The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
Alison Weir’s book is just fantastic. Instead of applying today’s moral standards, today’s laws, rules, views etc. onto the events that happened almost five hundred years ago Weir, at the beginning of her book, gives such a detailed outline of what life was really like back then. She talks about the roles and responsibilities of women, the expectations of Queens and mistresses and of those at court who all played a role in some way or another in the life of Henry VIII. You get an idea of what life was like back then and why Henry and those around him did the things they did. By today’s standards the events that happened five hundred years ago might sound appalling – such as beheading a woman he believed had betrayed him. Or even ridiculous, by not accepting a great offer given by the King for a better life. But those were the morals and standards of the day and what was considered ‘normal’ by today’s standards was VERY different back then.What I instantly adored about this book is that Weir gives us a wonderful insight into the roles, responsibilities and loves of women of noble blood during the Reign of Henry VIII. We get to see how men of the day truly believed that women were of a lesser class then themselves and their main function in life was to produce heirs… mainly sons. Girls were accepted, but male issues were of extreme importance; and women were not just expected to have one or two children, they were expected to have many, many children! As though these poor women, even though they were from rich, well to do families, were expected to be nothing more than poor breeding machines.As well as this it appears that in the Tudor period women were supposed to be seen and not heard. They were expected to dress in the highest fashion adorned with beautiful jewels, materials and furs, appearing nothing but clean and virtuous. There was not supposed to be a hint of slander against them, pure, innocent, honourable, moral and knowledgeable about issues related to women – needlework and the likes. They were not expected to have their own thoughts and views on matters. They were not allowed to speak out and say what they believed, and heaven forbid if they challenged a man. And yet on the complete opposite side of the coin, it appears that men, especially Henry Tudor were attracted to women who challenged them, who had their own thoughts, opinions and beliefs on matters. But as soon as they were married these poor women had better shut up and provide lots of babies! My heart breaks for the poor women struggling to be who they are while being everything they were expected to be by the social rules of the time.Through Weir’s wonderful and detailed description of the expectations and pressures of women during Henry VIII’s reign it gives me even greater love for Anne Boleyn. This woman was not only bold, vivacious and intelligent, she was also a woman born hundreds of years before her time. I can only imagine all the remarkable things she could have achieved if she lived during today’s times.Speaking of Anne Boleyn, Weir does not shy away from who Anne was. She does not try and paint her as some holy figure that supported Henry in the reformation – she tells the world what Anne Boleyn was really like. There is a LOT more to Anne Boleyn than just her fall and her involvement in the Reformation. To think that this was all that was her life is a grave underestimation. While she was a strong, vivacious, brave, intelligent woman she was also a woman prone to jealousy, fits of rage and anger, scorn and tremendous hatred. (I can see so much of myself in Anne Boleyn at times that it’s not funny!) Weir states the facts and I felt as though she let the reader decide their own views and opinions on Anne.Everyone knows my feelings about Anne Boleyn; she is after all my favourite of Henry’s wives and for many reasons. Weir just summed up all the reasons why I admire and love Anne. Yes she most certainly had her faults and perhaps she should not have encouraged Henry to advance and follow his love for her, perhaps she should not set her sights upon the throne and becoming Queen – we see what a price Catherine had to pay for these ambitions. But I do believe that Anne had many good intentions. Weir notes that Anne wanted the money from the dissolution of the monasteries and Abby’s to be given to the poor, charities and to the advancement of the universities. Anne also truly believed that she could have given Henry a male heir. I love how Alison Weir gives both sides of the coin that is Anne Boleyn, the good and the bad. She dedicates a great section of the book to outlining the life and the facts about Anne and lets the reader make up their own mind about this woman. A woman who in the words of Cromwell had - intelligence, spirit and courage.While I Catherine of Aragon has never been my favourite wife, I did gain a powerful insight into the life of this incredible woman. I will never be a strong supporter of the women - personally I think when everything fell down with Anne Boleyn, the annulment of their marriage and the Reformation - I think Catherine should have accepted Henry’s offer to go to a nunnery. He offered her the same comforts and leisure’s that she currently had, including visiting and spending time with her daughter. Yet she chose to remain strong to her faith and her beliefs, which one has to give her admirable credit for. She certainly was a strong woman. It’s a shame that she was still madly in love with Henry and could not accept that he no longer loved her, nor was in love with her but had fallen madly in love with someone else. For the first time in his life Henry VIII was in love, it is just so very sad that Catherine of Aragon had to suffer for this new found love.One of my favourite quotes: ‘when thwarted Henry could, and frequently did, become cruel.’ (Weir 1995, p. 228). I think this sums up Henry VIII to a tea. When Henry had his mind set on something he wanted it and nothing would stop him - heaven forbid anything that got in his way! Poor Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn are true testament to this.I really enjoyed reading about Jane Seymour… which I know will shock many people as they know that I have very little love for the late Queen. What I found extremely interesting was that Weir did not try to portray the woman as completely virtuous and innocent… in fact she laid out some very good reasons why Jane was perhaps rather quite the opposite. Weir talks about how Jane could not have been completely blind to Anne Boleyn’s plight. After all, just as Anne had done to Katherine of Aragon, Jane was pushing her way into Henry VIII’s view as a possible love interest. She was trying to gain the King’s favour and take his attention away from his Queen just as Anne had done to Katherine. Perhaps she was pushed by her family who saw the prospects of Jane becoming the next Queen and perhaps there was a little of Jane’s own ambition and goals playing a role. Whatever the case, be it one way or the other… or in my opinion a mixture of both, there is no way to say that Jane was completely innocent. She obviously knew what she was doing – trying to bring down the fall of Henry and Anne’s marriage and put herself into the position as the next Queen. Innocent? I think not.I think the major difference between Jane and Anne is that when Anne caught the King’s attention there was a LOT of political and religious happenings going on. Anne did NOT first bring the idea of divorce to Henry, he had, for some years previously, been thinking how he could distance himself from Katherine of Aragon so that he may have a male heir to the throne. He had grown dissatisfied with poor Katherine and had not visited her bed for years. He wanted a new wife and when he fell in love with Anne he wanted something to be done.What came with Anne was the Reformation and she has been wrongly blamed for the single cause of the Reformation. Yes I do believe that Anne supported Henry, nudged him to the idea that he could be the soul head of the English Church, but she was not the only one to play a role in this, nor was she the single reason why Henry wanted a divorce. She did not plant this idea in Henry’s head, it had already been there, she simply helped to water the seed.But the English people did not know this, nor did they see it this way. They saw a Queen whom they deeply loved being cast off for a woman who they thought of as nothing more than a common whore. Divorce in these times had not been seen before, especially by a King and they did not like it. There was much anger and hatred towards Anne and unfortunately this carried on throughout her life and ultimately played a huge role in her downfall.With the English people hating Anne, it was not hard for them to see Jane as a new fresh start for the Kingdom. They welcomed her with open harms while they cheered for the fall of Anne Boleyn. It saddens me that they could not see past this and see Jane for who she really was – another woman, pushing out a Queen to take the role upon herself. I do not think Jane is innocent at all, nor will I ever. The evidence is just to damning against her. And let us not forget that Jane, when she was Queen, only wanted to surround herself with those of equal status and had little friendship her interaction with her ladies in waiting.And now moving on from Jane and her role in Anne’s destruction and downfall, Alison Weir goes on to speak of Anne of Cleves, the German Princess who was perhaps the only wife who have great success and joy from annulment of her marriage to Henry VIII. I think Anne was one smart cookie – she was an incredibly intelligent woman and I give her full credit to the way she handled the annulment of her marriage. It was not her fault that Henry declared: “I like her not!” nor was it her fault he could not have sexual intercourse with her. Unfortunately she was just another pawn in political alliances and she could have paid a very high price… but not only managed to get away with her head, but was greatly rewarded for how she handled herself.I really admired the way that Weir portrays Anne of Cleves and her writings only made me fall more in love with the ‘sister to the King’. Instead of going down the same path that Katherine of Aragon went, Anne chose to accept her fate and to hold her head high. She accepted what was happening and took it willingly, glad to be annulled of the marriage and be declared the King’s sister. For this, and her agreement in all matters, she was rewarded well, with three houses, lands and an annual salary from the King. She even decided not to return to Germany, but to stay in England. Although this I can see as a personal reason – after all now with a new life, money, land, servants all spread out before her Anne had a new found freedom and a love of life that she did not have under her brothers ever watchful eye. (And let us not forget that Anne changed her religion when she married Henry VIII – a difficult thing to do, but one in which she took on gladly and willingly.)I also love that Anne took little Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn and Henry under her wing and took great care and favour for her. She could see that Mary was old enough to look after herself and that Prince Edward was being spoiled and doted upon – as rightly should be due to the fact that he would be the next King of England! But she saw how ill poor Elizabeth was being treated and wanted to remedy this. Weir states how Anne invited Elizabeth to her home on many occasions and showed her great love. This warms my heart.I think for me personally, if I was married to Henry and knew that he was dissatisfied with our marriage and wanted an annulment, I would have handled the matter the same way that Anne of Cleves did. I do not think she sacrificed any of her dignity by agreeing to the annulment – in fact the people of England continued to love her even after she was no longer Queen. I do see