Book description
'An eye-opening book, an intricate and fascinating story' Hilary Mantel
1527. Henry, desperate to marry Anne Boleyn and ensure the Tudor
line asks Pope Clement VII to grant him a divorce. Enter Gregorio
Casali, an Italian diplomat hired to represent Henry's interests in
the Vatican. Through six years of persuasion, threats and bribery
Casali lives by his wits, playing off one powerful patron against
another, negotiating with ambassadors from Spain, France and beyond,
each crowding the Vatican to press their interests in the Tudor break
up. Before it is done, Henry will decide to divorce not just
Catherine, but the Church itself. Set against the backdrop of war-torn
Renaissance Italy, The Divorce of Henry VIII combines a
gripping family saga with a highly charged political battle between
the Tudors and the Vatican to reveal the extraordinary true story
behind history's most infamous divorce.
(Originally published with the title Our Man in Rome)
Catherine Fletcher was born in Birkenhead and spent her teenage years
in Scotland. She graduated with a First in Politics and Communication
Studies from the University of Liverpool in 1996. After a stint in
student politics she worked for the BBC Political Unit and BBC
Parliament as a researcher and TV producer. A holiday in Florence
sparked an interest in Renaissance history and in 2004 she changed
career and went back to university to study for a PhD in History at
Royal Holloway, University of London. She subsequently held research
fellowships at the British School at Rome and the European University
Institute in Florence and is now a Lecturer in Early Modern History at
Durham University.
Our Man in Rome
is her first book.
