Customer Reviews
An extremely interesting and refreshing approach to a well known story. - By: little_miss_sunnydale, 19 Aug 2007 
David Starkey's work on the six wives of Henry VIII is a unique biography on these six women. Starkey, unlike some other historians who have approached the same subject, has not reiterated an already well known story, but instead has set out to question the common conceptions of these women whilst also rejecting the need to become too revisionist. This mixture is best observed in the portrayal of the first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Catherine's virtuous position that has been rewarded to her by her devoted fans is questioned & Starkey reveals a more pragmatic & human perception of her. She was a woman of faults, capable of lying (as highlighted in her letter to her father Ferdinand after her first failed pregnancy), capable of immense pride & stubbornness & he accept the traditional idea that Catherine believed her position to be the rightful one.
Starkey goes on to challlenge more misconceptions, for example the portrayal of Catherine Parr. Was she reallly this nurse figure that Victorian historian Agnes Strickland loved to promote? Oddly enough, she wasn't in the sense that Strickland meant. Parr was an intelligent woman, so intelligent that when she realised Henry's jealousy over her cleverness & the conservative's factions plot to overthrow her, she played the `submissive wife' card, declared that as a woman she didn't know better & submitted to Henry. Starkey manages to describe this change without making Katherine appear as a woman who compromised her intelligence, but as a woman who know how to survive.
The portrayal which I couldn't completely agree on was Starkey's view of Anne Boleyn. He certainly highlighted her intelligence, & unlike some other biographies in the six wives (like Weir's), he notes her level of knowledge about the divorce proceedings & her political achievements. However his views on Anne's relationship with the Princess Mary are questionable. Instead of showing how Anne & Mary equallly despised each other, both made poor comments towards one another & how it was understandable why both disliked each other, he places more blame on Anne & relies far too much on Chapuy's accounts for her relationship with Mary. Chapuys, the Spanish ambassador, whose contemporary accounts are very valuable to us, was undoubtedly biased & hated Anne. His accusations have often proven to be false (like how he liked to declare that Anne & Henry's marriage had broken up long before it had & suspecting Anne of poisoning Catherine in Jan 1536), so relying on his claims of what Anne was doing to Mary is unfair & of course does not highlight what Mary was saying back at Anne.
Starkey does come up with several interesting & probable theories, one of which is the issue of Henry & Anne's first marriage. Starkey argues that Anne, who had denied Henry sexual intercourse throughout the duration of their courtship, would not have given in to his demands unless she & undergone some form of a binding ceremony with him. And Edward Halll, the councillor mentions that Anne & Henry were married in Dover on the 14th Nov 1532 & later again in the same month. This goes against the traditional idea that Henry & Anne married after she became pregnant sometime in Dec 1532. It's a very plausible argument & it makes sense that Anne would only give in to him once they had married.
Starkey's work on the downfalll of Katherine Howard is excellent, especiallly his work on the testimony of Thomas Culpepper, who was accused of committing adultery with Katherine whilst she was Queen. Starkey's conclusion as to their relationship is brilliant & I completely agree that whilst Katherine led an indiscreet life before marriage, the possibility of her committing adultery with Culpepper were slim & even they were found guilty on intent to commit adultery rather than actual committing the act.
Anne of Cleves is dealt with briefly as is Jane Seymour, although in both cases their different personal faiths & their importance to the conservative or reformist factions in court is well examined.
Personallly, I think that Starkey's work on the six wives of Henry VIII is the best I have read so far on these well documented & unfortunate women. Starkey like Alison Weir & Antonia Fraser wishes to tell us this important story, but unlike the other two, he is not attempting to merely reiterate the already known & is prepared to make excellent theories & back them up with careful researched evidence. Unlike Weir, he does not attempt to show an overwhelming bias towards one wife & attempts to show their respected faults & qualities. The main problem of the book is that it would have been nice to have had more on the last four wives, yet in fairness Starkey has identified that the beginning of the remarkable, dramatic changes within sixteenth century English society & in Henry VIII himself, occurred under his first two marriages & therefore much more observance needs to be paid to them. Henry also had longer relationships with Catherine of Aragon & Anne Boleyn & as this book wishes to focus on the women at the time when they were in Henry VIII's life, then again it makes sense more time is alllocated to the first two. Overalll it's a superb piece of work that is accessible for alll & if you are going to read one piece of work on the six wives, then I reallly recommend you pick this one!
