Author: Jolien D. E. Creighton

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1473-1530) will always be remembered as the Lord Chancellor who fell from power when he failed to obtain the annulment of King Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon. The eminent British historian, Mandell Creighton, writes that Wolsey was branded by Tudor historians as "the minion of the Pope, and the upholder of a foreign despotism." But the publication in the nineteenth century of the mass of documents relating to the reign of Henry VIII made possible a truer assessment of the visionary schemes of the great cardinal and of his underlying patriotism. In his patient diplomacy and careful construction of alliances, the author concludes that "at a great crisis of European history he impressed England with a sense of her own importance and secured for her a leading position in European affairs." - Summary by Pamela Nagami

"The Princess Elizabeth of England was born at Greenwich, between three and four of the afternoon of September 7, 1533. Her birth was a matter of small rejoicing to her parents, who were sorely disappointed that their first-born was not a boy." So begins this short, but stirring biography by the British historian, Mandell Creighton, of the magnificent last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. We see Elizabeth in constant peril during the turbulent and ineffectual reigns of Edward VI and Mary. At her accession, her country is little better than an appendage of the Spanish state. By the end of her reign, England has become a major power. Creighton writes that, "Elizabeth's imperishable claim to greatness lies in her instinctive sympathy with her people. She felt, rather than understood, the possibilities which lay before England, and she set herself to the task of slowly exhibiting, and impressing them on the national mind." (Pamela Nagami)

Edward the Black Prince (1330-1376) was the eldest son of King Edward III of England. He commanded the vanguard at the Battle of Crécy and, skillfully deploying his troops, defeated a much larger French force at the Battle of Poitiers. In this short biography, Louise Creighton sets Edward's life within the context of his times and portrays both the bright and the dark sides of this paragon of chivalry. (Pamela Nagami)

Sir Walter Ralegh (c. 1552-1618), English soldier, explorer, courtier, writer, and poet was one of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era. Louise Creighton's short biography follows him from the wars in Spain to the jungles of Guiana. Ralegh sparkles in a court riddled with intrigue and constrained by attendance on the brilliant, imperious Elizabeth and on her successor, that rigid mediocrity, James. During his long confinement in the Tower of London, Ralegh conducted chemical experiments and wrote a ''History of the World.'' Everyone knows that things did not end well for Sir Walter, but time has not tarnished the charisma of his life. Creighton writes, ''There was no field of activity then open to men into which he did not enter...In an age remarkable for its varied forms of intellectual vigour, he represents with wonderful many-sidedness the different interests which then absorbed men's minds.'' (Pamela Nagami, M.D.)

Louise Creighton (1850-1936) was a British author and women's rights activist. The wife of the Anglican bishop of London, she was the mother of seven children. In this short book, Creighton gives us chapters on such well-known women as Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale, and Queen Victoria. But we also learn about St. Hilda, the 7th century royal princess who became an influential abbess, the prison reformer, Elizabeth Fry, and Isabella Bird, who thrilled Victorian readers with accounts of her lone travels on horseback to remote and perilous places. - Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722), was the oldest surviving son of Sir Winston Churchill, an impoverished country gentleman. After the restoration of Charles II, John's sister, Arabella, became the mistress of the King's brother, James, Duke of York. The family fortunes were made and Churchill's military career launched. In the winter of 1677-78, Churchill married Sarah Jennings, the intimate friend of the future Queen Anne. Ruthlessly changing sides during the Glorious Revolution, he deserted his patron James and joined the army of William of Orange. Marlborough's brilliant generalship in the War of the Spanish Succession destroyed the myth of French military invincibility and won him the adoration of the British people. But Marlborough fell from power when his wife's relationship with Queen Anne ended rancorously and when the peace-loving Tories ousted his wartime supporters, the Whigs. - Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.

This short history by the eminent British historian, Mandell Creighton, places Elizabeth and her reign within the context of 16th century European political, religious, and military events. Elizabeth overcomes her two great rivals, King Philip of Spain and Mary, Queen of Scots. England gradually unites behind her Queen, who survives multiple assassination plots. After the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the English, lightly taxed by their frugal sovereign, launch flourishing commerce enterprises. The author writes of the Protestant Reformation that "a change of belief meant a revolt from authority." In this age of individualism, personal daring, and a consciousness of national greatness, the golden age of Elizabethan literature breaks new ground in historiography, literary theory, poetry, and above all, drama. (Pamela Nagami, M.D.)

