Divorced, Beheaded, Survived: A Feminist Reinterpretation Of The Wives Of Henry VIII by Karen Lindsey

Apr 08, 2013 Beth Zovko rated it 4 of 5 stars

If it deals with British history, I, like Ron Burgundy, will read absolutely anything that's put in front of me, so I know my shit when it comes to the Tudors. I picked this one up because it offered a new take on the traditional narrative on the six ladies unlucky enough to be Henry's bride.

Normally, I steer clear of modernist takes, especially feminist re-workings, as these often attribute modern attitudes and social norms on historic people and societies. That said, Lindsey's book had some...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Joan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: English history fans and feminists

Shelves: adult-books, english-history, herstories-history-of-women, nonfiction

I found this book ok but that is all. I didn't find out much new information, simply some reinterpretation of old information. I am not so sure that I completely buy that Henry VIII was an egotistical SOB and nothing else. He ruled a difficult country successfully for many decades and even this author admitted that people were genuinelly grieved by his death. Was he egotisitical? well, yes, of course. In his position, how could he not be egotistical, the most important person in the entire count...more I found this book ok but that is all. I didn't find out much new information, simply some reinterpretation of old information. I am not so sure that I completely buy that Henry VIII was an egotistical SOB and nothing else. He ruled a difficult country successfully for many decades and even this author admitted that people were genuinelly grieved by his death. Was he egotisitical? well, yes, of course. In his position, how could he not be egotistical, the most important person in the entire country? Was he an SOB? To some degree, yes. I'm not all that convinced he was an SOB by the standards of his time. In our times, sure he'd have been guilty of statutory rape with Katherine Howard (age 15). The concept didn't exist in that time and by all accounts Katherine knew what to expect in bed because she had already experienced it. Today that might not be considered particularly bad but back then that was enough to ruin a woman. And if she were indiscrete enough to carry on a relationship after marriage, she was a foolish person indeed. There was a double standard and even if you disagree now with the double standard (still around, how many times do you hear the phrase boys will be boys still?) it didn't matter. Katherine Howard made the worst mistake possible for a woman of that time and paid for it with her life. That doesn't make Henry an SOB. Did any of the wives have any choice about marrying him? No, of course they didn't but again, that wasn't something to blame on Henry as on the beliefs of society. People at that time if they turned down Henry for their sisters or daughters, were probably more concerned about Henry's beliefs and politics more than the huge number of wives he went through. The women may have had other opinions but they kept their opinions quiet unless they were far enough away to be completely safe from Henry. Don't get me wrong: I don't think Henry VIII was a nice pleasant person for the most part....although I think the author makes a convincing case that Catherine of Aragon loved him....but he was smart and a decent ruler and that was his job.
The author argues that Henry simply had able people who did the actual ruling for him. I doubt that was true. Henry was perfectly aware of an earlier Henry (H. VI) who allowed others to rule for him and what a disaster that was. He would have known of other English rulers who made that mistake too. No, Henry may have relied heavily on these men, particularly when young, but he was the ruler and people forgot it only to be executed.
To be fair, this is a slightly older book now and may simply have been overtaken by newer authors who take a lot of what this author presented as for granted. I don't regret reading this book, I simply didn't gather much new information except on some of the more peripheral figures of the time.(less)

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Apr 21, 2011 Ptreick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Okay, so a month ago I gave in and starting Netflixing "The Tudors." For reasons I can't even explain, I've been completely drawn into this world. Last week I had some kind of food poisoning and in my state of delirium/vertigo I had strange nightmares about beheadings, childbirth, etc. On Tuesday at our beer-induced trivia night I was waiting on pins and needles for a Henry VIII question to pop up, but nada.

