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The Wives of Henry VIII

4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 · rating details · 6,524 ratings · 217 reviews

The six-week New York Times bestselling history of the legendary six wives of Henry VIII--from an acclaimed biographer. " Admirably succeed(s) in bringing to life the six women who married England's ruler. . . ." --New York Times Book Review. 16 color plates. 32 pages of illustrations.

Paperback, 482 pages

Published December 15th 1993 by Penguin Canada (first published 1992)

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Mar 09, 2009 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-british, history, owned, 1500-1700, grande-dames, mawwiageiswhatbringsustogethertoday

While this would be a quality history by any standard, I've decided to judge it by exactly the standard that Antonia Fraser sets for herself right at the beginning of the book. She says that her mission is to rescue the six wives of Henry VIII from the sterotypes that have plagued them for centuries (not to mention the horrid singsong of "divorced, beheaded died..." etc). The stereotypes in question are, in order: "The Betrayed Wife, The Temptress, The Good Woman, the Ugly Sister, The Bad Girl,...more While this would be a quality history by any standard, I've decided to judge it by exactly the standard that Antonia Fraser sets for herself right at the beginning of the book. She says that her mission is to rescue the six wives of Henry VIII from the sterotypes that have plagued them for centuries (not to mention the horrid singsong of "divorced, beheaded died..." etc). The stereotypes in question are, in order: "The Betrayed Wife, The Temptress, The Good Woman, the Ugly Sister, The Bad Girl, and The Mother Figure." I should note that she does admit that of course there is an element of truth to the stereotypes, but it isn't all as presented. So, does she accomplish this task?

The answer to that is a (mostly) unqualified yes. This is my first Antonia Fraser history, and I am so delighted that this is the one I chose. I highly respect her methods, her voice, and her manner of presentation. If I can become half the historian that she is I will consider myself quite accomplished. She's utterly meticulous, and obeys the rule of "cite cite cite," several times a page, using as many primary documents as possible, and notifying the reader when an account of a story comes from someone who was not present, or who hadn't been born yet, or who had a reason to write with some kind of bias. She goes out of her way to note even the slightest possibility of error, giving us footnotes even on the origin of various paintings, or the craftsmanship attribution of the Queen's badges. Things that might not even seem important- she makes it a point that every fact is important, and the historian doesn't get to decide which ones to give and which ones to withhold. It is for the reader to decide that. While one historian might simply state an event, Antonia Fraser goes through several different versions of an event, drawn from different eyewitness accounts, analyzing the likelihood of one story or another being true. She makes it a point to address our most prominent myths about the Queens, and tell us either why they're untrue, or leave the question open. I really liked that- it shows a respect for the reader's intelligence that was very appealing. All of this gave her writing a very reassuringly evenhanded, fair, measured tone that would hardly ever lapse. I think there were only a few occasions when the author allowed her opinions to be known- usually through a snide comment, but she was always careful to make sure that she wasn't presenting it as fact, just a possibility. Honestly, it didn't bother me because most of such opinions were after chapters of dealing with the same nonsense from a particular character until I wanted to scream at them- and Antonia Fraser just allowed herself a Jane Austen, ladylike sarcastic sideswipe. I liked that too- showed there was a bit of a person behind there, no matter how hard she tried to keep up the facade.

Okay, right, onto the actual queens themselves and the stereotypes:

-Catherine of Aragon, "The Betrayed Wife"- Honestly, I think that it is this stereotype that is the most true. It is sort of hard to deny after reading all of the crap that Henry put the poor woman through. But she does rescue her from being "merely" a wife very handily- Catherine is seen to have some power, her own opinions, a fantastic sense of drama when necessary. Not to mention we see just how happy their marriage was for a time. Also, the first section contains a lengthy description of the diplomatic conditions of the time period, sets up the rivalry of the Three Kings, and explains just why it was such a coup for Henry VII to get Catherine in the first place and how her status changed. It was a fascinating lesson in the diplomatic ways and means of the period, and just how unstable this Europe was in many ways, even before Luther and his door nailing party.

