Six Wives of Henry VIII

Rating:
Summary: Extremely informative
Review: Alison Weir really made the life histories quite an enjoyable read. I found the book to be mesmerising and a page turner. An easy and quick read, I highly recommend it to people who are interested in the British nobility and how the run their lives. It really made me change my mind about HenryVIII.

Rating:
Summary: Compeling, Lively and Easy to Read
Review: Alison Weir writes well, tells a the story superbly and weaves what is an intricate tale beautifully. Having read Antonia Fraser's books on Tudor England and Scotland, I thought I had read everything. This book proved me wrong and offered me insight into these compeling characters as never before. I recommend this book to everyone - students, adults etc.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating insight
Review: Having initially read the autobiography by Margaret George, I decided to read this to gain another perspective. The styles are very different but the story remains compelling. Alison Wier takes a very different approach to Margaret George, but the result is no less worthy. It is interesting to contrast where the two accounts differ, but in the vast majority of cases, they back each other up but seen from a different angle. The story slowly unfolds and even though you know what is going to happen, you want to read on to find out why or how. Because of this I often found it hard to actually put the book down and get some sleep! I feel I have now read two very good accounts of Henry, one giving his version, the other more from the side of the wives. This book provides the intrigue and illustrates the politics of the time and how in many cases people had little choice in their actions. Fascinating reading and highly recommended

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Summary: TUDOR COURT COMES TO LIFE
Review: I've long been a fan of "Tudor" English hisory and thought that I knew a fair amount about it. I didn't know nearly enough about it. This book gave me an insight to the past lives of the characters that I wouldn't have imagined possible. Before I read this book I didn't know or care much about Katherine of Aragon. I also felt such pity for Anne Boelyn. These thoughts were the result of watching "Anne of the Thousand Days" too many times. After reading this book my sympathies have been reversed. Katherine of Aragon was a saint, and Anne a she-devil. The other wives marriages are portrayed with style and insight. Also morbidly fascinating are the descriptions peppered throughout the book of the various tortures handed out to unloyal subjects in this very treacherous time. This is a book any fan of the Tudor era in English history will savor and leave them hungry for more.

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Summary: From A Teen's Perspective
Review: I have one word to say-WOW! I am thirteen years old and last November my family took a trip to London over Thanksgiving break. While in Westminster Abbey's gift shop, I noticed this book about Henry's the Eighth's wives. The book looked HUGE and I jokingly told my brother I was going to read it. I started looking at it and it looked so interesting I really did end up buying it. Once I got started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I had heard about a King named Henry with six wives before, but this book completely changed my view of him AND his wives. Weir shows us their thoughts and feelings and brings every character to life. After reading the book, I reccomended it to my best friend's mother, who read it and loved it also. After reading it, I began to look for more books on the Tudor period in Great Britain and have become an absolute fanatic on the subject. I learned more from this one book than from all my other history classes combined!

Rating:
Summary: A great read for anyone
Review: I love history, especially European History, but most books are pretty difficult to get through. This book was definitely the easiest history I've EVER read and I would recommend it to anyone who'd like to find out more about this notorious king!

Rating:
Summary: Brings history to life
Review: This story brings the social pressures of this period in history to life. It goes into great detail of Henry VIII and his wives. It is true that the book concentrates on his first wife, but he was married to her for a very long period of time. The others were relatively short marriages! Very interesting and it illustrates Henry and his character.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: The Six Wives of Henry VIII was more about Henry VIII than it was his wives. A lot of information was given about Tudor history, the political state of Britain and Henry himself, but there was a lack of information on his wives. Katherine of Aragon was portrayed pretty well, but after that Henry's wives were not described in depth. The book never told how each women actually felt. Their births, parents, lives and marriage was chronicled in detail, but their feelings and personalities didn't have much play at all. The book is historically well written, easy to understand and was overall very intersting and gripping.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Outstanding Read!
Review: Even if you thought you had no interest in Henry VIII, you must read this book. Beautifully written, thoroughly researched and incredibly insightful, this book opens the mind to the intrigue and grand political passions that changed the face of religion and the world.

Terrific history written in a user friendly way. I can't wait to read the Children of Henry VIII and the Children of England.

Rating:
Summary: absorbingly blissful
Review: being a fan of weir in the first place, this book must be one of her best yet. details and well thought out emotions from letters and scripts allow weir to portray henry and his wives as being rather humanistic. this is one i will read again and again.