Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent, and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe

Norwich (Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History), a British popular historian descended from royalty, regales readers with tales of the exploits, speculations on the psyches, and anecdotes from the eventful lives of the title’s four rulers. The quartet of the title, who were born within a decade of one another and ruled contemporaneously during the first half of the 16th century, were larger-than-life leaders who collectively created the political geography of their era. Each leader came to see his crown as a crushing burden and agonized over his succession; Henry VIII famously changed the course of history in his quest for an heir, but even Holy Roman Emperor Charles V for decades longed for the freedom to abdicate, and would have, except that “Charles’s only legitimate son had been something of a disappointment.” The tales are frequently punctuated by what today might be called the rulers’ failures of cultural sensitivity, and though entertaining, the book has a disconcertingly indifferent attitude toward accuracy. Those able to overlook faults in terminology and interpretation will be rewarded with tales of the rivalries and tortured friendships of the four rulers. Agent: Felicity Bryan, Felicity Bryan Associates (U.K.). (Apr.)