Anyway, this book gave me some verification that the series has historical merit, and gav...more

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Jul 17, 2011 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: women's history surveyists, tudor england enthusiasts

Shelves: tudor-nonfiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The book was well-written, but it wasn't anything earth-shattering. As an undergraduate, I took several women's history classes, so I was expecting more analysis of the events that shaped the lives of Henry VIII's six wives. Instead, I got a survey of their lives, slanted more in their favor and painting Henry as the bastard that he was.

As a survey of the women's lives, it works well for the casual reader. Many other books of a similar bent are hundreds of pages longer, such as Alison Weir's The...more

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Orsolya You make the point that you agree with the author that Katherine Howard shouldn't be painted as a slut when she only had relations with three other me...more
Nov 10, 2011 11:22pm

Kim Orsolya wrote: "You make the point that you agree with the author that Katherine Howard shouldn't be painted as a slut when she only had relations wit...more
Nov 11, 2011 04:41am

Xenia Katherine was a teenager at the time of her death. A teenager who slept with 3 men already and one of them during a marriage is still pretty skanky; i...more
May 20, 2013 05:10pm

Mar 14, 2010 Brigid rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those interested in an overview of Henry VIII's wives

Shelves: current-interest, biographies-of-famous-women, read-in-2010, those-crazy-tudors

The more I thought about the content of this book, the less I liked it. It purports itself as a "feminist reinterpretation" of Henry VIII's collection of wives. However, because the author does not make more than a handful of references to source material, the reader does not feel the presence of Andrea Dworkin, Gloria Steinem or Adrienne Rich. We hear, instead, the voice of the author herself passing judgments that, though not all that controversial, do not ring of researched or informed rhetor...more

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Dec 04, 2008 Colleen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

Eh. It's kind of interesting, but it was supposed to be some groundbreaking feminist take on the wives of Henry VIII...besides focusing on THEM rather than HIM, I didn't see anything in the book as a radical new feminist reinterpretation.

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Dec 21, 2012 Conor Byrne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Very interesting and insightful book, with an engaging and lively writing style. I particularly enjoyed the section on Katherine Howard, although other aspects of the book were not as innovative in providing a feminist perspective of the wives and their actions.

I also think this book needs to be taken with a pinch of salt - it is not academic and does not reflect the values, ideals and beliefs of sixteenth century England. The spelling is also a little bit annoying - 'Ann' Boleyn? However, all...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Elisabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2011

Divorced, Beheaded, Survived is an easy, quick read and would serve as a good introduction to Henry VIII and his six wives. However, the book is short on the meaty historical details. The book's thesis is feminism, not history, but unfortunately it is light on the feminist perspective as well. I saw only a few points, mainly related to Katherine Howard, that hadn't been previously covered in the traditional biographies. Readers already familiar with the Tudors aren't likely to find this book enl...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-tudors, history-english, feminist

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.

The lives of Henry VIII's queens summed up in seven short words. You think someone would've made a better rhyme. I mean it works, but well it lacks. True, "Sing a Song of Sixpence" might be, but it gets one upped with the debate about "Mary, Mary Quite Contary".

There have been volumnes written about the wives, some, though while lacking "a feminist reinterpretation" in the sub-title , are still one. The wives at this point seem to have be mo...more Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.

The lives of Henry VIII's queens summed up in seven short words. You think someone would've made a better rhyme. I mean it works, but well it lacks. True, "Sing a Song of Sixpence" might be, but it gets one upped with the debate about "Mary, Mary Quite Contary".

There have been volumnes written about the wives, some, though while lacking "a feminist reinterpretation" in the sub-title , are still one. The wives at this point seem to have be more fame than their infamous husband whose infamy comes from his treatment of them, and the fact that he is played by a hottie in the Showtime series. So why read this one about ~~Bluebeard~~ Henry VII and his wives?

Because Lindsey does present, in some cases, an unique look or highlights something that may be glossed over in other works. It isn't an earth shattering book, but it is far better than Joanna Denny's Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England's Tragic Queen. While it is true that like most biographers of the Tudors, Lindsey concludes what the women thought with little proof (there are letters, but that's it), and while she does spend the most time on Katherine of Aragorn and Anne Bolyen, and while she doesn't full protray Jane Seymour, who remains the aptly titled vessel, there is something here.

