Fool
In Search of Henry VIII's Closest Man
Published on 23. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-0-691-25064-9 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
"A History Today Book of the Year" "[An] excellent new study."---Andrew Hadfield, Times Literary Supplement "A fascinating window onto Tudor life at its best, worst and most complicated."---Noel Malcolm, Daily Telegraph "Thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening."---Dominic Green, Wall Street Journal "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 * "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 "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 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 "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 "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 "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 pleasure to read."---Lois Potter, Cahiers ElisabethainsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
10 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 133 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
202 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-25064-9 (9780691250649)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2023
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€19.49
Available for download
Person
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.