The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Womens' Stories

by Amy Licence

For a king renowned for his love life, Henry VIII has traditionally been depicted as something of a prude, but the story may have been different for the women who shared his bed. How did they take the leap from courtier to lover, to wife? What was Henry really like as a lover? Henry s women were uniquely placed to experience the tension between his chivalric ideals and the lusts of the handsome, tall, athletic king; his first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, was, on one level, a fairy-tale romance but his affairs with Anne Stafford, Elizabeth Carew and Jane Popincourt undermined it early on. Later, his more established mistresses, Bessie Blount and Mary Boleyn, risked their good names by bearing him illegitimate children. Typical of his time, Henry did not feel that casual liaisons could threaten his marriage, until he met the one woman who held him at arm s length. The arrival of Anne Boleyn changed everything. Her seductive eyes helped rewrite history. After their passionate marriage turned sour, the king rapidly remarried to Jane Seymour. Her death in childbirth left him alone, without wife or lover, for the first time in decades. In the quest for a new queen, he scoured the courts of Europe, obsessed with the beautiful Christina of Milan, whose rejection of him spurred him into the arms of Anne of Cleves and soon after the lively teenager Catherine Howard. Henry s final years were spent with the elegant and accomplished widow Catherine Parr, who sacrificed personal pleasure for duty by marrying him while her heart was bestowed elsewhere. What was it like for these women to share Henry s bed, bear his children or sit on the English throne? He was a man of great appetites, ready to move heaven and earth for a woman he desired; their experiences need to be readdressed in a frank, modern take on the affairs of his heart. What was it really like to be Mrs Henry VIII?"

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period, Biography, Historical, British Literature, Womens

416 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2014

About the author

Medieval and Tudor historian, with a particular interest in women's lives and experiences, also dabble in Modernism. I write fiction and non-fiction, also journalism for The Guardian, BBC History website, The New Statesman, The Huffington Post, The English Review and The London Magazine. I appeared in TV documentaries "The Real White Queen and her Rivals" and "The Private Lives of the Tudors." Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Reviews

