Divorced, beheaded, died; Divorced, beheaded, survived. (The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Alison Weir)

Member Name: LRWade

Product:	The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Alison Weir
Date:	11/07/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reads like fiction, brings the characters to life.

Disadvantages: None

I hated history in school. There's nothing exciting about memorising names and dates of the world wars and the jacobites. What every school child really wants are the gruesome details of birth, life and death, kings, queens and paupers, the affairs, the murders, the plotting and treason. It really is a shame that history texts aren't written by Alison Weir, I'm certain if they were them more pupils would be interested in history and they'd get brilliant grades.

I won't write a long re-count of the history of Henry VIII and his six wives, that's what you should read the book for. I'll simply write an analysis of the book itself.

The book is an account of the lives of the wives of Henry based on historical data. Henry VIII's reign was turbulent enough that it took public interest and so there is much more documented evidence preserved than any monarch before him, not only the dates and names but private letters, the intimate details of each marriage and the thoughts and feelings of the women themselves.

The book contains the conclusions of the author based on the documentation available, and it reads like a novel. This is not a new approach to fact writing, but so often fails because it contains speculation amongst the fact. Not so with this, there quoted descriptions from letters and minutes, nothing is claimed without evidence. And the conclusions are not skewed to any one side, the women are not portrayed in a black and while light, all opinions are taken into account, all views are justified or rejected based on fact and not opinion.

The book is split into three parts. Part 1 has 6 chapters describing the life of Catherine of Aragon, and also something of Henry's childhood: appropriate because Katheryn was present for a lot of it. Part two is mostly Anne Boleyn with a chapter dedicated to Jane Seymour. Part three covers the remaining three wives, Anne of Cleves, Kathryn Howard and Kathrine Parr.

You might be inclined to think that the book is skewed in favour of Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Not so, there is simply more documented information on the private lives of these two women. Also it is important to remember that Henry was married to Catherine of Aragon for 18 years, far longer than any of his other wives, and that his relationship with Anne Boleyn rocked the foundations of the monarchy and the country's religious and political hearts.

The women are described with intimate care, they almost come alive on the pages. This book makes history more real than any regular textbook. It is obvious that all possible documents were read and experts questioned in the making of this book. Overall an easy but detailed read.

© L Wade 2009 - submitted only on dooyoo.

Summary: Really good collection of information on the lives of Henry VIII's wives.