Fool - by Peter K Andersson Hardcover

About the Book

"The history of the English throne in the age of the Tudors is rife with intrigue, persecution, war, and paranoia. From the domineering shadow of Henry VIII to the successful reign of Elizabeth I, via the boy king Edward VI and Mary Tudor's brief and bloody rule, the political turmoil of the sixteenth century remains a continuous obsession and point of reference in British history. But in the midst of religious and political power struggles, there was one man, completely detached from all of this, with whom King Henry spent perhaps more time than any other; a man whose presence at the absolute centre of the corridors of power during the Tudor era today seems like a flagrant anomaly; a man who had constant access to the king's most private quarters and who very possibly was alone with him on a daily basis, but whose importance has been sidestepped in favour of politicians, bishops, philosophers, councillors, courtiers, lords, ladies and other royalty. His name was William Somer and he was Henry VIII's fool. Of all the cultural expressions of the early modern age, the enduring office of the court fool remains one of the most elusive. The strange placement of a commoner, perhaps with some form of disability, in the midst of power and political intrigue seems from the modern perspective both grotesque and contradictory. Modern readers, at least in the anglophone world, first learn about the court fool as a literary device, and often in Shakespeare, though scattered throughout history books are anecdotes and myths about fools, and in court records and archives can be found records of payment to fools. This book is an exploration of what is known about Somer, who became Henry VIII's court fool in the 1530s and remained in office until the ascension of Elizabeth I. A biographical profile of Somer emerges in letters, portraits, account books, advice literature, contemporary fiction, and memoirs, and through Somer we learn how Henry and other monarchs more generally related to commoners, how noblemen and courtiers viewed disabled or non-elite individuals, and how early modern humour was shaped by the enduring image of the court fool, a figure who in many ways constitutes the precursor of the modern comedian"--

Book Synopsis

The first biography of Henry VIII's court fool William Somer, a legendary entertainer and one of the most intriguing figures of the Tudor age

In 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? Fool is the first biography of Somer--and perhaps the first of a Renaissance fool.

After 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.

Looking beyond stereotypes of the man in motley, Fool reveals a little-known world, surprising and disturbing, when comedy was something crueler and more unpleasant than we like to think.

Review Quotes

"A pleasure to read."---Lois Potter, Cahiers Élisabéthains

"Momentous. . . . an undeniably important new contribution for the slowly growing discipline of fool history."---Jessica Secmezsoy-Urquhart, Sixteenth-Century Journal

"Not only does Andersson's lively prose and scrupulous research make Fool a fascinating read, but this method of biographical reconstruction might also serve as a model for premodern studies."---Mathew Weitman, Notes and Queries

"A short and delightful account of William Somer, fool to Henry VIII and one of the best-known individuals in Tudor England. . . . Andersson accepts that his book is 'not a conventional biography.' But he revels in the opportunities that this admission permits. . . . [Fool] offers the prehistory of comedy as the history of disability. Andersson packs a lot of thinking in a short but compelling read. Here's one fool that we really must take seriously."---Crawford Gibbon, New Criterion

"A fascinating look at Will Somer, Henry VIII's court fool. . . .A book that makes a great case for looking at history through those who are often disregarded."---Nandini Das, History Today

"A History Today Book of the Year"

"Even by the end of this biography, you will wonder how much you know about Will Somer, and that is all to the good. . . . [Andersson] provides a therapeutic rebuke to much of the nonsense written about Somer."---Carl Rollyson, New York Sun

"Thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening."---Dominic Green, Wall Street Journal

"Andersson has given us a vivid, tantalising portrait of [Will Somer] and a nuanced exploration of how he and those around him negotiated one another. . . .Will Somer's ghost has life in it yet."---Matthew Lyons, History Today

"Andersson profiles in this diligent study 16th-century court jester William Somer, Henry VIII's favored 'fool.' . . . The result is an illuminating look into Somer's role as a source of broad humor and stress relief in a tumultuous court ruled by a mercurial king."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"Anyone who wants to know about this oddly central figure in Tudor life will find Andersson's book worthwhile."---Alec Ryrie, The Conversation

"A fascinating window onto Tudor life at its best, worst and most complicated."---Noel Malcolm, Daily Telegraph

"[An] excellent new study."---Andrew Hadfield, Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Peter K. Andersson is a historian and the author of The Dandy: A People's History of Sartorial Splendour, Streetlife in Late Victorian London, and Silent History. He has been a visiting scholar at the universities of Oxford and London, and his writing has appeared in The Times Literary Supplement and History Today.