Hi, Im just want your opinions on some books I'm thinking of buying, two of them are by AW I've never read any of her books before but they are. Henry VIII-King and court. The last days of Henry VIII. And the lady in the tower.
Would readers be correct to assume that "AW" refers to Alison Weir? If so, I will say that Weir's writing style is certainly entertaining, but she has no formal training in research methodologies or historiography (i.e., she does not have a university degree in History). I always refer to her as a "writer of popular histories but not a historian." But that is just this trained historian's opinion. Still, I know many academic historians who have expressed to me a similarly less-than-favorable opinion of Weir's efforts. Her books are acceptable if you want only to be entertained with a "based on real events" kind of story. But if you want actually to learn about history, you should look elsewhere, in my opinion. Nonetheless, she has legions of avid fans.
Would readers be correct to assume that "AW" refers to Alison Weir? If so, I will say that Weir's writing style is certainly entertaining, but she has no formal training in research methodologies or historiography (i.e., she does not have a university degree in History). I always refer to her as a "writer of popular histories but not a historian." But that is just this trained historian's opinion. Still, I know many academic historians who have expressed to me a similarly less-than-favorable opinion of Weir's efforts. Her books are acceptable if you want only to be entertained with a "based on real events" kind of story. But if you want actually to learn about history, you should look elsewhere, in my opinion. Nonetheless, she has legions of avid fans.
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