---
product_id: 7524417
title: "Imprudent King: A New Life of Philip II Hardcover – November 11, 2014"
brand: "geoffrey parker"
price: "€ 69.38"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.ie/products/7524417-imprudent-king-a-new-life-of-philip-ii-hardcover-november
store_origin: IE
region: Ireland
---

# Imprudent King: A New Life of Philip II Hardcover – November 11, 2014

**Brand:** geoffrey parker
**Price:** € 69.38
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Imprudent King: A New Life of Philip II Hardcover – November 11, 2014 by geoffrey parker
- **How much does it cost?** € 69.38 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ie](https://www.desertcart.ie/products/7524417-imprudent-king-a-new-life-of-philip-ii-hardcover-november)

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Whew! What a Long Read!
  

*by P***L on Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2023*

I confess that I wanted to read more about the life of Philip II.  But, I was more interested in his personal life--which was touched on very little.  The book goes very deeply into his political life, emphasizing his reasons for doing everything, and I mean everything!  It covers his correspondence, wars--you name it.  I finished it, but it was a slog.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Scribble, scribble, scribble...eh Mr Gibbon?
  

*by L***N on Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2015*

The famous dismissal of an author’s voluminous effort about  the Roman empire could easily apply not to Geoffrey Parker, but his subject—Phillip II, King of Spain.  A monarch who was prone to scribble, scribble, scribble. Imprudent King is a testament to one man’s ability to squander not only ducats, but time and opportunity, all in equal measure.With a peerless pedigree (Ferdinand and Isabella and Maximilian I and Marie of Burgundy were his grandparents) Phillip was born to the purple, if not a life of leisure. His father, Emperor Charles V had rigorous expectations, which for the most part, his son was able to fulfill.  Most importantly, and perhaps most deleteriously father impressed upon son the notion one should only trust (and marry) other Hapsburgs, and God, (who apparently was also a Hapsburg).Early on Parker identifies the king’s penchant for considering and then reconsidering all aspects of an argument, along with a complete inability to focus on what today would be called “the big picture.”  There is more than a little pop psychology about a stunted childhood due to an absent father and the impact of being taken from his mother at what today would be an early age.  Personally, I find this speculation rather silly, but others may not.If not a great mind, Phillip was more intelligent than many and devoted to the success of his dynasty and his kingdoms.  Unfortunately that devotion did not always translate into consideration for his subjects or his advisors.  Parker documents not only a debilitating tendency to procrastinate but an equally inimical messianic bent.  The author properly notes messianic devotion was rife in 16th century Spain, but Phillip seems more fervid than many.In an age of religious bigotry, Parker’s Imprudent King is an exemplar of prejudice, not only sanctioning auto da fe but actually enjoying a good burning at the stake.  Rather creepily, he would encourage his children to partake as well.  There is the disturbing practice of sacrificing (quite literally) loyal advisors such as Carranza to the Inquisition.  When it turns out the Inquisition was motivated merely by personal hatred, Phillip would rather see an innocent burn then discredit the institution itself.  Rather appalling morals, that.There’s a willingness to practice ethnic cleansing that puts Phillip ahead of his time, and not in a good way,  commit extra-judicial murder (with courtiers) or assassinate other monarchs (William of Orange; Elizabeth I of England) and see 100,000 die before the Netherlands became Protestant.  On one level it’s appalling to modern sensibilities, but the value Parker’s life  of Phillip is that we understand he is only a heightened reality of his times.  The most powerful, most rich, most Catholic, etc.  Parker shows us too, however misguided, Phillip is also conscientious and could be quite decent.  In fairness almost anyone would have failed given the circumstances.My reason for deducting a star may not be fair to the author: only readers can decide that.  I think Parker makes the same point, again and again.  There are a multitude of examples of how Phillip procrastinated.  A half century’s worth.  There are innumerable examples of how he delayed and avoided making decisions.  From a scholastic point of view, this is comprehensive and impressive.  From a general reader’s point of view, it is overkill.  At times I found myself glazing over at the same point, proved again.However, readers should decide for themselves by reading Parker’s Imprudent King.  It is engagingly written and very, very thorough.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A king who really enjoyed burning Protestants...
  

*by E***N on Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2015*

This is a methodical, workmanlike, and very boring book about a man of enormous activity and no personality, no charm, and no redeeming features. But how could anything good come from a line that included the vicious Queen Isabella and her husband Ferdinand, both fond of burning Protestants and free thinkers.This book is about a man consumed with the mania of religion, with a Catholicism that had no measure, no boundaries, and no cure. He was a dullard without the sharp edge of personality that even Hitler or Mussolini had. A total bore who might be forgiven if he had had the honesty to become a monk in early youth. He repeatedly conflated his will with God's will.This biography introduces this megalomaniac by means of a recital of his epistolary habits. His waking hours, stretching long into the night, were obsessively dedicated to official correspondence, his labors being liberally interspersed with groans of exhaustion and self-pity. If there was a death warrant for a hapless Protestant among the endless stack of papers in front of him, it would no doubt receive the same careful attention as the other papers.He built many astounding buildings, including the Escorial. He ordered the creation of many splendid gardens. And his long reign included numerous wars and many deaths of innocent people around the world. He laughed with joy at hearing of the massacres of French Protestants. He loved and revered the Inquisition.I doubt that any other King was ever as dull a personality as this monarch of half the known world. That last phrase sounds so dramatic, but actually this man's habits and mode of thought, as related in this book, were usually as interesting as the daily events of an ant colony.Even Philip's marriage to Queen Mary of England became dull in this telling. The burning of English Protestants by the English Queen and her Spanish husband evokes neither horror nor pity.Even thinking about this King and his biography induces the most profound annoyance and impatience. I could not finish it. Others, though, may enjoy the details of this pointless man's life.

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*Product available on Desertcart Ireland*
*Store origin: IE*
*Last updated: 2026-03-06*