[Carolina Casas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like how Amy Licence goes very deep into the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII and dispels many myths about their husband, namely that Henry was this very prude figure who only had two mistresses. Using contemporary evidence she shows it was the complete opposite. I also love how she focused on the early years of marriage between Katherine of Aragon and Henry VIII. They're always depicted as old and boring versus a young and more energetic Anne Boleyn who was ten times better and more beautiful than her predecessor but Amy Licence sets the record straight on this. Everyone believes she was old and prudish because that's certainly how she became when Henry annulled his marriage to her, but in the first years of their marriage the two were very passionate and contemporary beliefs about sex were not as conservative as we think. There were some sexual practices that the church allowed and that Katherine and Henry might've engaged on and even after she stopped having her period, he still visited her chambers and she continued to enjoy the feasts and participate in the many dances and plays. There is a lot of interesting details regarding her first marriage to Arthur from what she wore, what might have gone between closed doors which offers a great new possibility -and a very plausible one- regarding the consummation or non-consummation. Henry rode as Sir Loyal Heart and wore Katherine of Aragon's colors, their marriage was a true love match and she was not only his equal in many ways but she was also beautiful and albeit older like him, she was his first choice. He later claimed that he was fulfilling his father's dying wish but as Amy explains, this seems highly unlikely. Henry's choice of bride like his maternal grandfather, was to say to the world that he was his own person and king of his realm and he would not accept any other bride that was not his choosing and there was also another similarity between his first marriage and that of his grandfather's. Katherine was five years and a half older than him just as Elizabeth was older than him and also a widow. However she didn't possess the same luck that Elizabeth did giving Henry his longed for heir. The fact that Henry still continued to comfort her after she lost so many babies and their most prized-one, their new year baby, says a lot about their relationship as well as how many described it and how it was just so passionate and beautiful and Katherine loved to participate in all these great displays of love, affection, costuming and chivalry.
But everything has an end and after Henry realized he wasn't going to get a son by her, his wandering eye turned to other women and here it's where Amy deconstructs the accepted version of events that Henry was a prude. He wasn't. He was just very discreet of his affairs unlike his French counterpart, Francis I. Henry had learned from his grandfather's mistakes who was not so discreet. Henry was a true masker and he was always very concerned with image and despite the reports that proved his many liaisons, he was successful in keeping most of his affairs private except for two and those are only known because of Henry Fitzroy and his marriage to Anne Boleyn.
There is a lot of attention on Anne Boleyn as well and that's because you can't rule her out because she played an important part as Katherine once did, in English politics and religion. She was an intense advocate of the Reform, however the Reform as Amy explains was divided into many sects and although Anne was described as "more Lutheran than Luther himself" her actions seem to lean on more with the intellectual thought that Marguerite of Navarre (a woman she admired during her time in France, first serving her future husband's sister and then Queen Claude) adopted which was a combination of Swiss, French and English radicalism. Anne Boleyn may not have intended to become queen from the beginning as many series depict and indeed it may have been accidental and I think that's true since she had already learned the tough lesson with Percy that as a woman, especially an unmarried one, she had to be careful who she was with or who courted her. There are many passages in her chapters that reflect humanist thought on illicit affairs which Anne seems to have adopted. Amy Licence also challenges the reader by asking important questions such as was Anne really chaste during her waiting period for Henry to marry her or did they engage in any foreplay (as betrothal was regarded as close to marriage so some couples did in fact engage on this. This was ironically also the reason that Edward IV's brother Richard III used to invalidate his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville based on the convenient claim that Edward had promised marriage to someone else before he married Elizabeth) or did Henry look to someone else for comfort? Given Henry's actions and the wealth of primary sources that Amy has presented, it is very possible that a little of both happened. They might not have consummated their union but something did went on there such as kisses or caresses and then Henry went to someone else to have sex.
Anne and Katherine however had tragic endings and both of them for the same reason: They couldn't give the king a son. Anne was beheaded, Katherine died but her death was a slow and sadder one because she was for three years waiting in vain for things to change and when she realized she didn't, she also realized she was going to die alone and abandoned by the man whom she had once been so passionately in love.
The last part of the book focuses on the remaining four wives. I would've loved to have seen a little more on Jane Seymour, I believe she was not completely a pawn. She was certainly coached but she was not dumb and reading three biographies of her and other 'wives' book I believe she learned from experience and there was definitely more to her than met the eye. But it was probably due to the fact that her reign was so short that so little was dedicated to her.
Anne of Cleves also has a negative stereotype that she did take time to deconstruct and show that there are many inconsistencies with the declarations of her ladies and servants that said the marriage was not consummated (when she could not speak very good English at this point) to the fact that she was relieved the marriage was over when she wasn't and after Katherine Howard's demise might have expected in vain to become his wife again and therefore as her brother hoped, revive the Cleves alliance and when this didn't happen and she found out about Henry's marriage to his last wife she was very angry because she didn't find Katherine Parr appealing.
Katherine Howard is a special case and she continues to divide opinion after more than five centuries. There was certainly a sexual element to her regarding Mannox and Dereham and whether this was sexual abuse or voluntary, we will never know. The author believes it was likely the latter as Katherine was young and very naive and inexperienced she was easily led astray by these two more experienced and opportunist men. But her union with Culpeper is more confusing and it's likely to have been platonic but possibility that it may have been sexual is not ruled out.
After Katherine's lovers were executed, she and Jane Parker, lady Rochford (widow of George Boleyn) followed them in that order. The last wife was none other than Katherine Parr who some still believe she was Henry's nurse but she wasn't. Henry had his own nurses and didn't need another one, at an advance age he knew he wasn't going to beget anymore children from anyone and wanted companionship from someone he could enjoy being with and that position fell on Katherine who had her eyes set on someone else (Thomas Seymour).
Katherine like her namesake and Henry's first wife was not only very smart, but she was also pragmatic (perhaps even more pragmatic), charismatic and kind (she quickly won the hearts of the English people and her royal stepchildren and was particularly close to Mary whom she was closer to in age) and above all very learned knowing Italian, Latin, French and her love for learning encouraged her two stepdaughters to translate Erasmus and Marguerite of Navarre's writings respectively. She narrowly avoided death through kindness and humility and she was the only other wife besides the first Katherine, to be appointed as Regent.
The Six wives and the many Mistresses of Henry VIII is a rich addition to my Tudor book shelves and to women's studies. This book is really a HERstory of the women of Henry's life written in a way that it hasn't been written before.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m giving this 4 stars instead of three just for the sheer amount of info. And the book was very interesting in parts. But there are also a lot of overly detailed parts that I could have done without. A paragraph full of prices spent on things and money paid to various people is just not useful info to me when given no reference point of what that would mean in terms of average income, etc. But, when the author did dive into what some of the surviving documents might show as far as what people were thinking and feeling, I found those parts to be really good.

