blacksmith’s son and former soldier of fortune named Thomas Cromwell steadily made his way past the cul-de-sacs of power in the royal court to become the most powerful lord in the realm. With a brilliant and cunning mind, a prodigious memory, and great charm, he rose to become the king’s chief adviser and set the country’s course on a firm new footing independent from Rome. In Wolf Hall, the first book of a trilogy, Booker Prize-winner Hillary Mantel begins his remarkable story. It’s better than any history of the period.
A Column of Fire (Kingsbridge #4) by Ken Follett (2017) 923 pages ★★★★★—Ken Follett’s 16th-century Kingsbridge saga: Christians killing Christians
A Column of Fire is the fourth volume in Ken Follett’s sprawling series of historical novels illuminating the history of England. After a prequel belatedly published in 2020, the series begins with The Pillars of the Earth, published in 1989. It relates the story of the magnificent Kingsbridge Cathedral and the talented men who began its construction in the twelfth century. That first novel was followed in 2007 by World Without End, which picks up the Kingsbridge saga two centuries later, in the years just before, during, and after the Black Death. A Column of Fire continues the story through the sixteenth century, spanning the years 1558 to 1606, when Queen Elizabeth I ruled England.
The other best novels about the Tudors
To Shield the Queen (Ursula Blanchard #1) by Fiona Buckley (1997) 288 pages ★★★★☆—A worthy murder mystery set in the court of Queen Elizabeth I
Murder by Misrule (Francis Bacon #1) by Anna Castle (2014) 350 pages ★★★★☆—A lawyer is murdered in the Elizabethan Age
Death by Disputation (Francis Bacon #2) by Anna Castle (2014) 360 pages ★★★★★—Religious conflict in Elizabethan England fuels this gripping spy story
The Eyes of the Queen (Agents of the Crown #1) by Oliver Clements (2020) 303 pages ★★★½—They’re trying to assassinate the queen!
Murder in the Queen’s Wardrobe (Mistress Jaffrey #1) by Kathy Lynn Emerson (2015) 271 pages ★★★★☆—Intrigue and murder in Elizabeth’s court
The Other Boleyn Girl (Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #9) by Philippa Gregory (2001) 664 pages ★★★★☆—She might have married Henry VIII. Her sister did.
The Pretender by Jo Harkin (2025) 471 pages ★★★★☆—A royal scam in 15th century England
Heresy (Giordano Bruno #1) by S. J. Parris (2010) 448 pages ★★★★☆—An historical spy thriller in the Elizabethan Age
The Cardinal by Alison Weir (2025) 442 pages ★★★★☆—The powerful priest at the right hand of King Henry VIII
A Murder by Any Name (Elizabethan Spy Mystery #1) by Suzanne M. Wolfe (2018) 332 pages ★★★★☆—A lady-in-waiting’s murder threatens Queen Elizabeth I
For related reading
For a compelling look at Elizabeth’s reign from an unfamiliar perspective, see Bess of Hardwick: Empire Builder by Mary S. Lovell (2005) 576 pages ★★★★★ (She was the most powerful woman after the Queen).
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