The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Book Review

I've been missing from this blog for a week. Utah Dad brought a nice bug home from his meetings and kindly shared it with the rest of us. Since, I didn't want to sound like a whiner (the only good thing was that Thomas and Lilly were so sick they spent an entire day in bed), I opted not to write for awhile.

I did manage to read a lot in between coughing fits and naps. I finished Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII. My sister-in-law sent me a copy of this book almost a year ago and I've been trying to fit it into my reading schedule since then. My college roommates and I decided to read it this month for our long distance book club.

I was fairly familiar with the story of King Henry VIII's second wife Anne Boleyn, although mostly the tabloid-style rumors associated with her rise and fall. The history and stories surrounding the other five wives were new to me. Weir's history makes it accessible. It is fascinating and bizarre.

Alison Weir writes well. The book is entirely readable and in fact, I had trouble putting it down. Weir conducted in-depth research of her topic and discounts rumors when the evidence simply doesn't add up. She has a deep understanding of the period and grasps the political, religious and social reasons behind King Henry's frequent amours and intrigues.

I enjoyed the book so much that I ordered Weir's The Children of Henry VIII before I had read 200 pages of the first. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in English history.