{"product_id":"fool-in-search-of-henry-viiis-closest-man-paperback","title":"Fool: In Search of Henry VIII's Closest Man - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePeter K. Andersson\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first biography of Henry VIII's court fool William Somer, a legendary entertainer and one of the most intriguing figures of the Tudor age\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn some portraits of Henry VIII there appears another, striking figure--a gaunt and morose-looking man with a shaved head and, in one case, a monkey on his shoulder. This is William or \"Will\" Somer, the king's fool, a celebrated wit who reportedly could raise Henry's spirits and spent many hours with him, often alone. Was Somer an \"artificial fool,\" a cunning comic who could speak freely in front of the king, or a \"natural fool,\" someone with intellectual disabilities, like many other members of the profession? And what role did he play in the tumultuous and violent Tudor era? \u003ci\u003eFool \u003c\/i\u003eis the first biography of Somer--and perhaps the first of a Renaissance fool. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter his death, Somer disappeared behind his legend, and historians struggled to separate myth from reality. Unearthing as many facts as possible, Peter K. Andersson pieces together the fullest picture yet of an enigmatic and unusual man with a very strange job. Somer's story provides new insights into how fools lived and what exactly they did for a living, how monarchs and courtiers related to commoners and people with disabilities, and whether aspects of the Renaissance fool live on in the modern comedian. But most of all, we learn how a commoner without property or education managed to become the court's chief mascot and a continuous presence at the center of Tudor power from the 1530s to the reign of Elizabeth I. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLooking beyond stereotypes of the man in motley, \u003ci\u003eFool\u003c\/i\u003e reveals a little-known world, surprising and disturbing, when comedy was something crueler and more unpleasant than we like to think.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePeter K. Andersson\u003c\/b\u003e is a historian and the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Dandy: A People's History of Sartorial Splendour\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eStreetlife in Late Victorian London\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSilent History\u003c\/i\u003e. He has been a visiting scholar at the universities of Oxford and London, and his writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHistory Today\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 224\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.56 x 8 x 5.25 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 23, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47359200592057,"sku":"9780691250649","price":29.31,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0686\/4309\/4713\/files\/s2eGTgLgXB9780691250649.webp?v=1780577616","url":"https:\/\/thoobo.com\/products\/fool-in-search-of-henry-viiis-closest-man-paperback","provider":"Thoobo","version":"1.0","type":"link"}