Anne of Cleves: Fourth Wife of Henry VIII

by Mary Saaler

Many possible brides were hesitant to marry Henry VIII, a man notorious for his treatment of previous wives. Because no woman emerged as the obvious choice, Thomas Cromwell's assessment of the religious and political pressures of the late 1530s led him to suggest one of the two daughters of the safely Protestant Duke of Cleves as a prospective bride. Anne was chosen, largely on the basis of her portrait, and traveled quickly to England to be Henry's new queen. The marriage, like Henry's others, was not a success and after a brief reign of just six months, Anne was 'a queen unqueened'. However she was still alive, divorced and wealthy and, unlike other portraits, this book covers her many succeeding years of independence. This is the fascinating story of one of the most powerful women in 16th Century Europe, and also an intriguing portrait of a loveless marriage.

Genres: Tudor Period, History, Biography

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1995

Reviews

[Linda Lipko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anne of Cleves was married to Henry VIII in 1540. Thomas Cromwell was instrumental in placing Anne of Cleves in line for the marriage to Henry. A plain woman, one of the two daughters of the Duke of Cleves. For political reasons Cromwell had a portrait commissioned. Alas, it was an inaccurate depiction of the very unfashionable, dowdy woman.

She did not meet Henry's standards, and withing six months she was "unqueened." Remaining in England for the remainder of her life, she outlived Henry. She gained wealth, many properties, and some jewels.

Most importantly, she was not killed, thus, she kept her life and her head.

She was smarter than Henry deemed her. She was a good mother to Henry's three children.

Ruthless and unforgiving, Henry never forgot the mistake Cromwell made in placing Anne of Cleves in line for marriage. Alas, Thomas Cromwell was killed as a result of his hubris and error in judgment.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

From 1995, Mary Saaler's 'Anne of Cleves-Fourth Wife of Henry VIII' is a short overview of a queen unqueened. Her brief stint of just six months with Henry in 1540 is covered here in a similar concise manner, in under one hundred and twenty pages.
Saaler's notes and bibliography show she has studied her subject through writings both old and modern, i.e. Holinshed's 'Chronicles of England' (1808), Hall's 'Henry VIII' (1904), and the Oxford and Cambridge Histories, up to the studies of Antonia Fraser, David Starkey and Alison Weir.
I think this is a well written study, and can be recommended as an ideal introduction to wife No4. Although Anne of Cleves was in the Tudor spotlight for a very brief period, 1540 was a pivotal year in this reign. The king's health, both physical and mental, began to decline after the death of Jane Seymour, and the failure of the Cleves marriage ended the rise and rise of Thomas Cromwell.
In this book Saaler attempts to redress the balance of the historical judgement upon Anne, away from the predominantly male standpoint. No matter. Henry was definite, "I like her not!"

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saaler starts off stating that most male historians take Henry's said in the divorce and female historians take Anne's side - but she herself doesn't do much to advocate for what Anne went through when she gets to the that infamous first meeting itself that lead tot eh divorce. Perhaps because this book was written before both Lindsey's non-fiction take and Greggory's fictional one? Both making the logical argument that Anne didn't like him first?

Anyway, the book lays out the background of Henry's reign and the political atmosphere that developed that lead to Anne being the "right" choice for bride #4, but doesn't do as much work to give us the background on what was going on in Cleves, although Saaler does stress that Cleves was not the Lutheran state people assume - but Erasmusian, which, unfortunately is a nicety people don't understand as easily today.

The book lays out the politics of what happened and then spends more time describing Anne's life post-married than most people give her time for. I think it downplays too much how much she was being spied on, but I did like to see how practical she was in terms of worrying about money and paying attention to domestic matters. For example - she left extra money in her will to the servants who let her mess around in their kitchen, experimenting with better tasting Lenten fish recipes.

Its like the equivalent of bringing extra treats in at the end of the year to your office co-workers as a thanks-for-not-complaining-to-HR-about-all-the-fish-I-microwaved. :-)

[Jenny Rees]

I used Mary Saaler's book as reference material when researching for my historical novel. Much of what she has written is very useful, clearly written and a mostly unbiased opinion of the events. However there must always be some element of discussion. I found the book interesting and very useful for background to Anne's life.

[Jenny Rees · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent research source. Good information. I found it value for money. It was well laid out the reasons why the marriage happened and why it failed.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a good biography for the life of Anne of Cleves. Anne is often overlooked by those with an interest in the Tudors and the wives of the infamous Henry VIII, so it is nice to see a book dedicated to Anne. Detailed without being overwhelming, this would be ideal for people interested in the lives of Henry VIII's wives individually. For scholars, however, this would be a starting point rather than a definitive guide.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

June 5, 2012

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was very factual .. very short and to the point