Customer Reviews

The Six Wives of Henry VIII

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3 star:		(1)
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I have always had a soft spot for King Henry VIII's wives and enjoyed reading about them, but never have I come across such a detailed, colorful, and engaging biography of them as this. Alison Weir has done a phenomenal amount of research in compiling this book. She provides us with countless details of the lives of these women, including excerpts from letters written by, addressed to, or about them. She also dispells many of the myths that have grown up around the six Queens. For instance, Anne Boleyn was not the promiscuous wanton she has often been described as, and Jane Seymour may not have been quite as sweet and innocent in nature as most people believed her to be. Coupled with her easy, fluid writing style, this factual detail brings each of the women to life. We get to know them intimately as Weir unlocks their widely varied personalities.

Katherine of Aragon (mother of Queen 'Bloody' Mary) was a loving and devoted wife to Henry for 24 years. When he ultimately cast her aside in hopes of finding a more fruitful wife (one who would provide him with a male heir, which Katherine had failed to do), she firmly maintained that she was the King's true wife, the Queen, and always would be. For the rest of her life, she never permitted anyone to call her anything but 'Queen', even though she lived out her last miserable years in a dank, unhealthy estate, with insufficient resources.

Anne Boleyn (mother of Queen Elizabeth I) was an outspoken and ambitious young woman, originally one of Katherine's waiting women. She caught the King's attention and Henry developed an overwhelming passion for her. His desire to rid himself of Katherine and marry Anne ultimately led the King to break with the Roman Catholic Church, something scandalous and unthinkable to most of his contemporaries. Unfortunately for her, Anne lacked sufficient discretion, and her political oponents found it all too easy to lay upon her false accusations that would result in her execution.

Henry once said that he loved Jane Seymour best of all his wives, perhaps because she succeeded where his other wives had failed - she gave Henry his heir, Edward VI. But Jane, much loved by many Englanders, did not occupy the position of Queen for long. Shortly after the birth of her son, she succumbed to infection and died. Henry remembered her as his favorite for the rest of his life, and ordered that he be buried at her side when he died.

Anne of Cleves, the shortest-lasting of Henry's Queens, was ultimately the most successful of the six women. Henry arranged to marry the German princess based solely on seeing one portrait of her. This portrait, however, had exaggerated her appearance, and when the King saw his new wife he was repulsed. He immediately sought a way out of the marriage. Anne could have faced a grimmer fate, except that she was cheerfully compliant where Katherine had been stubborn. The marriage was annulled with ease and the King, grateful for her cooperation, provided Anne with property, funds, and a title as his honorary sister.

Henry's next wife was not so fortunate. Katherine Howard was was only a young girl when she married the King, who thought of her as 'a rose without a thorn.' In Katherine, he found a way to recapture his youth. But Katherine was young and silly, and worst of all, sexually promiscuous. When the king found out, he was shattered, and Katherine soon followed in the footsteps of her predecessor and cousin, Anne Boleyn, and was executed before the age of 17.

Katherine Parr, Henry's sixth and final wife, served a different function than those who had come before her. By this time the aging King was in failing health and exceedingly fat. Katherine became more of a nursemaid for him, as well as a companion with whom he could converse. Within a few years, the King died, leaving Katherine a widow, free and in charge of her own fate. She re-married and had a daughter by her new husband, but died shortly afterward.

The book is long, but well worth the read. Weir has done an extraordinary job of introducing us to these vibrant, diverse women. The book is full of information, facts, quotes - but the writing is very digestible and flows smoothly. Henry's first two wives are given the most attention - Katherine because she lasted the longest, and Anne because she has been saddled with such an infamous reputation. The other wives are not described in so much detail, but we still get to know them quite well. Weir takes us through the entire lives of these women, from their childhood and time before marrying the king, through the ends of their lives (which, in the cases of Anne of Cleves and Katherine Parr, extended beyond the King's own death).

Included in the book are several black and white images - mostly paintings of Henry, his family, his advisors, and of course, his wives. I would have liked to see these printed in color, but they are nice enough as is. At the back of the book, Weir has included genealogical tables of England's royal dynasties, the Tudor family, and each of Henry's wives. This is an extremely helpful reference for keeping track of the connections between various nobles that involved in the lives of the King and the women he married. 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' was a great read, and I would highly recommend it.

First I want to applaud Ms. Weir on her research and attention to detail. It was nice to read a more detailed description of Henry VIII than what you usually get in this type book. So much of the book was spent on Katherine of Aragon and so little on the other 5 wives that I was somewhat dissapointed. There seems to be more information available on Katherine of Aragon, however I question the attention paid to some of the sources Ms. Weir has used. Not the validity of them but the obvious bias of the sources. And Ms. Weir continued her unfortunate habit of losing her objectivity part way through the book. I found this thoroughly frustrating in her book "The Princes in the Tower" and almost as frustrating in this book. Still, this is an interesting book if you can overlook the obvious bias she has when writing of Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn.

I have always had a fascination with everything Tudor, and this book only fueled my passion further. This book contains all the precious morsels of knowledge that Tudor fanatics crave, but the writer's erratic style and organization makes it a struggle to get through and not feel completely tied into knots. Weir will begin to talk about something, and let the narrative be lead out of chronological, (or logical) order. She will mention names and titles flippantly, which leaves you thoroughly confused and constantly looking in the index. This is not necessary for most history books, but this book seems to be quite a difficult read because attention was not given to the little details like organization and clarity. Often, the same phrases will be used over and over again within two pages, at one point a whole sentence is practically duplicated on another page. The writing is not the best ever, however it is made up for sufficiently by all the facts and painstaking research it includes. Also, I am really convinced that Weir has a bias against Anne Boleyn. The chapter on this wife is very critical of her and presents her in an unfavorable light; Weir is content to discredit sources that were bias towards her and embrace the sources that are just a much biased against her. However, the book only loses one star because ALL the information that you are given is impeccable, and there is nothing that can discredit this aspect. I would recommend "The Wives of Henry VIII" by Antonia Fraser for a book that is jam packed with (maybe not as many) facts and is much better written. If you care more about details, records and a barrage of sources, look to this book. However, do not hesitate to look elsewhere to find a good read about the 6 wives of Henry VIII, and perhaps only refer to this book on subject matters you want more information on. Great facts, terrible organization, but I am glad that I have learned so much about this subject matter.