-Anne Boleyn, "The Temptress,"- I acquit her of this one, mostly. After all, she did wait seven years for the guy to marry her, and didn't sleep with him until well into the sixth year. Also, Henry seems to have been rather singleminded about his loves, so. Antonia Fraser did a good job of pointing out the situation she was in and how limited her options were once she attracted the attention of the king. Also, interesting discourse on her Lutheran tendancies- it appears she was a geniune reformer. Had intellectual interests other than catching men. However, I don't acquit her of being an utter bitch at times, especially to Mary. Though I do now have more understanding of her insecurity and why that may have happened.

-Jane Seymour, "The Good Woman"- The poor girl didn't live long enough to judge. Turns out she may have been kind of a prude, and definitely was interested in protecting her position as Queen- some jealousy towards the pretty girls around her. She was also probably not particularly Protestant, which was interesting.

-Anna of Cleves, "The Ugly Sister"- This was, oddly, probably the most interesting bit of the book. Her story is a fascinating stumble of mistakes and miscues, rash decisions followed by waiting periods. Girl got totally screwed over by her relatives and Henry, though he did pay for her upkeep after the "divorce." She seems to have been well meaning at first, and probably wasn't ugly at all. Tried really hard to become English. The interesting part is that she succeeded, stayed on at the court, etc. Seems she felt more rejected when Henry didn't remarry her after the death of Katherine Howard- and she had the capability to be just as much of a bitch as Anne Boleyn. Also, she survived the longest of the wives. Interesting personality. I'd like to read a novel of her life- someone should write that.

-Katherine Howard- "The Bad Girl"- Nope, not particularly evil. Just dumb and shallow- your basic girl from a small town goes to the big city for college and loses her head a little bit. Flighty, kind of dumb.

-Catherine Parr- "The Mother Figure"- Not really. Yes, she was a pretty good nurse. She was chosen for her maturity. But I don't think it was to "mother" him necessarily. Henry just always needed a woman next to him- to oppress them, sometimes. Also to take care of him and adore him. He likes dominating women and loving them about equally for most of his life, the balance tips to selfish domination and getting his own way towards the end. She had interesting religious opinions, and definitely a mind of her own. Probably the most Protestant Queen, next to Anne Boleyn. I loved the portrait of her after Henry died, how she sort of overflowed with the repressed life that she'd had to hide as Queen. Some bad things went on then, but it was heartbreakingly understandable. I think I liked her best of all the Queens, except when Anne Boleyn was at her earthiest and most honest.

Overall lesson? As Fraser tells us herself, women were truly helpless to the whims of their male relatives, strong personalities or not, and doubly so if this person was the king. It sucked to be a woman ... and yet women were fighting back against it in small ways all the time. In small ways. In the ways open to them. Some of them were wise enough not to try, tried to work within the system. Some of them said "fuck that"- Anne Boleyn being among those.

Also, as many others have said about this book- these women were women, not symbols. Henry VIII was a man, not a monster. Granted, he did terrible things, but Antonia Fraser is able to break those down, tell us why they may not have seemed like terrible things at the time. She's able to try to give us some psychological insight as to why he might have felt himself justified, or why he became the person that he did. It doesn't give you sympathy with him, per se, but it did succeed in lessening the vitrolic disgust a bit. Context always helps with that, of course.

Anyway to wrap up this loooong review (oops), I will say that I recommend this to those interested in the Tudor era, women's studies, Tudor foreign affairs, or anyone willing to sit through a bit of history for some good psychological profiles.(less)

