[Cavendish, George / Grove, Joseph]. The History of the Life and Times of Cardinal Wolsey, Prime Minister to King Henry VIII. Volume 1. Adorn’d with Cuts, and a complete Index. London, Printed by J. Purser, for the Author… 1742. 19.5 x 12 cm. Engraved frontispiece, title page, (4) [Dedication], ix [Preface], 402 pages, (46) [Index]. Complete with 9 Plates, as listed. Rebacked in 2023 with a new cloth spine and end papers. Original contemporary boards. Red spine label with gilt title. Very good condition. Rebacked. Boards rubbed and bumped with minor material losses to corners (see images). Top of title page and first page of Dedication cut off, not affecting text. Lower corner of page vii/viii of Preface missing. Internally age darkened and mildly foxed in places.

Thomas Wolsey (1473 – 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king’s almoner. Wolsey’s affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure in virtually all matters of state. He also held important ecclesiastical appointments. These included the Archbishop of York-the second most important role in the English church-and that of papal legate. His appointment as a cardinal by Pope Leo X in 1515 gave him precedence over all other English clergy.
The highest political position Wolsey attained was Lord Chancellor, the king’s chief adviser (formally, as his successor and disciple Thomas Cromwell was not). In that position, he enjoyed great freedom and was often depicted as the alter rex (″other king”). After failing to negotiate an annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Wolsey fell out of favour and was stripped of his government titles. He retreated to York to fulfil his ecclesiastical duties as archbishop, a position he nominally held but had neglected during his years in government. He was recalled to London to answer to charges of treason-charges Henry commonly used against ministers who fell out of his favour-but died from natural causes on the way.

• Keywords: Biography & Literary Criticism · Classical & Old Literature · Great Britain · History · History & Culture · Politics · Reference · Religion
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 104065AB

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