My decision to read this book stemmed from a desire to get the feel of England at a most influential and diabolical time in history. Italian Renaissance has always captivated my interest with its stories, inventions, and literature. But upon the anticipation of a recent trip to England I though it necessary to brush up on my English history.

This book was compelling from the start. It rules out all ridiculous American folk tale myths you might have heard about the King Henry who cared only for himself, and little for his religion or country. The opposite is quite true. Weir leads you into Tudor history and holds you there for well over 500 pages. Each of his wives were unique and unlike the other. They had histories before the king, and some despite some misconceived notions continued to have pleasant lives beyond the king. I would recommend this book to anyone who is just beginning a love for England's history or to the most professed scholar on the subject. You will find yourself falling in love with these characters, and wishing more was to come.

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough to anyone who's even slightly interested in the story of Henry VIII and his six wives. This is a gorgeous, cohesive book, easy to read and full of historical detail that enriches the story rather than overwhelms it. There were many times when I forgot I was reading non-fiction, the story was so cleanly presented.

This is a far cry from the dry, confusing history lessons I had in high school. Weir makes these women (and the men around them) come back to life, warts and all. Normally reading a book like this, I'd need a flow chart to keep track of all the dukes, duchesses, ladies, lords and scheming religious zealots, but I had no trouble at all remembering who was who, even during the period where every woman was apparently named Katherine, Anne or Elizabeth. It was especially interesting to see how kind history has been to Anne Boleyn, a woman who may actually have been deserving of the executioner's axe.

My one miniscule gripe (not enough to drop my review from 5 stars) is that once in a while, Weir puts the story ahead of the timeline and will insert details out of sequence. One example of that is that during a segment discussing the latter years of the marriage of Henry and Anne Boleyn, there's a short paragraph discussing a gift Anne gave to Henry early on in their relationship. There really wasn't any reason why that tidbit couldn't have been presented chronologically; the only thing I could think of was that perhaps the author didn't want to interrupt the narrative about the acrimony between Anne and Katherine of Aragon by tossing in the bit about the gift. There are about a half dozen or so instances like this, and while they don't at all disturb the flow of the book, they struck me as a little annoying given the meticulous detail to the timeline in every other instance.

This is a truly masterful book; I plan on immediately purchasing Weir's other books in this genre.

Alison Weir has recreated, as best we can 500 years later, the inner workings of the English monarchy. She has done extensive research and shared in her text the conflicting views of various recorded information dealing with Henry and his wives. I found myself frequently turning back to the family trees she had included to check dates, siblings, births, etc. This was an excellent book and I will be looking for the next one, Elizabeth I to read now!

I picked this book up on a whim. I am, by no means, a history buff. However, through the 600-page epic I became enthralled as a history of PEOPLE came forward, not merely a presentation of FACTS. These names that we've all heard for years--Henry VIII, his various wives, etc--became more than just dates, names, and stereotypes, but actual people. They become 3-dimentional with their strengths empasized as much as their weaknesses. The details of their motives come to light as much as their factual acts. It is a sublime combination of accurate historical fact and exciting storytelling. Ms. Weir has secured another avid reader and learner.

This book may seem daunting, due to its sheer number of pages, but it reads so quickly, due to the great, smooth writing of Alison Weir. A must-read for all Anglophile's and Tudor addicts!

Alsion Weir is a very talented writer, who certainly knows her stuff when it comes to Tudor history. When we read this book, we come to understand the forces of the dynasty that created the man who would become the great Henry the Eighth, and the needs of his kingdom that drove his obsession to sire a son.

History has tended to relegate Henry's wives into some simplistic catergories - Catherine of Aragon as the dowdy hard done by cast-off; infamous Anne Boleyn as a woman who played for high stakes and lost; and sweet Jane Seymour, who gave Henry his son but sadly died. Then there were the other three wives who somehow never seemed so fascinating, and as such have had much less of the limelight. But never were there six more different women, and each has made their impact on history in a number of different ways.

Alsion Weir has written this book with such richness and attention to detail, that at times you forget that you are reading non-fiction and get swept away in the fervour that can come with a great novel. But never has the imagination given an author such rich fodder as Henry and his love life, and his increasing desperation to sire more children as he got older. The six women that graced his life so so long or for such a short period of time are well defined, and we come to care for all of them as the book progresses. We come to understand their wishes and desires, and we feel sorrow for them as we see that frequently they were only pawns in the great dynastic chess game of the time. And of course we catch a glimpse of the other Tudors - the deeply religious Mary, who was forever scarred by her mother's treatment; Edward who was manipulated by his mother's family, and finally Elizabeth, who grew up branded a bastard and for many years feared the retribution that may have followed her mother's fall from favour.

Not only is this a really great read, it is also a meticulously researched and presented reference book, one which will be treasured for many years to come.

First of all, I think Alison Weir is a wonderful author. This book is an easy read, full of lots of good information and a joy. It is a book you will pick up and not put down until you've read all night. I really enjoy it and highly recommend. If you are looking for a book to give you some wonderful historic details in an easy to read, creative format, this is the book for you. Really enjoyed it. I've read it over and over. It's one of my favorites!