The visitor's companion to the palaces, castles and houses associated with Henry VIII's six wives

The visitor's companion to the palaces, castles and houses associated with Henry VIII's six wives

The visitor's companion to the palaces, castles & houses associated with Henry VIII's infamous wife.

A “brilliantly written and meticulously researched” biography of royal family life during England’s second Tudor monarch (San Francisco Chronicle). Either annulled, executed, died in childbirth, or widowed, these were the well-known fates of the six queens during the tempestuous, bloody, and splendid reign of Henry VIII of England from 1509 to 1547. But in this “exquisite treatment, sure to become a classic” (Booklist), they take on more fully realized flesh and blood than ever before. Katherine of Aragon emerges as a staunch though misguided woman of principle; Anne Boleyn, an ambitious adventuress with a penchant for vengeance; Jane Seymour, a strong-minded matriarch in the making; Anne of Cleves, a good-natured woman who jumped at the chance of independence; Katherine Howard, an empty-headed wanton; and Katherine Parr, a warm-blooded bluestocking who survived King Henry to marry a fourth time. “Combin[ing] the accessibility of a popular history with the highest standards of a scholarly thesis”, Alison Weir draws on the entire labyrinth of Tudor history, employing every known archive—early biographies, letters, memoirs, account books, and diplomatic reports—to bring vividly to life the fates of the six queens, the machinations of the monarch they married and the myriad and ceaselessly plotting courtiers in their intimate circle (The Detroit News). In this extraordinary work of sound and brilliant scholarship, “at last we have the truth about Henry VIII’s wives” (Evening Standard).

The marital ups and downs of England's most infamous king.

The New York Times bestselling history of the legendary six wives of Henry VIII--from the acclaimed author of Marie Antoinette. Under Antonia Fraser's intent scrutiny, Catherine of Aragon emerges as a scholar-queen who steadfastly refused to grant a divorce to her royal husband; Anne Boleyn is absolved of everything but a sharp tongue and an inability to produce a male heir; and Catherine Parr is revealed as a religious reformer with the good sense to tack with the treacherous winds of the Tudor court. And we gain fresh understanding of Jane Seymour's circumspect wisdom, the touching dignity of Anna of Cleves, and the youthful naivete that led to Katherine Howard's fatal indiscretions. The Wives of Henry VIII interweaves passion and power, personality and politics, into a superb work of history.

Gladys Malvern uses her celebrated talent for prose to share the stories of Henry VIII’s wives with immense personality and captivating drama. Henry VIII was married to six women during his reign as the King of England. Gladys Malvern characterizes them as The Saint (Catherine of Aragon); The Egotist (Anne Boleyn); The Diplomat (Jane Seymour); The Housewife (Anne of Cleves); The Coquette (Catherine Howard); and The Mother (Catherine Parr). Malvern masterfully tells each of their personal histories and how they intertwined through rivalry, vying for power, political maneuvering, and the hardships of losing favor with the man that seceded the Church of England from Rome for a divorce.