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Sep 15, 2012 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wanted to get a better overview of the whole series of wives of Henry VIII from the vantage of actual history, rather than historical fiction. I also wanted to get a better picture of what happened after Anne Boleyn. I enjoyed this book a great deal. Fraser creates a compelling narrative while retaining good scholarship. She does a good job of going over what information is hard fact, what is conjecture, what is rumor, what is likely or unlikely - she's honest about the reliability of the vari...more I wanted to get a better overview of the whole series of wives of Henry VIII from the vantage of actual history, rather than historical fiction. I also wanted to get a better picture of what happened after Anne Boleyn. I enjoyed this book a great deal. Fraser creates a compelling narrative while retaining good scholarship. She does a good job of going over what information is hard fact, what is conjecture, what is rumor, what is likely or unlikely - she's honest about the reliability of the various pieces information available and analyzes what does & doesn't make sense. In particular, I appreciated reading the context of Henry VIII's reign and relationships in terms of what was happening on the continent. Because the story of the English reformation and Henry VIII is presented both in basic American history textbooks and in popular culture in isolation, there were some lines that I never drew between events until reading this book. For instance, we never say much about the Puritans until they're already on the boat and headed our way - but in fact, they were on the rise in the early reign of Henry VIII, catching the interest of not only Anne Boleyn but Jane Seymour and other members of court and the aristocracy. The humanist writings of Erasmus and the reforming tracts of Martin Luther were also getting a lot of attention by this time. It was very helpful to consider how this would have contributed to the choices made at court. Beyond that, the Hapsburg Empire in continental Europe and the kings of France and Spain also had a big influence on Henry VIII's selections for himself and his children. One somewhat throw-away line about Suleiman the Magnificent fighting the Hapsburgs was almost embarrassingly revelatory. Duh - all these things were happening at the SAME TIME! Why have I never thought of how they would have had at least a tangential relationship with each other? Why is the history of so many interacting players always presented in little pieces, as though they are separate tents instead of rooms in the same house? I also never got a thorough appreciation for Henry's obsession with having a son. Americans come away from World History class with the impression that Henry VIII was just following his pecker around. We're never given a clear impression of the awful civil wars that occurred in England whenever the succession was not clear. And yet of course, he was king - if all he wanted was to get laid, who would stop him? But the idea of having a stable of illegitimate children to challenge for the throne would have been a bad one. The idea of leaving an inadequate number of sons, in a sexist world of high child and infant mortality, was also a bad one. In fact, Henry VIII seems to have taken the lessons of English history and his own responsibilities in providing a clear succession rather seriously, and genuinely found his lack of sons as a possible judgement from God on the validity of his marriages to both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Fraser does a good job of presenting this concept to readers who are not steeped in early English history the way a native might be.(less)

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Nov 22, 2010 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was written about 10 years before Starkey's book and doesn't have the very latest research- (mostly documents which have recently come to light regarding Catherine of Aragon and her supposed virginity at the time of her marriage to Henry)- but otherwise all the relevant history is here as in the former. Fraser has a bit of a different tone in that we get a more initimate sense of the personalities and even more so of daily life at court. One such favorite bit of info: learning about th...more

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Apr 13, 2008 Jenny rated it 5 of 5 stars

Really, this book serves to illustrate that coitus interruptus can work out to be a reliable method of birth control, as it probably did for Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn while they were waiting six long years for the king's divorce from Catherine of Aragon in order to be married. Which means whatever blushing nun taught me "sexual education" at my all girls' Catholic high school was lying to me. Immaculate Heart of Mary, my ass. Of course, when I pointed out that maybe this could be the story behi...more

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May 27, 2013 Kylie Cheung rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: anne-boleyn, six-wives, tudors

It is difficult to review a history by such a learned historian as Antonia Fraser. Her writing is gripping, her fact spot-on, and her speculation interesting to say the least. This book is highly recommended, having just the right amount of information to school you with the 'need-to-know's about each wife and a little extra (for some of them at least), yet thankfully isn't the size of a dictionary.

I have not read all of her pieces about the wives, but am impressed with what I have -- except for...more

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Jan 26, 2013 James rated it 5 of 5 stars

Though Fraser’s book is expository from beginning to end, she writes beautifully and displays a keen wit when she weighs in on the character traits of her subjects. Her detailed and nuanced descriptions of the wives of Henry VIII, the king himself, and other people in their world made me forget all about the TV depictions of the Tudor court.