I read a lot of non fiction, and I guess this one was just way more academically written than what I’m used to. I’d prefer a slightly more narrative approach to the info, but Amy Licence definitely had done incredibly thorough research here and did organize it very well.

I really appreciated that she gave as much book space to the women as they took up in Henry’s life. So many accounts ignore the fact that Catherine of Aragon spent the vast majority of his marital life as his wife. So many pick up the story when Anne Boleyn enters the picture and things get scandalous. I enjoyed reading about their earlier relationship.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Source: Free pdf copy from Amberley Publishing in exchange for a review.
Summary:
In my opinion, it is unfair how Henry VIII and his relationships have been depicted on the movie screen and in books. Because most of the time it is an inaccurate rendering. Accuracy is swept away and replaced with theatrics that titillate. What people do not realize is Henry's marriages and love affairs had more than enough drama, adding to the reality of what happened is unnecessary. I'm thankful Amy Licence has not sought to write another biography on Henry VIII. Instead, she has written a study on Henry's relationships with his wives and mistresses. Henry was married six times. He had several affairs. All of the relationships began and ended on his terms. I've never thought of Henry as man who was not in control. But death had the last dramatic session in his life. A legacy of Henry VIII is his lengthy list of wives, especially concerning the circumstances of each relationship. I have been curious to know what Henry's enticement had been for these women? What was Henry like as a lover? Was "it" all a game and Henry the master chess player?
Amy Licence defines, "three key phases of Henry's intimate relationships."

1509-1525. A young Henry.
1526-1537. The era dominated by a preoccupation for an heir.
1537-1547. Henry's effort to "recreate the stability and happiness of a loving marriage."

My Thoughts:
The best writers know and write for their targeted audience. The most clever writers have a particular skill they have mastered. In Amy Licence's case, her particular skill is the culture and society of Tudor women.
When I began reading The Six Wives and Many Mistresses of Henry VIII, I did not expect a Henry VIII biography. I expected and received a detailed study of Henry's love relationships.
I'm compelled to feel strong empathy for Henry's first two wives. Long suffering Catherine of Aragon. She had been Henry's wife at his best. She had been Henry's wife at his worst. Catherine of Aragon had been Henry's wife longer than his other wives, but when Henry was finished with her, she was regarded as dead to his life. Likewise, is Henry's second wife Anne Boleyn. She is a favorite historical figure among readers and lovers of Tudor history. I love reading historical books on Anne. To read either a fact or fictional work on Anne, brings her passionate and vivid personality to life.
Henry had wooed and coddled Anne for years, before marrying her after his divorce from Catherine, in which Henry had transpired and enacted.
Before reading The Six Wives and Many Mistresses of Henry VIII, I had read books on Henry's mistresses, Elizabeth Blount and Mary Boleyn. Licence reveals several more mistresses in Henry's list.
While reading the book, I wondered how Henry had time for a busy sex life? He was a powerful charismatic man. I also believe he "knew" women. I believe he made it a hobby to study women, at least for the benefit of his interests; and I believe this endeavor appealed to his large ego.
Pregnancy, miscarriage, and birthing during Tudor times is explained. I was most interested to read about superstitions in regard to diagnosing pregnancy.
A favorite quote from the book:
"The greater the love he felt for them, the greater the suffering he needed to inflict upon them"

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

License, admitting she has little hard evidence to work with, argues that Henry VIII was having sex with a lot more of the ladies-in-waiting the other historians give him credit for. He wasn't prudish, she says, he was private, two very different things.

