The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (WOMEN IN HISTORY)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Book Description
Antonia Fraser¿s bestselling biography of Henry VIII¿s six wives ¿ a subject of enduring fascination.
Product Description
The six wives of Henry VIII - Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr - have become defined in a popular sense not so much by their lives as by the way these lives ended. But, as Antonia Fraser conclusively proves, they were rich and feisty characters. They may have been victims of Henry's obsession with a male heir, but they were not willing victims. On the contrary, they displayed considerable strength and intelligence at a time when their sex supposedly possessed little of either.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If, like me, most historical narratives are a bit hard going (all those dates and wars!) then this is a perfect antidote: Fraser focuses on the personal lives of Henry and his wives, relegating the politics to the background.
She manages to keep all the wives distinct and give them their own persoanlity which is excellent, as well as charting Henry's development from 'angelic' young king, to bloated monster (her words, not mine).
My only slight quibble was the pacing, since we lost some sense of time between Catherine of Aragorn's long marriage and the shorter interludes that followed, but that really was minor. The end after the death of Henry felt unnecessary too, but that's personal taste.
Where Fraser really excels is in taking the sterotypes and school-kid images of the wives and revealing the 'truth' (or one truth) behind them. She keeps a balance too, never siding with one wife over another.
Altogether an excellent read with a fine sense of period.
She manages to keep all the wives distinct and give them their own persoanlity which is excellent, as well as charting Henry's development from 'angelic' young king, to bloated monster (her words, not mine).
My only slight quibble was the pacing, since we lost some sense of time between Catherine of Aragorn's long marriage and the shorter interludes that followed, but that really was minor. The end after the death of Henry felt unnecessary too, but that's personal taste.
Where Fraser really excels is in taking the sterotypes and school-kid images of the wives and revealing the 'truth' (or one truth) behind them. She keeps a balance too, never siding with one wife over another.
Altogether an excellent read with a fine sense of period.
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What a breath of fresh air to read such a well-written and thoroughly documented account of the women of this important period in English and European history. I let this book collect dust for three years before picking it up, but couldn't put it down once I started reading. I supposed I waited so long for fear of suffering through a long rendition of Henry's known cruelty towards women (and men), but Fraser leads us to understand Henry's sometimes courageous and powerful, but always immensely interesting wives. This book is about coming to grips with the rampant hypocrisy and tyranny of the time: a book rich in lessons for today! Fraser offers us real insight into the everyday lives of these six powerful women and, thus, into the lives of English and European nobility. A pleasure to read, The Six Wives of Henry VIII fills a void in our understanding of history and the women who contributed so much to it.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Antonia Fraser writes a very sympathetic account of the 6 wives of Henry VIII. She lets none of these wives to stand in Henry's shadow - instead, each one has certain characteristics of her own, whether uncommon intelligence, courage, unwavering influence, beauty, or skill of manipulation. Luckily for us, Ms Fraser abandons the view of Henry as despicable tyrant in favour of an intelligent ruler who often consulted his wives on political matters, discussed various aspects of the arts with them, and so often proved to be a much more gentle Henry than history tends to show. This is a lovely, well-researched narrative that includes excerpts from letters and diaries; each section is divided into 3-5 chapters that focus on an individual wife and her relationship with the king.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good, solid history
"It is seductive to regard the six wives of Henry VIII as a series of feminine stereotypes, women as tarot cards. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Clive A. H. Still
A highly personal account of the Six Wives
Like David Starkey's Queens of Henry VIII, Antonia Fraser's earlier account of Henry's six wives is a largely sympathetic yet also impartial account of the six wives. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Apocalyptic Queen
I don't believe Antonia Fraser
This book has such a tons of fatal error. Well read, but mustn't take seriously.
I can't imagine why Fraser has prize, except that she is an Earl's daughter. Read more
I can't imagine why Fraser has prize, except that she is an Earl's daughter. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Hiragi00
Pleasant surprise
I bought this book for my girlfriend who has another one of the same series. I'm very satisfied with the quality of the book. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Kujiro
The Whole History of King Henry's Wives
The last time I read a book this thick was too long ago. I bought it because I thought I would flick through it "at some stage". Read more
Published 12 months ago by R. Chrichlow
Henry... Henry....
Well what a man! And what women he married! the Variety of women are astounding! From the most ecclesiastical to the most loose and flimsy! Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mental Food
Writer gives good picture of Henry's six wives
This book gives a good picture of Henry VIII's wives. A good and detailed view is given of each wife's background, the way she came to court, how her marriage with Henry begun,... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Lizzy
Six Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser
This book contains charts of the royal lineage; it would have benefited from a table of everyone else and their relationships mentioned in the pages. Read more
Published 21 months ago by G. C. Gough
Compelling and sympathetic look at the wives of Henry VIII
As Fraser points out at the start of her novel detailing the lives of Henry's six wives, most people onl know them by either the rhyme "divorced, beheaded, died... Read more
Published 23 months ago by A. L. Rutter
Thorough and thoroughly engaging!
Antonia Frazer makes history alive and completely interesting. This book separates fact from fiction regarding the Wives of King Henry VIII. Read more
Published on 1 Jan 2008 by Kendra
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > British Royalty > Henry VIII
- Books > Biography > Historical > 1501-1700
- Books > Biography > Historical > Britain > Tudors & Stuarts: 1501-1700
- Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Europe
- Books > Biography > Political > Britain
- Books > Biography > Social & Health Issues > Family & Marriage
- Books > Biography > Women
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > British Heads of State > Henry I
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > British Heads of State > Henry VIII
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Early Modern 1501-1700 (Tudors, Stuarts, Commonwealth, Restoration, Glorious Revolution)
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Ireland
- Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Historians > Fraser, Antonia
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