In the book, we meet short, plump Catherine of Aragon, the sophisticated Iberian royal who was married to Henry VIII for twenty-four years. We meet auburn-h...more

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Jul 14, 2010 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, real-life, bought-copy

As Fraser points out at the start of her novel detailing the lives of Henry's six wives, most people onl know them by either the rhyme "divorced, beheaded, died... divorced, beheaded, survived" or by the female stereotypes attributed to them: "the Betrayed Wife, the Temptress, the Good Woman, the Ugly Sister, the Bad Girl and the Mother Figure." Fraser sets out to debunk myths and present an unbiased view of the six women who came to share Henry's life. Unlike other books of this nature, Henry i...more As Fraser points out at the start of her novel detailing the lives of Henry's six wives, most people onl know them by either the rhyme "divorced, beheaded, died... divorced, beheaded, survived" or by the female stereotypes attributed to them: "the Betrayed Wife, the Temptress, the Good Woman, the Ugly Sister, the Bad Girl and the Mother Figure." Fraser sets out to debunk myths and present an unbiased view of the six women who came to share Henry's life. Unlike other books of this nature, Henry is not focused on at all - we merely see glimpses of the man he is at the time of each of his marriages.

Fraser writes extremely sensitively about each of the six women - telling their tales from birth to death and using contemporary sources as far as possible. The research is impeccable and allows Fraser to consider many of the myths that have grown up around one or other of the wives and decide whether they might be true or not.

I loved the fact that each woman was presented as being courageous and spirited - they each had some good quality that Fraser explored in her quest to discover why that particular woman caught the eye of the king.

A great deal of learning can be achieved from this novel. For instance, I did not realise that it was Henry's desire for a male heir that drove him so thoroughly to move from woman to woman. I also was not aware of how he had each time lined up the successor to the queen he wanted to rid himself of. Again, it was new to me the fact that Henry was married to Catherine of Aragon for over 20 years, while the sum total of years of his other five marriages numbered just ten. It presents an entirely different view of Catherine - of a royal princess whom the king cast off reluctantly, but whom also did not go quietly.

Another point that both amused and horrified was the reputation that Henry VIII (and, by extension, England) developed thanks to his mistreatment of wives. England was universally laughed and sneered at by the other countries in Europe, and it might well have caused many of the European princesses to be withheld from Henry for fear of how they might be treated (thereby changing the course of history?)

My one real fault of this book is its density. It is extremely well-written and as gripping as a non-fiction historical novel can be but there are still dry passages which take a while to read through. In addition, there are a great many notes that add to the reading but necessitate flicking back and forth within the book which disturbs the narrative flow.

I have great admiration for the fact that Fraser managed to present an impartial viewpoint on each of the six wives and strove to reach understanding as to their motives. I did come away from the book with a sneaking suspicion that she preferred Catherine of Aragon and decried the actions of Katherine Howard - it would be interesting to know if I had correctly identified her most and least favourite of the six wives.

There is a current trend at the moment (in fiction, led by Phillippa Gregory, and on television, including series by David Starkey) for exploring anew the Tudors and the "tyrant" who epitomises the lineage. This book should be read by anyone who has been interested in this period of history - in summary, it is a well-rounded and sympathetic look at the six wives of Henry VIII. (less)

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Jul 09, 2009 Sarai rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-nonfiction, nonfiction-historical, biographies, historical

Antonia Fraser is one of the most well-known historical biographers out there, and this is another of her thoroughly researched books. Each wife is given attention, but especially Catherine of Aragon, who was married to Henry for 24 years before he tossed her aside for Anne Boleyn. Fraser goes into each of the women's rise and fall from affection of Henry VIII, and how the women related to one another. Catherine of Aragon is portrayed as the most sympathetic of the wives, a woman who was devoted...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Eduardo added it