She makes some good points, citing how various invoices, receipts and other financial records suggest presents and payments in return for sexual favors from various women, and does a great job doing a psychological workup of the man without straying too much into anachronistic territory.

The part I enjoyed the most was how well she showcased the fact it was more or less the same crowd of people hanging around the king the whole time, that everyone had connections to each other, and that no one simply appeared out of thin air, even when it looks that way in the general record.

With so many people crammed in one place, all vying for top places and honors, all with history with each other, all with quarrels, favors, and grievances, and so many looking to "hook up" in every sense of the word - no wonder the history of the Tudors play out like a high school drama! :-)

[Helene Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review - I thoroughly enjoyed this book. What let it down for me was that Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn alone took up over half of the book - I know there are fewer sources on the later wives, but this is still a disappointment. However, I do think that the book is well-phrased and easy to read with plenty of primary sources and contrasting opinions. Definitely worth a read for the historian interested in Henry VIII's relationships with women, or even just for the general history lover.

General Subject/s? - History / Tudors / Henry VIII / Biography

Recommend? – Yes

Rating - 18/20

[Charity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though there were some interesting portions of this book, much of the information about the wives can be found elsewhere, which means the new material all rests with "the many mistresses." As it turns out, however, a lot of that is supposition; the assumption is made that Henry was a manslut who could not go more than a couple of months without sex, so he HAD to have had mistresses... and then information is dug up to figure out "which one it probably was," but there's really no conclusive proof anywhere other than a flattering comment here or there, or a father's boast that the king finds his daughters lovely, or a piece of jewelry given to someone.

I think it was the structure that annoyed me, really... instead of asserting who it was likely to have been and then offering the meager proof, it was a game of "eliminate everyone until there's only one likely candidate standing." I found myself skim-reading to get the answer to the question... and then it's still all guesswork anyway. In this light, Henry could not give anything away, or pay a compliment, without us believing he was "doing it" with the recipient.

The author does give all the wives credit and doesn't seem to favor any one in particular, though, which is nice... and there's little pieces of random information that I found useful in my research (though I'll have to do more, because some of it shows up nowhere else). But I'm not sure why we needed endless pages of facts on what each wife bought in the way of fabrics and such...

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to me as a gift and I opened it wondering if I was going to be reading titillating and scandal mongering stories in its pages. I was very pleased to find the scholarly research that composed the foundation of the book. Although this was not a dry as dust book (With this topic how could it be?), it was entertaining while being detailed and informative. Perhaps the average reader would be put off by the lists of Court accounts etc., but I found it interesting.

Licence cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt many of her suppositions, but she is straight forward in telling the reader that. She shifts through a lot of circumstantial evidence to put forth several theories about the women who may have been paramours to Henry.

There were quite a few editorial mistakes, mostly missed words, but that was not off-putting. The photos were relevant and well done and I always appreciate books with citation (a trend I am glad to see is returning).

[Steve Richwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times very good, but there was a bit too much detail of items at a celebration or costs of food, etc... that took away from the flow of the story.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Source: Borrowed from local library.

If you want to read about the six wives and the mistresses, read something else. If you want to read about how much everything cost and minute details of things such as Royal Progress and the Field of Gold, take this as a scholarly work.
I do not know who proofread this book but they did a terrible job as the spelling mistakes, even allowing for medieval spellings and foreign words were obvious on many pages. By the time we finished Anne Boleyn, we gave up and returned it to the library. What is more, in all the time of Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, there were only 3 mistresses given much time. All the others were merely suspected of being mistresses by the author with no definite proof.

[Sara G · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 7%. Numerous historical inaccuracies plague this book already, and I'm not sure if it's just a case of bad editing or if it's bad research, but I'm not going to continue. (Getting Catherine of Aragon's birth date wrong and listing it differently at least twice, listing Cecily Neville as Arthur Tudor's grandmother when really she was his great-grandmother) I know Amy Licence is a legitimate historian so I suspect it's editing problems, but for the time spent, read the Alison Weir book about these ladies because it doesn't have these issues.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, a much more engaging book than my last nonfiction read involving the Tudors. Despite not having dialogue as a fictionalized account would, Licence still makes this read like a story with conceivable transition between the various women that Henry forced into his orbit. I really got a sense of what each of them might have experienced in their life at court - and it made me want to learn more. Some parts dragged slightly, but this is still a fantastic book!

