The cover of this book displays overlaying portraits of young Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward Tudor. Their father, Henry VIII, looms larger than the rest in the center. The title of the book, The Children of Henry VIII, reiterates the image of Henry's influence because he is the only one mentioned by name. Guy loosely carries this theme throughout the text: Henry dominated the early lives of his children, and his will and memory were a constant presence that shaped their adult lives.

The first five chapters are dedicated to Henry's life, and chapter 6 is aptly titled “Ruling from the Grave.” Only seventy pages are devoted to discussing the lives and reigns of Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth after their father's death. (The book ends with Elizabeth's succession.) This structure perpetuates the imbalanced popular narrative where Henry VII was the prologue; Henry VIII dominated everything in life and death; Edward VI's sole significance was that he was a boy; poor health, a cold marriage bed, and sibling rivalry plagued Mary I's violent and brief reign; and Elizabeth I skillfully survived until she could lead the nation into “uncharted waters.” Guy is also interested in the reproductive issues that plagued the Tudors, and he dedicates detailed discussion to retroactively diagnose Henry as Kell-positive, rendering him genetically incompatible with most Caucasian women. This reproductive crisis is presented as one of the most important factors in shaping sixteenth-century England. Guy argues that “[t]he tragedy of Henry VIII's children is that, for all their father's valiant attempts to produce legitimate heirs who would perpetuate his dynasty, not one of them managed to have even a single child themselves” (194). This counterfactual statement defines the Tudor dynasty by the children who were never born, rather than the people who did live, painting the later Tudor monarchs as passive historical figures. Calling Henry's attempts “valiant” keeps him firmly rooted as the only active hero in this story.

The strength of this book is the articulation and exploration of the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth, particularly after Mary takes the throne. Guy explores the inconsistent relationship between Elizabeth and Mary, while managing to keep Henry's looming legacy at bay. Throughout their lives, Mary was fickle in her treatment of Elizabeth, which intensified after Mary took the throne. Plot after plot demanded she question Elizabeth's loyalty. Elizabeth appeared coy but subservient, biding her time until she could rule. Guy also establishes a fondness between Edward and Elizabeth, explaining that “[o]f the three siblings, it was always Edward and Elizabeth who felt the strongest ties for one another” (134). And, although missing from the cover, Guy includes considerable discussion of Henry Fitzroy, attempting to place him in the broader birth/heir order. Unfortunately, it is easy to speculate that the lack of sources limits his ability to delve deeper in developing nuances of their kinship.

Guy attempts to set this book apart from all the other popular Tudor narratives in bookstores by comparing the upbringing, educations, and relationships among Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward. This is done by drawing on the limited correspondence between the Tudor siblings, letters from their tutors, their schooling exercises, and letters to their father. The problem with this approach, however, is the lack of sources and substantive analysis. Rather than critically analyzing the sources to offer deeper insights into this complex family, the book presents an esoteric and spasmodic description of arbitrary details about the children's royal households, their education, and their peers. The real struggle in the work is Guy's own desire to shed light on the personal relationships among the Tudor siblings and to place those relationships against the backdrop of Henry's legacy. It is plausible that geographical and emotional distance between Henry and his children meant that there simply are not many personal intimacies to explore. It is not possible to write a compelling story about complex sibling relationships and their feelings about their father when the main characters spent very little time with each other and the sources do not indicate they shared intimate relationships. The research that is presented is solid, and Guy captures the correspondence among the Tudor siblings masterfully; but there simply isn't much to work with.

The complete absence of analysis, scholarly debate, and a bibliography make it clear that Guy did not write this book for an academic audience. Guy does not retell the popular Tudor narrative either, assuming that the reader is familiar with the religious and political backstory of the Tudor state, the Reformation in England, the Reformation on the Continent, and relationships among the English, French, and the Spanish in the sixteenth century. This puts the book out of reach as an introduction to the Tudors for an American undergraduate student. He offers up only minute details in contemporary sources. While these details are interesting, they lack historical context and analysis, rendering them trivial. That makes the target audience for this book a Tudor history buff or someone who is well versed in the popular narrative and is looking for more granular details from manuscript sources to enhance the images he or she already has of Henry VIII and his children.