John Guy’s Followers (256)

John Guy

Born

in Warragul, Victoria, Australia

January 16, 1949

Website

http://www.johnguy.co.uk/

Genre

History, Biography

Influences

Geoffrey Rudolph Elton ...more

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John Guy is recognised as one of Britain's most exciting and scholarly historians, bringing the past to life with the written word and on the broadcast media with accomplished ease. He's a very modern face of history.

His ability for first class story-telling and books that read as thrillingly as a detective story makes John Guy a Chandleresque writer of the history world. Guy hunts down facts with forensic skill, he doesn't just recite historical moments as they stand; he brings names and faces to life in all their human achievements and weaknesses. He looks for the killer clues so we can see how history unfolded. Like a detective on the trail of a crime, he teases out what makes his subjects tick. With his intimate knowledge of the archive John Guy is recognised as one of Britain's most exciting and scholarly historians, bringing the past to life with the written word and on the broadcast media with accomplished ease. He's a very modern face of history.

His ability for first class story-telling and books that read as thrillingly as a detective story makes John Guy a Chandleresque writer of the history world. Guy hunts down facts with forensic skill, he doesn't just recite historical moments as they stand; he brings names and faces to life in all their human achievements and weaknesses. He looks for the killer clues so we can see how history unfolded. Like a detective on the trail of a crime, he teases out what makes his subjects tick. With his intimate knowledge of the archives, his speciality is uncovering completely fresh lines of enquiry. He's never content to repeat what we already know but rather, he goes that extra step to solve history's riddles. He takes you on a journey to the heart of the matter. Forget notions of musty academics, when Guy takes hold of history the case he states is always utterly compelling. Whether it's Thomas More or Mary Queen of Scots, Guy makes these people so real you suddenly realize you are hearing them speak to you. You enter into their world. You feel you can almost reach out and touch them.

Born in Australia in 1949, John Guy grew up in England and by the age of 16 he knew he wanted to be a historian. In 2001 he made an accomplished debut as a presenter for the television programme Timewatch, on the life of Thomas More. Today he's turning history books on their head as he wins universal praise and the 2004 Whitbread Prize for biography for his thrilling account of the life of Mary Queen of Scots.

As well as presenting five documentaries for BBC 2 television, including the Timewatch film The King's Servant and the four-part Renaissance Secrets (Series 2), he has contributed to Meet the Ancestors (BBC 2), and to Channel 4's Time Team and Royal Deaths and Diseases. Wolsey's Lost Palace of Hampton Court was a short-listed finalist for the 2002 Channel 4 television awards.

John Guy also appears regularly on BBC Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4, BBC World Service and BBC Scotland. In print he currently writes or reviews for The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Economist, the Times Literary Supplement, BBC History Magazine and History Today.

His broadcast and journalism experience builds upon his impeccable CV as an academic and author.

Having read History under the supervision of Professor Sir Geoffrey Elton, the pre-eminent Tudor scholar of the late-twentieth century, John Guy took a First and became a Research Fellow of Selwyn College in 1970. Awarded a Greene Cup by Clare College in 1970, he completed his PhD on Cardinal Wolsey in 1973 and won the Yorke Prize of the University of Cambridge in 1976.

John Guy has lectured extensively on Early Modern British History and Renaissance Political Thought in both Britain and the United States. He has published 16 books and numerous academic articles.

John Guy lives in North London. He is a Fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge, where he teaches part-time so he can devote more time to his writing and broadcasting career. ...more

Combine Editions
John Guy’s books

Average rating: 3.93 · 11,871 ratings · 1,378 reviews · 164 distinct works • Similar authors

	Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart 3.94 avg rating — 5,465 ratings — published 2004 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and the Marriage That Shook Europe by John Guy, Julia Fox 4.12 avg rating — 1,878 ratings — published 2023 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel 3.98 avg rating — 848 ratings — published 2012 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Daughter's Love: Thomas More and His Dearest Meg 3.93 avg rating — 803 ratings — published 2008 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years 3.86 avg rating — 756 ratings — published 2016 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Children of Henry VIII 3.81 avg rating — 534 ratings — published 2013 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Tudors: A Very Short Introduction 3.54 avg rating — 393 ratings — published 2000 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tudor England 3.66 avg rating — 366 ratings — published 1988 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Henry VIII: The Quest For Fame 3.79 avg rating — 348 ratings — published 2014 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thomas More (Reputations Series) 4.07 avg rating — 60 ratings — published 2000 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by John Guy…

Quotes by John Guy (?)

“As the common people say, Only harlots marry in May.”
― John Guy, Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart

2 likes

“Huntly was also taken, but died of a stroke while still mounted on his horse. His corpse was embalmed and sent to Edinburgh, where it was kept until the following May, when it was put on trial in Parliament. As the clerk’s report put it, “The coffin was set upright, as if the earl stood on his feet.” He was then found guilty of treason, and the family estates were declared forfeit.”
― John Guy, Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart

1 likes

“Learning that flowered in days of yore In these our times is thought a bore. Once knowledge was a well to drink of; Now having fun is all men think of.”
― John Guy, Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel

1 likes

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Polls

What book about the Tudors would you like to have as our Group Read for November?

The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir

15 votes, 24.6%

Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle

11 votes, 18.0%

Plantagenet Princess, Tudor Queen: The Story of Elizabeth of York by Samantha Wilcoxson

7 votes, 11.5%

Dark Fire by C.J. Sansom

7 votes, 11.5%

The Children of Henry VIII by John Guy

6 votes, 9.8%

Secrets of the Tudor Court by D.L. Bogdan

4 votes, 6.6%

A Dead Man in Deptford by Anthony Burgess

4 votes, 6.6%

The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr by Sandra Byrd

3 votes, 4.9%

The Jesuit Letter by Dean Hamilton

2 votes, 3.3%

With the Heart of a King: Elizabeth I of England, Philip II of Spain, and the Fight for a Nation's Soul and Crown by Benton Rain Patterson

2 votes, 3.3%

In a Treacherous Court by Michelle Diener

0 votes, 0.0%

61 total votes

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John Guy’s Followers (256)

John Guy

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John Guy’s books