#or they would be normal if Penn didn't choose the most critical (and mocking tbh) perspective for every single thing

[wonder-worker]

Thomas Penn writes about 500 year old dead historical figures like they're celebrities in a gossip column

#it's funny to an extent but after a point it gets very grating #he has a wealth of information but he's far too sensationalistic and florid #and tends to choose the most unsympathetic and/or colorful interpretation of every situation and historical figure #he also has a habit of ... narrativizing history which doesn't really work for me #also his fatphobia re Edward IV was absolutely revolting #I was planning on ordering the Winter King but after looking at the synopsis and first 2 chapters that were available online - no thanks #I'm definitely not interested in reading about Henry VII supposedly being 'sinister' and 'Machiavellian' because he...ruled successfully? #because he did what kings (unfortunately) did all the time? How was he any different from the others? #also imagine calling *Henry VII* ruthless & unscrupulous when his predecessor murdered his own kid-nephews and his successor was Henry VIII #like please be serious #I had the same issue with the way he described Edward IV's reign. His descriptions were so theatrical and emphatic but #at the end of the day the things he was describing were very normal lol #or they would be normal if Penn didn't choose the most critical (and mocking tbh) perspective for every single thing #the way he described Henry VI's reign was also annoying but it thankfully had far less pagetime and was not the focus of his work #so it was comparatively more tolerable #i'm glad that he acknowledged the propaganda against Margaret tho. I didn't like how he described her but at the very least he acknowledged #that she was being slandered #also calling Warwick 'the regime's biggest headache' lmfao #and ig some of his analyses on Richard III were interesting. It helps that R3 had a very short and very dramatic reign from start to finish #so Penn's flourishing tone doesn't really feel out of place for it