This was my 26th book finished in 2024.

I was a bit disappointed in this book. It was published in 1993 as the first in the series, so it was still finding it's feet. Unfortunately I didn't learn much at all, and it felt more like an activity book than a history book in places.

The chronology was all over the place, but I know that it is in all HH books. This felt more like a book about Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. I know Deary seems to hate "boring dates", but some would have been useful to give context to the period. He even said in the beginning that the beginning and end of the Tudor periods were very different (there's a great drawing to demonstrate this), so I just felt it needed distinguishing more.

There are a couple paragraphs that cover the Stuart period and even modern history; was it necessary?

It spends a bit of time in places talking about tales that are just myths or not true - why bother giving any time to things that are misconceptions? Also, in a couple places, the author says things that are simply false - such as Henry VIII writing "Greensleeves"; this was written in Italy before Henry was born. Stop repeating myths!