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The Six Wives of Henry VIII

by Alison Weir

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Lcalthorpe said: " (I am only on page 85 of this book.)
The Six Wives of Henry VIII chronicles the lives of each of Henry VIII's wives starting with Katherine of Aragon, his first wife. Katherine, the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, arrives in London in Nov (I am only on page 85 of this book.)
The Six Wives of Henry VIII chronicles the lives of each of Henry VIII's wives starting with Katherine of Aragon, his first wife. Katherine, the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, arrives in London in November of 1501 to marry Arthur, Henry VIII's brother. Their marriage takes place two days later. However, only a few months later, Prince Arthur dies leaving Katherine insecure and with no idea what will come next. Will she marry Prince Henry or be forced to continue living in the relative poverty she had so far endured?
One of the main themes in this book was the harm done to individuals because of the politics of marriage. While today, marriage is about finding someone you love, during Henry VIII's time, marriage was about finding someone who would benefit your family's social and economic status. This was the case especially for royalty. Marriages formed alliances and demonstrated power. Therefore, love had little or nothing to do with possible unions. This all business approach to marriage harmed individuals in many ways. Katherine was physically put in danger by the politics of marriage. As negotiations continued about her marriage to Henry, she was neglected. Neither her father nor King Henry VII felt it was his responsibility to provide money for her household. Katherine was plunged into debt and forced to sell her belongings because her father and the King were both only focused on the political power and money they could attain from the marriage.
Overall, Alison Weir's writing style is very formal. She describes events such as Katherine being sick with elaborate and advanced word choice. "During 1504 Katherine suffered a period of poor health, with intermittent attacks of a mysterious sickness that has been attributed to her inability to adapt to the English climate and food" (45). Throughout the book she generally writes with longer more complex sentences and incorperates dates and specifics whenever possible.
I would recommend this book to those who are interested in this time of history. Some people may find this book to be to slow moving, but if you can handle a lot of names and dates, it is a very captivating story about life at that time. ...more "

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(page 85 of 643)
— Mar 10, 2009 12:50PM

Mar 10, 2009 12:49PM · see review