Review: The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser
The Wives of Henry VIII
by Antonia Fraser
Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.
You’ve probably heard this little ditty, which describes the fates of Henry VIII’s six wives: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. In her extensively researched biographies, Antonia Fraser seeks to discover who these women really were, behind the identities they’ve gained in pop culture, and what it was about them that so attracted the King. Along the way, she clears up misconceptions and rumors that have developed in the many years since these women lived, from the religious (Catherine of Aragon was a strict, narrow-minded Catholic; Jane Seymour was the true Protestant Queen) to the silly (Anne Boleyn practiced witchcraft).
(Note: Depending on the source, the various Katherines/Catherines names are spelled differently. For example, Katherine of Aragon used the ‘K’ as her initial and usually signed her name with a ‘K’, so I’ve always spelled her name with a K. Fraser chooses to use ‘Catherine’ because as a child in Spain, the princess went by ‘Catalina’. I’ll try to remember to use Fraser’s spellings here, but if I mess up it’s because I’ve always used the alternative spelling for all three K/Catherine queens.)
I originally started reading this book because of my fondness for The Tudors TV show and historical fiction set in this period of England’s history. I wanted to know more about the actual history behind these women - and I definitely got it. Fraser is a wordy author, and I think that she did her best to include everything she could find about the queens. This makes for some really interesting trivia…I learned that every wife was related to Henry VIII through England’s Edward I, and that Katherine Parr wrote and published Protestant books. The focus is definitely on the women; Fraser really doesn’t spend a lot of time writing about Henry’s life outside his role as lover and husband.
Several sections of black and white plates are included as well, with portraits of Henry and his wives. I was a little disappointed that they weren’t in color, but I imagine the publisher would have severely cut down on the number of included images if this were done, and that would have been detrimental to the narrative.
This book came out a year after Alison Weir’s The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and I am very curious to compare the two biographies. I mean, there must have been some considerable overlap in their research, so I wonder how distinct the two books are from each other. I loved the Fraser book - I thought she did a fantastic job highlighting the strengths and personalities of each queen, without seeming to overly favor one woman over the others.
4.5 out of 5 stars
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