The Six Wives of Henry VIII
by Alison Weir
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Book Reviews of The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Book Review: An Outstanding Profile of the Man and his Ladies
Summary: 5 Stars
I only picked this book up because I'd just finished Weir's "Life of Elizabeth I" and was missing reading something about the Tudor time period. Turns out I liked this one even better! Through the description of his 6 relationships, the character of Henry VIII unfolds with many dimensions (and surprises). I actually found myself feeling sorry for the monarch who is usually equated with obesity, gluttony, womanizing, and bloodshed.
I also enjoyed the dimensions of personality offered for the ladies: mature and tenacious Katherine of Aragon, ambitious and foolish Anne Boleyn, quietly calculating Jane Seymour, unappealing yet graceful Anne of Cleeves, young and frivolous Katherine Howard, and down-to-earth Katherine Parr. This cast of characters can rival that in any Aaron Spelling production!
It's one of those "can't-wait-to-get-back-to-it" books . I'm now wondering which of Weir's Tudor musings I should tackle next...
Book Review: Excellent -- good history and a great read!
Summary: 5 Stars
Weir is my favorite non-fiction writer. This is my 2nd favorite of her works, after "The Life of Elizabeth I" (see my review of that work too.)What's best about "Six Wives" is that Weir is in firm control of the elements of the lives of these very different women. Through telling their stories, Weir gives a coherent history and an excellent account of Henry's reign.
This is serious popular history -- and is well researched and accurate. But Weir's best attribute is her readability. She makes history a page-turning pageant -- without resorting to overblown or overly romanitic drivel.
I've read all her historical works. I suggest beginning with 'Elizabeth I', then "Children of Henry VIII" followed by this work and then her latest 'Henry VIII: The King and His Court." Though she writes of the same period throughout these works, she manages to reveal something new with each -- and is never, ever dull.
Book Review: Moral: Don't Marry Henry VIII
Summary: 4 Stars
Alison Weir has done a wonderful job to introduce the reader to the six wives of Henry VIII. Not only did Weir explain the background of each of the wives, but she also gave the reader a glimpse of life in the Royal Court during the Tudor period of England. It was intriguing to read about the alliances and arrange marriages as well as the required dowries. Not only were the alliances important, but each wife was required to give Henry VIII a male heir. When a wife failed to do so, she was casted away. I found it amazing how easy it was for a King to convict someone of high treason and the fate of that conviction, as Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard found out. Weir also shows just how young and foolish these girls were when they married the King to become the Queen of England. The moral of the story is not to marry Henry VIII unless you want to gamble with either having an annulement or being beheaded.Book Review: simple, straightforward and complete
Summary: 4 Stars
Alison Weir does a fantastic job of bringing each of Henry VIII's wives back to life. By tracing the lives of these women through childhoods to their deaths, this story truly centers on them, rather than the fact that they married a king. Weir also does a nice job in remaining fair to each, although at times her biases come in to play, the information given in each case is balanced, or at least attempts to be. Furthermore, Wier is complete. In one easily read volume, a wonderful framework is given which one not familiar with the content can be comfortable with. But then she goes further, giving detail upon detail, making this book not simply an overview, but a complete study. While Weir often repeats herself from one chapter to the next, the overall product is still excellent. For anyone interested in knowing about Henry VIII and his unfortunate wives, I suggest you read this book.Book Review: Not a bad book
Summary: 3 Stars
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.