Anne as a very strong, intelligent woman.Next came Katherine Howard – poor naive Kitty Howard. Every time I read about this girl I feel more and more sorry for her and reading Weir’s writings was no exception. I do not think that there is anyone that would say what she did was not wrong – she had an affair while she was married. The extent of that affair is up in question as Weir points out at first Culpeper denied having sexual intercourse with Katherine, but then later changed his not guilty plea to guilty. Kitty however always plead that she was innocent of sexual intercourse. Either way she was having an emotional affair with Culpepper, as the letter she wrote to him when he was sick testifies how much she missed him and cared deeply for him. Henry, who doted upon his new life and lavished attention and gifts upon her, was made to look like a fool – and history tells us that no one makes Henry VIII look like a fool!My heart breaks for this girl, given to the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk to live with other children of noble families whose parents could not afford to look after them. While she was taught the basics in education it appears that the Duchess did not take much interest in her upbringing and this had a huge impact on Katherine’s life as she grew up. Weir talks a little about how Kitty was a very warm and caring young woman and it would seem that people – especially men, used this quality against her. There is no doubt that she was a very sexual young girl, how much of that was what she wanted and how much of it was pushed on her by Dereham and Culpepper Weir leaves it up to the reader to decide.I get the feeling that Katherine was so taken by her new lavish lifestyle, being totally and utterly spoiled by Henry, having gifts lavished upon her, given everything her heart could desire, being the centre of attention – I think it all went to her head. She must have known what she was going with Culpeper was wrong, and yet it seemed as though she was completely taken with him. A strong part of me still thinks that she was far too naïve and foolish to realise the true impact of what she was doing. If she had only agreed that she had been contracted to marry to Dereham then her marriage to Henry would have been declared null and void and she probably would have saved her life. Unfortunately her naivety cost Katherine her life.Lastly Weir moves on to talk about the life of Katherine Parr. I felt an incredible amount of sorry for Katherine. Here is a woman who helped to revolutionize learning for women in the Tudor times and what was her reward? A devastating betrayal and a sad, tragic ending. She was very much aware of Henry VIII’s past and what he did with his wives and yet Katherine was put into a position where she could not deny Henry’s request for marriage. She was in love with another man (Thomas Seymour) and yet she had to push that love aside because her King wanted to marry her. It must have been terrifying for her.Yet despite this knowledge she was a loving and caring woman who nursed Henry through great bouts of health problems. She was a secret Protestant and this in itself almost brought about her downfall when Bishop Gardiner informed the King of this and tried to have her sent to the Tower. Yet I love that Katherine was a strong woman and knew how to play her role well. Running to Henry she fell on her knees imploring him that she was his most faithful and humble servant, wanting nothing more than to learn from him and if she did argue or question him it was only in an attempt to help her learn. HA! Smart words and a wonderful way to play on Henry’s love of flattery and vanity! I think this moment in itself shows the great intelligence and strength of Katherine.I also love how Katherine basically revolutionized learning for women during her time. She was an avid reader and loved learning. She published two books and encouraged her step children and daughters of noblemen to strive for greater learning and knowledge. After Henry died Katherine was very vigorous in continuing and encouraging the education of young noblewomen. She invited Elizabeth and Lady Jane Grey into her home to give them the best education possible, and made it so that a woman’s education was just as important as a man’s.And yet despite all of this, despite pushing her own love aside to marry Henry VIII, despite nursing the King through bouts of ill health, putting up with his temper, managing to avoid being sent to the Tower, Katherine still, I believe, had a sad tragic ending to her life.She married the love of her life Thomas Seymour, only to find him flirting and trying to seduce Elizabeth and to learn that the love of her life perhaps did not love her as much in return. And then, after so many years without children she finally conceived… only to die a short while after giving birth. I think that’s such a sad ending to a Queen who did so much for women during the Tudor period.I absolutely LOVED this book and found myself unable to get enough. Despite working, looking after a spirited two year old and running errands I found myself finishing this book in just over a week! I had to be careful because when I picked it up I had a lot of trouble putting it down again. I was honestly quite sad when I had finished the book because I just wanted to keep reading more and more. I just adore Alison Weir as an author. Her writing flows and creates beautiful and intriguing images in the mind, as though the words are flying off the page and coming to life. There is a wealth of emotion within her books and yet she still manages to leave it to the reader to make up their own minds about each matter and what happened to each wife.If you only ever read one book about the wives of Henry VIII then I suggest, no implore you to read this book! The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir is a fantastic read, full of so much detailed information and I promise you that once you pick it up you won’t be able to put it down!