Lindsey does make some thought stirring, if not thought provoking, ideas in the often trod ground of the first two wives of ~~Bluebeard~~, ~~Mr Fox~~ Henry VIII.

For instance, it is hard to argue with Lindsey's claim that today we would find Henry's pursuit of Anne Bolyen to be sexual harassament. She points out, makes it very clear that such terms would not be used at all in the time, but she makes a good case that Anne might have been making the best of a situtation that she could not escape. Additionally, Lindsey gives reasons why Katherine of Aragorn and Anne Bolyen should be admired, liked, and pited. She doesn't paint them as sister queens, but she doesn't take sides, making one look good at the expense of the other. She takes them as they are.

But the main reason why you should read this book are the chapters on Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard. Now, I've always liked Anne of Cleves, who strikes me as the combination of Bluebeard's wife and her sister Anne. Not only does Lindsey make a case that the epitaph "Flanders mare" or "drayhorse mare" should not be used to describe the woman, but she argues that Anne of Cleves took a more active role in her annulment from Henry VIII than most people give her credit for. I'm not sure if I fully buy into the agrument, though the point about sex education seems likely. Could Anne of Cleves have really been that thick? Wouldn't someone mention something before her wedding night? However, Lindsey's theory is really stirring and makes Anne into a true winner, in some ways like the often esteemed Katherine Parr.

The chapter on Katherine Howard lacks this totalling redesign or recasting of character. Yet, Lindsey does make this young Katherine into her own woman. Lindsey has a point - most writers do tend to see Katherine Howard as whore or victim (or a innocent whoring victim ala the Tudors). The idea of Katherine Howard as sexually free woman does, one most admit, become overshadowed by Howard the idiot, but Lindsey does make her human.

Overall, while the book didn't really add knowledge, it did make me think differently about we know about the Tudors.(less)

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Apr 12, 2011 Jenn (Booksessed) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay, I should preface by saying that I am a history junkie, and that Tudor England is my drug of choice. Seriously, it’s like my crack. I know all the major players, I know how most historians view each person, I know who participated in who’s downfall. I’m the person to go to for any Tudor related question. I’m also the person who loved the tv show The Tudors because of all the sexy men but grumbled about the historical accuracies, mostly due to the timeline. Also, I love the Spanish Ambasador...more Okay, I should preface by saying that I am a history junkie, and that Tudor England is my drug of choice. Seriously, it’s like my crack. I know all the major players, I know how most historians view each person, I know who participated in who’s downfall. I’m the person to go to for any Tudor related question. I’m also the person who loved the tv show The Tudors because of all the sexy men but grumbled about the historical accuracies, mostly due to the timeline. Also, I love the Spanish Ambasador Chapuys. He was so witty. In life, and on The Tudors.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. Jenn, if you know so much about Tudor history, why do you still read about it. Well, the obvious answer is, like I already mentioned, it’s like crack to me. The not obvious answer is that it had a lot to do with the whole feminist reinterpretation. I agree with the feminist movement to an extent but I’m not on board with radical feminism, which is what I was expecting. Boy, was I surprised.
Karen Lindsey has done her research and done it well. But rather than pick sides like most historians do, and back only her side, she explains what most (or, frankly just some) historians think, and why she differs with it. She paints all his wives in a more human light than history tends to do. She wrote a very factual text that was interesting, witty and dare I say, fun to read.
Even though the title referenced only the wives, I was pleasantly surprised to find the opening chapter was on Margaret Beaufort (Henry’s grandmother) and the final chapter was on how his three children, and briefly his great-niece Jane Grey, took the throne.
The only qualms I had with the writing was that the author chose to spell the name of Anne Boleyn as “Ann”. It was very distracting. There is some historical debate about the correct spelling of the last name, while Anne was at the French court as a child, she commonly wrote her last name as “Bullen” which would be an almost French pronunciation of the English spelling. But the spelling of her first name has, to my knowledge, never been debated. I double checked with the bibliography included in the back of the book and each book referencing her was spelled as “Anne”. My only guess was that perhaps she didn’t want Boleyn to be confused with the fourth wife, Anne of Cleves or the “heretic” Anne Askew who appears during the time of his sixth wife.
Whatever the reason, I found it very distracting, like I already mentioned and it seemed to make chapters 2-4 kind of drag for me. But once Jane Seymour (wife number three) came into the picture, the pace seemed to pick back up, so I think the fault was my own.
The only other problem that I had was that she included a chapter on Anne Boleyn titled “The Great Whore”. I know that some have referenced her as such in history, but it seemed odd to me that one would chose that chapter title in a feminist reinterpretation. She goes on in later chapters to praise Katheryn Howard’s (wife number 5) ability to be ahead of her time in embracing her sexual desires rather than agreeing to be merely just a political pawn in a patriarchal society. The juxtaposition left me a bit confused.
But all in all, it’s a great read, if history is your thing. Really the only wife that things worked out for was Anne of Cleves (wife number four). (less)