Almost 10 years before the collective biography of the women in Louis XIV's life, Antonia Fraser wove a marvelous 16th-century tapestry about the six unfortunate women who married Henry VIII. Fraser's storytelling gifts are at their peak here, and one can only wonder at her uncanny knack of choosing one gem of a word after another. Once again, this story is best savoured in the unabridged audiobook version read (mostly) by Donada Peters, despite occasional chapters recorded in an audibly ender-t...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Lacey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Read this a couple of years back. Fraser's account of the six women is engaging and interesting, although it does have its slow points (like all nonfiction). Through each woman's letters and historical documents, Fraser allows each to have her own unique voice, and I believe that she does a good job of showing each one as she probably was. Interestingly enough, I also felt that within all of these tidbits about each queen, I learned a great deal about Henry as well, and I was surprised by the un...more

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Oct 30, 2010 Madeline rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-nonfiction

"I have...attempted to deal with each woman in turn with the sympathy I feel they all deserve for having had the unenviable fate (to my way of thinking) of being married to Henry VIII. At the same time I have tried to practise the detachment which recognizes that this is an eminently modern judgement; not one of the King's six wives married him against her will. I have also hoped to practise that detachment towards the King himself: the gigantic Maypole at the centre of of all round which these...more "I have...attempted to deal with each woman in turn with the sympathy I feel they all deserve for having had the unenviable fate (to my way of thinking) of being married to Henry VIII. At the same time I have tried to practise the detachment which recognizes that this is an eminently modern judgement; not one of the King's six wives married him against her will. I have also hoped to practise that detachment towards the King himself: the gigantic Maypole at the centre of of all round which these women had to dance. But of course this is not his story. It is theirs."

I'll open by stating the good aspects of this book: first, it's obviously very well-researched and Fraser does her best to stay neutral and not call Henry a stupid fat bastard with the emotional maturity of a toddler. (you know it's true) It's all very in-depth and informative, and I would have no reservations about recommending it to someone who wanted to learn more about Henry VIII's wives beyond the old "divorced beheaded died, divorced beheaded survived" thing. It's not bad, is what I'm saying.

But I only gave it two stars - why? Simply because, in my mind, Antonia Fraser failed to deliver what she promised in the beginning of the book. She says that her goal is to show us these women beyond their respective stereotypes: the Betrayed Wife, the Temptress, the Good Woman, the Ugly Sister, the Bad Girl, and the Mother Figure. Fraser says she's going to make us see that these women were more than their stereotypes make them seem, and that we shouldn't think of them in these terms.

But you know what, Fraser? The stereotypes are true. Katherine of Aragon was Henry's loyal wife for over twenty years and he betrayed her. Anne Boleyn seduced Henry and kept him interested for seven years until he married her. Jane Seymour was a good woman by Tudor standards because she gave Henry a son and didn't cheat on him (possibly because she just didn't have enough time). Anne of Cleves was not attractive, and after Henry divorced her she was treated as his sister. Katherine Howard cheated on Henry, which is both bad and stupid. Catherine Parr was a good wife and a good mother to her three stepchildren and needy immature husband. The stereotypes exist because they're based on truth, and any extra information Fraser shares with us about these women's educations or whatever doesn't do much to convince me otherwise.

And maybe I've just read too many books about the Tudors, but I didn't feel like I really learned anything from this. There was new information about the wives, sure, but none of it really shocked me or made me see them in a different light.

The ideal reader for this book is someone who's recently become obsessed with that HBO show The Tudors, and is curious to see how accurate the show really is. If I knew someone like that, I'd recommend Fraser's book without hesitation. It's a good introduction to the real story of Henry VIII's famous wives, but since I already knew the story, the book didn't have much to offer me.

(less)

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Nov 08, 2010 Morgan Plant rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have been watching the Show Time series the Tudors. After reading Wolf Hall I needed to find something else to give me more history and this was the perfect book. I found that actually the film series is in many ways quite historically accurate and some of the remarks are almost verbatim, i.e. Anne Boylen's remarks before her beheading.