[theceremonials · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amy Licence has written an excellent book challenging the idea that Henry VIII was a prude who only took very few mistresses during his reigns. She has also managed to be balanced and fair to each of Henry's wives (something that Starkey, Fraser, and Weir didn't manage to do), but I do think she rushed a bit in certain parts ( for example, Jane Seymour's marriage to Henry and Anne Boleyn's downfall), and her footnotes are incomplete, but this is still an excellent book.

[Meow558 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right off the bat, I liked it. There’s a long introduction that says exactly what this book is and isn’t about, what the sources are, and how the information is organised. I like having clear knowledge of what to expect. I’m also a big fan of how it is organised. Super easy to read. However, I have never read a book about Henry VIII or his wives that talked less about the Reformation.

[Andreea Trezak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Tudor history and period, and this book gave me the chance to discover more about the women lives and stories, women who loved or married Henry VIII.
Wery well structured, complex, full of information. 5 stars, definitely!

[Ahna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting -- packed maybe a little too full of minutiae.

[Andrew Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all of Amy Licence's books this was an excellent read.

[Rebekah McKnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

As one who studies British Royal Women, this book is a foundation in my research. License gives great explanation to all of the wives.

[Annika Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

The non-Hollywood version of Henry VIII. I really appreciated a more realistic depiction of the infamous king.

[Rosie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read well researched informative and a easy read

[Eric Sellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Perhaps more detailed than some will want to read, in a day-to-day kind of way in some chapters. I had seen the musical "Six," and wanted for refresh/renew/add to my understanding of Henry's wives, lovers, dalliances.

[Tabitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful

[Miki · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 to 4 stars. Interesting details, engagingly written.

[Amy Burgess · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hard read! But enjoyable nevertheless

[Bunny · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reason I read so much historical fiction is because nonfiction is so dry. So, so, so dry. Even on subjects I'm super interested in, a dry retelling is the death of my brain's ability to stay tuned.

I started this over a month ago. This cannot be blamed on no time to read. This seriously just...killed me.

And the trouble is, the material is not boring. Yes, I know a great deal of information about the wives of Henry VIII, but Amy Licence is covering a lot of tiny details that COULD be interesting. At first, hearing about the expenses of each wife and mistress was really interesting. I love stuff like that, the materials used to make clothing and the presents given to Henry and the women.

But there is so little flair here. It's hardly one step above reading lists.

Not to mention, the author's credibility was completely destroyed for me right at the beginning with Catherine of Aragon's birth date. Opening of the chapter, Catherine's born on the 15th. The next page. Not even turning the page, but just moving my eyeballs to the next page, she was born on the 16th.

I'm sorry, what? How do you fuck something so simple up that badly? This does not give me confidence in the "probably"s and "maybe"s and "could have been"s.

I will give a couple of compliments here, though. One, this book gave me the most information I've read so far on Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. They have always been the queens I've read the least information on. Their chapters are crazy short, but still informative.

Also, Amy Licence throws out a theory I've never heard before, which is that Henry's overtures to Anne Boleyn, at least in the beginning, may very well have been unwanted advances. But how do you say no to the King of England?

I don't believe that's really what happened. But it does open the door to a whole new way of thinking regarding Anne, and that interests me.

Also, apparently it's a commonly held possibility that Jane Seymour could have been pregnant before Anne Boleyn was executed. This is why Henry was in such a massive rush to get her off the throne and have the marriage declared invalid, so that his potential heir would be legitimate.

If this were the case, she would've had a miscarriage sometime after that, because Edward wasn't born within the time frame. And there's zero evidence of it being true. But again, I do enjoy what amounts to 16th century fanfiction.

Interesting subject matter, poorly put together.