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Jul 20, 2009 Talkingtowalls rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't read a whole lot of history, but I generally enjoy it when I do. This I had a really exceptional time with. The writing was clear with very few digressions, which is great for someone (me) who doesn't have a really solid background in British History. I would have sometimes like a little more detail, but I really can't complain. I thought this was a very fair feminist interpretation (of course even when reading the most flattering biographys I've always felt that "king Hal" was at best d...more

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Dec 24, 2009 Meaghan rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: feminists

Shelves: history, biography, tudors

This book was feminist claptrap. The author is not a trained historian and her feminist bias was obvious throughout this book. All the women were GOOD, and all the men were BAD, and Lindsey went to great lengths to show them as being this way all the time, and made up flimsy excuses when the women (rather than the men) behaved badly. She excused Catherine Howard's adultery on the grounds that her life would have been "unbearable" if she couldn't get all the sex she wanted. She also completely ig...more

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May 03, 2013 Eddy Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arts-and-historical

The women who wed Henry VIII are remembered mainly for the ways their royal marriages ended: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. This book helps to restore full humanity to these six fascinating women by applying the insights of feminist scholarship. Here they appear not as stereotypes, not simply as victims, but as lively, intelligent noblewomen doing their best to survive in a treacherous court. Divorced, Beheaded, Survived takes a revisionist look at 16th-century English p...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've read so much about Henry VIII and seen so many movies and tv shows so I was wondering how (if?) this book might give a fresh perspective of historical figures I feel like I know so well. While the beginning coverage of Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn seemed like the usual fare, I really appreciated the analysis of the later wives. The "feminist reinterpretation" was in no way heavy-handed or obvious--it may have been fresh in the early 90s but now I question the need for that subtitle....more

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May 29, 2009 Kara rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book provides a fascinating in-depth exploration of the personalities and history behind each of Henry VIII's wives, something which is rarely taught in history class. I enjoyed it immensely, despite reading it during a time when I was not particularly enthusiastic about history.

(I am adding it now, despite reading it in early high school, because it became topical last week and I would like to re-read it ;^)

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Apr 08, 2012 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is not as the title suggests a "modern" reinterpretation, Lindsey puts each wife in the context of her times and makes them into real people not stereotypes which sometimes we have a habit of labeling each of them. She gives some intriguing ways of looking at each wife's actions as women living in a patriarchal society. Its also well written and reads more like a novel than dry old history.

