NetGalley ARC | Crime and Punishment in Tudor England

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐

This text presents, as the title indicates, crime and punishment in Tudor England. Though I would consider myself fairly knowledgable in that area, I can never pass up books likes this because I am always hoping to learn more about a period in history that continues to capture my attention.

The Tudor century+18 saw massive social upheaval that impacted every single person in the country - and beyond. From Henry VII to his granddaughter Elizabeth I, the time period is flush with world-changing events. Crime and punishment, however, remained straight up medieval.

We see it all here - treason, suspected treason, no-treason-but-I'm-paranoid, and so much more. There are cases of blackmail, failed insurrections, conmen, kidnappings, and beyond. Plus all the details of the hangings, burning-at-the-stakes, and beheadings.

I simply could not with the author's voice and tone throughout the book. Incredibly flippant at times and attempts at humor that were not actually funny. I have a difficult time with non-fiction books where the author is sarcastic or casual about the topic. In memoirs and autibiographies, that's one thing. But in books like this, where the author should simply present the facts and not add their own snarky commentary? No thanks. She also kept referring to herself as "this author". It was annoying.

The structure of the text was also frustrating. The crimes were listed in alphabetical order, so there was no real structure to speak of. As a result, there is not any real analysis to be found, or themes to explore. The oversimplification of the topic does not allow for it.

There are some interesting stories here but as a whole, I would not recommend.