From the "Twelve English Statesmen," series of books. A brief history of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey who helped shape England's foreign policy through the early part of Henry VIII's reign, and beyond, along with his subsequent fall from grace when he failed to procure the King's divorce. - Summary by cavaet

Volume I of the "History of the Papacy" by the Anglican Lord Bishop of London, Mandell Creighton, deals with the popes, princes, and scholars who dominated the period of the Great Schism. Creighton describes the tumultuous reign of Pope Urban VI, the agitations of the two anti-popes, the efforts to resolve the crisis by the University of Paris, by the mad king of France, and by Wenzel, the alcohol-fuddled Holy Roman Emperor. Eventually, Sigismund deposed his brother, Wenzel, and convened the Council of Constance to resolve the Schism. The author writes that faced with deposition, Pope John XIII, fled the Council, "disguised as a groom, mounted on a sorry nag, covered by a grey cloak...a hat slouched over his face." This first volume concludes with the capture of the fugitive pope and his deposition by the Council of Constance. (Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.)

Mandell Creighton's history of the Papacy continues in Volume II with the condemnation in 1415 of Jan Hus by the Council of Constance and his death at the stake. His execution ignites civil war in Bohemia. Gregory XII abdicates as pope and the Council elects Oddone Colonna, Pope Martin V. The second Antipope John XXIII is eventually forced to resign, but the wily and stubborn Antipope, Benedict XIII, refuses to abdicate and flees to his native Spain, where he dies in 1423. The scene shifts to Basil, where a second Council has been convened to quell heresy in Bohemia and to reform the Church. Pope Eugenius IV, contesting its authority, undermines all its work. The volume closes with the Council of Florence, headed by the Pope, and attended by the Greek emperor and his chief prelates. Eugenius craves the glory of uniting, under the Pope, the Eastern and Western churches, but the Emperor just wants military aid to save Constantinople from the Turks.<br>(Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.)

Volume III of this History of the Papacy opens with the Council of Basel in revolt against Pope Eugenius IV, who doggedly defends papal autonomy against the movement for church reform. Dominating this volume is Aeneus Sylvius Piccolomini, Pope Pius II. A world famous author, diplomat, and Renaissance humanist, he dies in Ancona, at the head of a failed crusade. Creighton writes of him, "Weakness and strength are strangely blended; vanity and littleness mix with high purpose and far-reaching plans; but before the eyes of Pius II there floated fitfully a loftier ideal of Christendom than was visible to any of his contemporaries, and juster views than he was enabled to express in action." Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.

"So many books are written for beginners on the appreciation of music that I can be thankful that advancing age makes it unnecessary for me to read them, and when I do have to look into any of them I wonder whether the young people of to-day derive as much pleasure from them as I did at eighteen from reading Sir John Hawkins’ History of Music. But I have read this book of Mrs. Creighton’s with much enjoyment, for she is a musician who enjoys music herself and has the art of conveying that enjoyment to others. She has had enough experience as a teacher of the pianoforte to understand the minds of youthful readers, but she has the good fortune to have had no experience of lecturing to appreciation classes. This gives her book a fresh and unconventional point of view. She does not trouble her readers with a mass of historical detail, but talks about the music which she has herself heard and enjoyed. She spares us the well-worn (and in most cases unauthenticated) anecdotes about the great composers ; she prefers to tell us things which help us to realize the social environment in which they lived and made their music. It is a book for those who enjoy music and like to read about it for their own pleasure rather than from fear of examinations ; and one advantage of its discursiveness is that it can be enjoyed by those who like to read comfortably, dipping here and there at haphazard." (from Preface, by Edward J. Dent)

Volume Four of Creighton's "History of the Papacy" opens with the election of Pope Paul II, whom the author describes as "a man of handsome appearance, naturally suave and courteous, with all a Venetian's love of splendour." Paul II proved reticent and reclusive and failed to pacify turbulent Bohemia. He was succeeded by Francesco della Rovere, Pope Sixtus IV, with whose election "began a system of personal intrigue which rapidly grew into a serious scandal...and elevated nepotism into a political principle." His nephew, Cardinal Pietro Riario lived a life of dissolute luxury and died young. Sixtus IV condoned the Pazzi Conspiracy in which Guiliano de' Medici was murdered. During the pontificate of his successor, Innocent VIII, Lorenzo the Magnificent emerged as the preeminent Italian statesman of the Age. Volume Four concludes with the pontificate of Alexander VI, father of Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, who sealed the fate of the fiery reformer Girolamo Savonarola by excommunicating him. - Summary by Pamela Nagami

To follow - Summary by Pamela Nagami