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Jun 02, 2013 Melanie Zhang rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is a fairly well-written account of the multitude of Tudor wives, but it sets out primarily to disprove the pigeon-holes that these six remarkable women are commonly put into. This is useful to some degree, but it does mean that at times it gets rather fixated - for instance, regarding Anne Boleyn, a lot of attention is placed on her religious leanings to the detriment of other aspects of her character. The reason for these abbreviations I suppose is that this is a book designed primar...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Melinda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biographies

This was a hearty read - chock full of fascinating insights and information regarding all of Henry's wives. Even though I have already read several books about the Tudor dynasty, Fraser's research and use of primary sources provided facts and accounts of which I had never beforehand heard. Her analysis and descriptions of Catherine of Aragon, in particular, was highly enlightening. I had not previously realized that she had endured the loss of other babies, one of whom was a son, before the birt...more

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Jun 05, 2009 Ben Bachelor rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Unbearably dry. The author also assumed I had some knowledge of the events that were to come, especially when initially talking about any wife, so she would focus on some seemingly odd details and jump around in the timeline in an odd and slightly confusing manner. This would probably have been acceptable if I was reading this book rather than listening to it while half occupied with something else (namely driving).

This is a long and mostly boring story which, regardless of the author's claims,...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Charity rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love reading books on the Tudor period. This is my favorite, even over Starkey, because Antonia Fraser gives Katharine of Aragon the benefit of the doubt; more than that, she spells her name how Katharine spelled it, not how modern historians usually spell it (with a C).

Her style can be a bit scattered; if doing research, it is a bit difficult to work out an official timeline for any of the wives, because she tends to jump around a bit and expound on external matters within the court, but she...more

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Jun 12, 2009 Nancy Oakes rated it 4 of 5 stars

this is really a 3.5 but since we don't have that option, I'll round it up.

The Wives of Henry VIII is well written, very well researched and offers more information than you can possibly hope for about each of Henry's wives. More than half of the book covers Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, with the rest dedicated to the other four. But wait ...there's more...it's also a good examination of historical events, European court intrigue, the religious situation not only in England but elsewhere...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fraser's goal in this, as she says, was to explore and explode the myths we have of the wives and the “roles” we’ve given them all, like the ugly one, the good one, etc. They all really come to life here. Fraser is a great historian and biographer, although she does get bogged down occasionally with the details. It’s almost as if she wants to make absolutely sure that we know her sources and that she's done her research. OK, OK, we get it… Henry doesn’t necessarily come off as a bad person--I th...more

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Jan 05, 2009 Carroll marked it as to-read

I hated "The Other Boleyn Girl." But I'd love to revisit the era, and this would be a good place to start!

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Sep 22, 2011 Katrina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobiographies-biographies, books-read-in-2011, history, non-fiction

I knew I would finish this book today and it has been such an interesting book!

The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser takes its reader through each wife, how they overlapped and the events surrounding their marriage to King Henry VIII. I wanted to read this book as I am currently about 3 episodes into the final season of the Tudors and I thought it would make a nice compliment to what was being shown on screen.

Never having much English history myself, Antonia Fraser (who herself is of noble b...more

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Jan 26, 2010 Andre rated it 5 of 5 stars

This hard bound book is written by one of the great English novelists of the last half century. Lady Antonia Fraser has written extensively of the early royalty of England. Her books include: Mary, Queen of Scots, Cromwell, King James VI and I, Royal Charles, The Weaker Vessel and The Warrior Queens. But perhaps her most acclaimed work is this book written with intelligence, humor, and elan, as well as the exceptional powers of research and synthesis we have come to expect from Antonia Fraser. I...more

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Sep 09, 2010 Robin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Some may think that having already read "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" by Alison Weir, that reading "The Wives of Henry VIII" would be Tudor over-kill and nothing more than repetition. However, Antonia Fraser manages to put her own spin on these famous wives and brings out details and facets of each woman that I hadn't previously contemplated. I am not sure I could choose a favorite between Weir and Fraser. If I remember correctly, Weir seemed to put a bit more focus on Anne Boleyn while Fraser l...more

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Jan 27, 2010 Bill Preston rated it 4 of 5 stars