If you have any interest in history and the Tudors then you need to buy this book, it is fantastic. I was so impressed by the attention to detail, it gives you such a great understanding of Henry VIII and the Tudor court and of course his six wives. It is not like reading a text book, it is biographical and therefor very interesting. I borrowed it from the library and had it on audio, I started listening to it but switched over to reading it. By the time I was half way through the book I had ordered a copy of my own. I was really impressed by the detail in this book, if the colour of the Queen's gown was recorded then those details where included.Henry VIII was a complex and highly intelligent man who controlled a nation with fear and suffering. He changed a nations religious beliefs all for the love of a woman, a woman he came to hate and would not allow her name to be spoken.Did you know that Henry's father, King Henry VII considered taking Katherine of Aragon for his bride after his eldest son Arthur died? Katherine fell pregnant six to eight times but only had one child, Princess Mary.Anne Boleyn was six months pregnant with Elizabeth when she had her coronation. It is easy to see why so many historical authors have depicted Anne as the conniving husband stealer. She managed to hold off giving herself to the King of England when women usually fell at his feet including Anne's sister Mary. "Anne's biographer, George Wyatt, asserted that she was not in love with the King and had hoped for a future husband that was 'more agreeable to her'. He also says that she resented the loss of freedom she had suffered as a result of the King's courtship ... she handled him with such calculated cleverness that there is no doubt that the crown of England meant more to her than the man." After Anne was decapitated her mouth and eyes moved, leading the crowd to believe that it was supernatural, it was of course a reflex reaction. After Anne died the King was never heard to utter her name again.Jane Seymour - Anne Boleyn waited seven years for her crown, Jane waited seven months. On the day of Anne's execution Jane was preparing her wedding clothes. Jane Seymour's personal motto was 'bound to obey and serve'. Henry's wedding present to Jane was 104 manors in 4 different countries as well as a number of forests and hunting chases. The income from these properties were to support her. Did you know that Jane Seymour didn't have a coronation because Henry couldn't afford it? The only Queen's that Henry gave a coronation to were Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Henry's four other wives were Queen's without coronations.I will definitely read more from this author!
What do You think about The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2000)?
Alison Weir’s “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” is a monumental work. It is a history book, not a historical novel. It is a serious work of non-fiction. Ms. Weir spent four years researching for this book. The bibliography takes 37 pages, and the list of actual sources takes 28 pages. She must have spent over a year just writing this voluminous book. The quality of the book clearly reflects the tremendous amount of research work.I do not believe it is particularly appropriate to review this serious, meticulously researched book along with literary works of fiction. Moreover, having read only a few historical studies in my life, I do not feel qualified to evaluate their quality. Two aspects of Ms. Weir’s writing I feel qualified to comment on are the clarity and strength of her argument and her writing style. The author masterfully uses historical evidence to support her theses about historical figures’ motivations. Also, Ms. Weir’s prose is extremely readable. Be aware, though, that you need to read every sentence to make sure you follow the flow of the argument. I am impressed with the painstaking objectivity of the author’s portrayal of historical figures.It took me a long time to read this book, and I totally enjoyed having to focus while reading. Thanks to Ms. Weir’s work I know a little more about the world and about people, and for that I am very thankful. Now I am off to begin “Elizabeth the Queen”.Four and a half stars.
