The Six Wives of Henry VIII
by Alison Weir
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Book Reviews of The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Book Review: A Thorough, Entertaining & Engaging Look Into the Lives of Six Fascinating, Royal Women
Summary: 5 Stars
The first time I became aware of the Tudors was when I was in second grade and found in my school library a fiction children's book, written in the format of diary entries, and was purported as the childhood diary of King Henry VIII youngest daughter, Elizabeth. Being a seven year old little girl, I was fascinated by all things pertaining to royalty, especially that of the life of a Princess. I checked the book out and started reading it as soon as I got home. I finished it within a week and from that point on, the craving of knowledge of all things pertaining to England's monarchy, especially the Tudors, was planted in my head. That seed lay dormant in my subconscious for 14 years when, one night as I was watching TV, I saw a preview for a new show that was to premier on ShowTime a few months later. That show was The Tudors.
After watching The Tudors from beginning to end, my interest in this most famous royal dynasty was reawakened, and I started researching and reading online everything I could find about them. Thus I came upon a plethora of non-fiction literature about them and I chose this book, Alison Weir's "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", to be my first to introduce me to this genre of literature...and this book did not disappoint.
If you're as interested in the Tudor family as I am I highly recommend this book. It's a lengthy book but very much worth it to read. Weir presents the facts of these women's lives and her exhaustive research to tell the truth about them shows and, thankfully, the book flows smoothly as if reading a story instead of just being pages upon pages of facts presented in a boring essay format. This style of writing is what pulled me in at page 1 and kept me interested until the very last word; so interested, in fact, I regretted every time I had to put it down.
I now look forward to reading more of Alison Weir's books about the Tudors, as well as other author's works about them. If you decide to read this book, you won't regret it.
Book Review: Magnificent history - reads like a great novel
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Book Review: Engrossing and interesting read...but very very hard to read
Summary: 4 Stars
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.Book Review: Enrich Your Life
Summary: 5 Stars
Follow me closely here, reader; I promise I will get to the point as quickly as I can. I acquired my first Alison Weir book by happy accident - anyone who has been a member of a book club may have shared this experience: you forget to return your stupid forms and the next thing you know, the "Editor's Choice" drops through your letterbox. What's this? A History Book? D'oh!... But, as time would tell, fate was delivering me a cheeky poke in the ribs - a marvellous life-changing experience, my first Alison Weir book, my first history book.OK, I'm still getting to the point, but just a little more context: history as taught at my school. Old Mr Nicholson droning on about The Romans. Cheesy Mr Callan who made history seem as dry as eating sand for lunch in the desert.
Imagine my astonishment then, when upon opening Ms. Weir's marvellous book, I discover that history is quite different, full of life, real people, drama, colour, humour, tears, envy, triumph, greed, love, and all this in the first chapter!
That first book was actually The Princes in the Tower, but The Six Wives is the best of Alison's histories in my humble op. You may have noticed that I have finally got round to the point!
Weir has a miraculous talent for rounding out historical personages into real people; she does this entirely by using the facts, and she really applies her talents to their best when describing Henry's unfortunate spouses. We gasp with admiration at Katharine of Aragon's strength, and we gasp with shock at Anne Boleyn's bare-faced scheming. Poor Katharine Howard requires us to remember how daft we were when we were 16. Not as daft as her though.
The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth is a masterful combination of thorough research and sheer readability. 8 years ago Alison Weir unlocked a hidden passion for history in me which has become a major pleasure in my life.
Whether or not you are a history-lover, I command you! Read this book!
Book Review: Stunning, fascinating book
Summary: 5 Stars
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.