After reading Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall I was still bit curious about the life of Thomas Cromwell and Antonia Fraser's The Wives of Henry VIII was in the house. Alas, Cromwell is a fairly minor character within these pages despite the key role he played in the management of Henry's kingdom. Neverthless, the history in Fraser's book is gripping enough and reinforces what a murderous time it was not only for wives unable to bear sons but for so many others who had the misfortune to keep company wi...more

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Feb 22, 2009 Tracy rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a very thorough, scholarly work covering all six of Henry VIII's wives. I found it to be somewhat dense and difficult to read, mostly because there are so many players, most of them related to one another in some way. Between the international politics, the issues of religious reform, and the interactions within the English court itself, one almost needs to be taking thorough notes on who is who. In terms of exploring the subject with great precision, it's a great book, but I'd have like...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Roberta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: storia, biografie

"Ripudiata, decapitata, morta... ripudiata, decapitata, sopravvissuta": una strofa di filastrocca un po' cinica come aiuto mnemonico per ricordare le tragiche fini delle sei mogli del Re d'Inghilterra. In questo libro - molto scorrevole, si legge come un feuilleton - la Fraser, brava storica inglese, traccia i ritratti delle loro vite, che spesso si intersecarono fra loro - accomunate dal trait d'union di un marito monarca assoluto e capriccioso, smanioso di avere un discendente maschio.
In un'e...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads, non-fiction, first-read-2013

I've been on a bit of a Tudor kick recently, what with this, Alison Weir's Innocent Traitor (the life of lady Jane Grey) and a CJ Sansom detective piece set at the courting of Catherine Parr. They've all tied together quite neatly.

It's a long old book, but filled with 6 very different characters. At the start, the author sets out to explore the women who were married to Henry VIII, to get behind the rhymes (Katherine, Anne Jane, Anne, Katherine, Catherine - Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, b...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Rozsa Gaston added it

It wasn't exactly a Hilary Mantel treatment of Henry VIII and his wives, but it filled in the gaps for me after reading Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies. Rich, densely packed history with a bit of well thought out speculation on the lives of Henry VIII's six wives. The more I read, the more I shuddered at the King's heartless, rash decision-making. Best thing the man did was to produce Elizabeth I, one of England's finest monarchs. Hats off to the Queen and to Lady Antonia Fraser for making Catherin...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Julia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

Jacob and I started reading this book out loud on a road trip to CA last summer...and just finished it on a road trip to CA this summer. What can I say? Who reads out loud, anyway? What I can say is that I unreservedly think Antonia Fraser is a treasure. Which is not the typical reaction I have to someone who uses at least one word per page that I don't know. She is delightfully British, delightfully clever, and sneakily snarky in a way I absolutely adore. Plus, this is one. juicy. story. Even i...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Helene Harrison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

Antonia Fraser gives a relatively balanced account of the six wives of Henry VIII, although there is a lack of solid information on Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard in particular. Obviously, there is more of a focus on Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, but Fraser does introduce some new ideas to the mix and comes down firmly within the arguments she presents. However, her writing is sometimes confusing and it seems almost too scholarly. The material is occasionally a bit dry,...more

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Oct 13, 2011 GoldGato rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: winter, history, biography, royalty

Naughty, naughty Henry. He just couldn't keep his hands off the women, which is why he remains such a historic figure and overshadows his own spidery father. For anyone wondering why he kept moving from lass to lass, in the process of alienating himself from the Catholic Church, this is the book to read. I had always found the portraits of his wives to be bland, but in Fraser's hands, they really do come alive.

Catherine of Aragon especially. It was her refusal to allow Henry to simply move along...more

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About Antonia Fraser

Lady Antonia Fraser (Pinter), CBE, is a British author of history and novels, best known as Antonia Fraser for writing biographies and detective fiction, and the second wife of Harold Pinter, the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature.

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“[In 16th century European society] Marriage was the triumphal arch through which women, almost without exception, had to pass in order to reach the public eye. And after marriage followed, in theory, the total self-abnegation of the woman.” — 4 people liked it

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