—Lukasz Pruski
I really liked this, and especially liked the fairly even handed treatment Weir gave to these people. But there is one notable exception. Compared with everyone else, Weir seemed to take delight in Thomas Cromwell's execution and even in the fact of the executioner botching the job and taking two swings of the axe to finally sever his neck. With others, Weir seems to see both sides of a person's character. But, for her, Cromwell was Henry's evil genius, and she seems to think ill of Cromwell even while she is disposed to look favorably on his master. I found that a bit odd. Of course, I may be a bit prejudiced by James Frain's amazing portrayal of him in the Showtime series, The Tudors.The legal hoops that get jumped through are pretty amazing. Katherine married Henry's brother, but it got annulled with Papal dispensation on the grounds that the marriage was not consummated. Henry then had his marriage to Katherine annulled because it was incestuous, based on the prior marriage to his brother. Lots of people think of Katherine as simply a victim in this. But it's pretty clear that she would have been pleased for her nephew to go to war with England to restore her marital rights. And its also clear that she insisted on her rights, even if upholding them insured that England would fall again into civil war as a result. On top of that, she also seems to have had a soft spot in her heart for the burning of heretics.Anne Bolyn was probably a horrible woman. It's pretty clear that she was willing to poison her. But, its also abundantly clear that the charges against her were completely fabricated. Henry needed an alliance with Spain at that point, so Anne was a political handicap. She hadn't given him a son, and was a pain in the ass, so she had to die. (And so did several totally innocent men, just to complete the tableau.) This marriage got annulled on the grounds that it was incestuous -- since Henry had already had an affair with Anne's sister Mary before marrying him. You would think after the exact same problems with his first marriage, that Henry might have learned something...Jane Seymour was the wife Henry liked best. I think this is because, of all his wives, she had the good taste to die before he got bored with her. Katherine Howard is another great case. She probably cheated on Henry. However, its pretty clear that she was precontracted to marry Dereham, and thus her marriage to Henry was void, and she could not have committed adultery against Henry for the simple reason that they were not truly married. It's also pretty clear that Henry understood this, but he was hurt and wanted her dead for it. And his handlers wanted her dead for fear that Henry would get over being hurt, and take her back. She was too Catholic for them, so she had to die. Thus, they had to make her adultery a capital crime. Dereham also had to die. His crime was having sex with the future queen, before the King had even met her. This marriage never got annulled. And that makes sense, since it was the only one that had a legitimate basis for annulment.Of his other two wives: Anne of Cleves was fortunate. She repulsed Henry from the outset, and he put her away. Thus, he never got bored or disappointed with her. And she seems to have lived a fairly good life. Katherine Parr escaped burning by very, very little. Basically, the courier who had the warrant for her arrest dropped it, and it was discovered by someone loyal to Katherine. So she learned of her peril in time, and managed brilliantly to make amends. Otherwise, Henry would have succeeded in killing half his wives. Instead, Katherine Parr got to survive Henry and then die horribly from the complications of childbirth.As vile and fascinating as the characters in Henry's court were, the big impression I got from this book was how incredibly scary childbirth must have been in Tudor times. It was incredibly common for the woman to die of complications afterward. It was even more common for the kids to die. And if the kids did manage to grow up, chances are they would die young from the plague or war or something equally terrible. But, of course, there was always the chance that they would grow up to be incredibly successful, at least until their rivals figured out some way to get them attainted and put their heads on the block.
—Duffy Pratt
Henry VIII, England's most famous and rougish king, takes somewhat of a back seat (though still figures prominently) while his six wives (their courtship, marriage, and their fate) are front and center by one of England's most preeminent storyteller of royal history. Intrigue, duplicity, executions, and, of course, Henry's marital infidelities that led to a major and cataclysmic reformation of religion in England, Weir weaves her spell the gives breath and personality to each of Henry's wives, and their feelings on the reasonings behind the kings dissolution of each of his marriages. An excellent read!
—Alexander Santiago