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Dec 02, 2010 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a great one to pick up after you've seen Showtime's version of Tudor England, to set things back in balance. It is a fun, relatively quick read, and while the research is quite well-done it does not at all read like an academic book. Much ink has been spilled about the six women Henry married (and who he as often as not destroyed as well) but this is a fresh take on the "wives" and one that you won't want to miss if you enjoy reading about this period of history.

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Jul 06, 2011 Astrid rated it 4 of 5 stars

This nonfiction book is a lively summary of the lives of Henry VIII's wives. Even though I have read a lot of Tudor period historical fiction and many of Alison Weir's nonfiction books, I find I sometimes get lost in the dates, friends, foes, politics and religious factions of the times, but this book makes many of those details easy to remember and understand. Karen Lindsey's feminist reinterpretation is an interesting view of the period. Recommended for Tudor history fans.

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Jul 10, 2012 Hannah Lesley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historial

I had to read this during a History project in school. With the information in the book, it made me pass my history exam.

The book gives us information on all of Henry the VIII wives. This made me feel really sad and it shocked me when we had to do a exam on this, but it did give me more information on his wives.

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Aug 17, 2009 Krissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

One of the most fluidly-written and intriguing accounts of H8's wives; rather than a narrative of his life and the women as they came into it, Lindsey goes through the life story, pressures and motivations of each of his six wives and follows through on their stories. Engaging and well-written; I've read it twice.

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Jul 15, 2011 Eva-Lani rated it 5 of 5 stars

Before reading this book I had only a very superficial knowledge of Henry VIII and his wives. This book was not only gave me a better understanding of that era but also gave me a captivating story to indulge in. I loved her analysis of all the wives, especially Katherine Howard. The way Lindsey described the wives and the personalities of the wives made them real and tangible people for me.

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Jan 02, 2011 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: used-to-own-stupidly-gave-away

I think I'm due for a reread on this one. When I first read it, I wasn't particularly impressed, and my rating is based on that. However, I was in junior high or high school at the time, and I think I've learned a lot in college that could impact my opinion of the book.

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Jun 25, 2012 Mary Anderson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Well written. Informative, with some interesting thoughts on the relationships between the ladies. Although the author spends the majority of the book discussing Catherine and Anne, which is what usually happens in books of this type. Kept me reading way too late into the night!

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Jun 09, 2012 Heather Panella rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am not usually a nonfiction reader, but this was recommended to me by a history-buff friend, and I ended up loving it. Very interesting information and a lot of stuff that I wasn't really aware of about the various queens' personalities.

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Sep 27, 2009 Tara rated it 4 of 5 stars

For a history book, this was extremely readable. Really enjoyed the focus on the wives and how their lives led them to become married to Henry VIII, rather than reading another book about Henry's motivations with the wives as an always tragic sidenote.

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Jan 28, 2009 Kara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: tudor-fact

One of my favorite biographies of Henry's wives. I don't always agree with Lindsey, but she really makes you think about things from a different perspective.

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Jun 24, 2012 Helene Harrison rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own, non-fiction, setting-tudor, author-female, 1990s-publication, 2012-challenge, format-paperback, genre-historical

Although the idea of a feminist history of the wives of Henry VIII was a good idea, I don't think Karen Lindsay executed it very well. Most of the book was vague, particularly for the wives where there is the most information available (Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn), and I felt that she didn't really know what she was talking about in parts. She didn't look at a very wide variety of primary sources, and tried to warp the source material to her own ends, looking for a feminist-positive con...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Tori added it

2009- A easily readable account of of Henry and his numerous wives, overall a good introduction to the subject. Didn't seem that ""feminist"" to me however.

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Oct 01, 2010 Maryedith rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the best I've read on the wives of Henry VIII (and I've read lots). It gives the political views but isn't dry and dull.

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Mar 28, 2012 Crystal Lee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Easy to read, which I appreciate as an author trying to do research.

There is a great retelling on page 78 of the book on what happened during the divorce proceedings when Catherine made a scene by begging Henry not to put her away. Loved it!

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