[Anne Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women's Stories Amy Licence has put a fresh light on the love life of one of the world's most notorious Kings.
Amy Licence has a beautiful way of telling a story with non-fiction; at times you forget it is not a historical novel but a splendidly researched work of authenticities and verifiable detail. The story of Henry VIII's love life has been explored over the past century from every viewpoint in all of its ignoble details that one would think there is nothing left to explore. Ms. Licence however approaches it from an invigorating and exciting perspective, pealing back layers not examined before. Here she gives voice to the women of Henry's life.
She reveals a world of mistresses and liaisons that were hidden from view by-way of Henry's inner circle. You feel the grief of all of the lost babies of Catherine of Aragon, her loyalty to the man and King she loved; and what she endured as he went from one woman to another while she maintained the regality she was born to. Here too you see the truth of what brought down Anne Boleyn, the role politics and religion played in the rise and fall of those in Henry's world.
This is another brilliant book well done by Amy Licence

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was quite possibly the best book I have read covering the history of Henry's wives. Thoroughly well researched and written in a style that makes it both easy and compelling to read I enjoyed this book from start to finish. The wives were each given coverage appropriate to their "timescale" as Henry's wives and this was a sensible approach. The writer also does an excellent job of providing an unbiased overview of each wife - at no stage do you feel that a wife or her story is favoured over another - a problem which sometimes occurs with Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn for example.

It may also serve as a reasonable introduction to the period for those unfamiliar with the Tudor era as it does not automatically assume that the reader has knowledge of the period and does set context very well.

The writer found a new angle for the oft repeated story of Henry and his wives and makes the story fresh and interesting. I cannot recommend this book enough. I note from the cover blurb that she is currently working on a new biography of Anne Boleyn. I will certainly be picking that up when it arrives.

[Dayanara Ryelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm reading this in bits and pieces, so I don't have much to say or a rating yet, but a few things I've noticed:

• We've been repeatedly told (though I've never looked up a source) that Queen Victoria was the first one to wear a white wedding dress, but Amy saying that Catalina wore one is the second one I've seen that predates the Victorian era. (The first was Alison Weir saying that Elizabeth Plantagenet wore one in her marriage to Henry VII.) Considering Amy repeatedly cites a book from that era, I'm guessing that it actually says that Catalina wore white and the Victoria thing is a myth.

This is an actual error:

• Amy says that Arthur's grandmother Cecily Neville bequeathed him bedroom furnishings, but she wasn't his grandmother, rather, his great grandmother.

Arthur Plantagenet
↓
Elizabeth (Plantagenet) Tudor - his mother
↓
Edward Plantagenet - his maternal grandfather
↓
Cecily (Neville) Plantagenet - his maternal grandfather's mother

=11 Sep 2023=
I think this is the book that I intended to DNF.

Despite the fascinating bits, it was by and large unreadable—at least for someone who struggles with NF, as I do.

[Adrienne Dillard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most historians would have you believe that Henry VIII lived a chaste life, punctuated only by the rarest of liaisons; liaisons that inevitably ended in long-term relationships, or even marriage. The truth of the matter is a bit more complex and author, Amy Licence leaves no stone unturned in her quest to get to the heart of...well...the king. Licence delves deep into every whispered rumor and innuendo, using solid research to confirm or dismiss each reported fling. Her account is engaging and readable; treading the fine line between popular and academic history with expert precision. Even if you are well-read on the king's many relationships, there are plenty of gems in here that I haven't seen anywhere else! I thoroughly enjoyed this romp through Great Harry's bedchamber and I look forward to devouring many more books by this prolific historian. Brava Ms. Licence!

[Inessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to finish the book because it's a bit too detailed in some parts.
I liked how the book really circled around the women, only giving Henry the spotlight when his part of the story was needed to understand the bigger picture. I would have liked to read a bit more about the last 4 wives - while Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn got a lot of pages, the others were cut short a bit too much for my taste.

Overall, it was a very interesting book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the females stories of Tudor England.

[Ola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wybrałam tę pozycję, ponieważ zachwycił mnie musical Six i niedługo wybieram się na niego do teatru. Książka jest napisana przystępnym językiem i w pewnym momencie tak mnie wciągnęła, że pochłonęłam ponad połowę w trakcie podróży. Szczegółowo opisuje ówczesne poglądy na małżeństwo. Momentami wręcz za szczegolowo. Dobrze tłumaczy sytuację polityczną. Nie mam porównania do innych książek poruszających postać Henryka VIII i jego żon, ale na pewno warto zajrzeć do tej pozycji