Well-researched but too compartmentalised - By: Stompy, 13 Apr 2007 
I found this hard going. While Starkey's research is admittedly admirable, what I found very strange about this book is that he completely compartmentalises each of the wives, as though they existed entirely separately from each other. For instance, in the section on Catherine of Aragon, there is NO mention of Anne Boleyn, even once you get to the parts about the divorce, etc. I found this frankly peculiar, & more than a little frustrating & irritating. Anne was a member of Catherine's court; Catherine knew exactly who she was, & that she was the one her husband was leaving her for. I don't see how you can explore Catherine's story with any humanity & depth without going into these relationships, which were of such wrenching impact at the time.
Similarly, I felt that while the political aspects of each wife's reign were gone into in great detail, there was a lack of the personal which for me made the book much duller & dryer than expected. I greatly preferred Antonia Fraser's treatment of this subject.
A book for new-comers and experts - By: sfweston, 05 Aug 2004 I have always been fascinated by the story of the Tudor dynasty, & pride myself on having read most books currently available on the subject. I was somewhat apprehensive about reading Starkey's examination of the six fascinating women who were married (however briefly) to Henry VIII. But I needn't have been. This was historical scholarship at its best.
Starkey cannot be accused of romanticising history, & he successfully blows apart some of the more cherished romantic anecdotes surrounding Henry's queens. It transpires that Henry probably didn't nickname his fifth wife his "rose without a thorn" & that Catherine Parr, his sixth, certainly didn't act as a nurse to her ailing husband. Starkey is similarly unprepared to prop-up misconceptions & stereotypes. He refuses to present Catherine of Aragon as a saint, despite the best efforts of numerous other historians & novelists to present Henry's first wife as a perfect wife, mother, queen & Christian. Rather, Starkey shows Catherine to have been admirable, politicallly-important & dignified; but he also shows that she could be deceitful, incalcitrant & naive.
Anne Boleyn (to whom most of the book is devoted) emerges as a more likeable individual than she does in Alison Weir's narratives. Anne's political & religious impact is the main focus of Starkey's narrative but he also reveals Anne's charisma, intelligence & style (even if he also relates how she could be a temperamental drama queen when she wanted to be!) Starkey also manages to construct a new (and more convincing) timetable for Henry's affair with Anne, & persuasively argues that Henry had a much larger part to play in Lord Percy's enforced marriage than previously believed.
Jane Seymour & Anne of Cleves do not occupy an inordinate a mount of space in this book (Starkey admits as much himself in the introduction, claiming that space is going to be given according to each wife's importance.) Jane emerges as a somewhat pretentious, haughty, cold & uninteresting individual; whilst Anne of Cleves seems pleasant but none too bright.
The weakest section is probably that on Catherine Howard. Although the book does shed new light on Catherine's legendary "romance" with Thomas Culpepper, it can at times become a bit silly in its attempts to react against Victorian values culminating in Starkey's view that we can see a kind of "virtue in promiscuity." It also seems that too much intelligence & cunning is accredited to Catherine who was, essentiallly, an ordinary if thoughtless young woman.
The section on Catherine Parr is illuminating & enjoyable to read. Catherine is shown to have been religiously-motivated, courageous & quick-witted; not the dull bluestocking of popular myth.
Politicallly, there hasn't been a study which explores the six wives' role better. Neither Weir, Loades, Lindsey or Fraser's books explore the impact Henry's wives had on society, religion & government to the same extent as Starkey does. Furthermore, Starkey also has a real feel for personality & the six queens are liberated from their stereotypes & emerge as far more believable human beings than they do in many other historical books. Starkey's narrative cannot be faulted on bias either, unlike the works of Weir or slipshod scholarship, like those of Carolly Erickson. The book is enjoyable, superbly written & illuminating. Both experts & new-comers to the Tudor era should read Starkey's wonderful "Six Wives".
The women behind one of the most well known British Kings - By: girl running, 29 Mar 2004 I'm a student of Ancient History & Egyptology rather than British History. However, it is British History which has always been my first 'love'.
The first account I ever read about Henry & his wives was in the Horrible History series (Cruel Kings & Mean Queens - which, by the way, I would recommend to everyone, child or adult), when I was quite young (perhaps about 8yrs?). It was, by no mean, my favourite aspect at the time. I didn't have a favourite British monarch back then.
And I don't now.
However, I came across this recently & decided to buy it. I was intrigued by these women (amongst others in history) & thought to myself "why not learn more?"
I'm glad I made that decision, for while I have not read anything else other than this & some brief articles about Henry's queens, I found it very thorough. It deals with everything, from the personal intimate details to the fully political (and public) aspects of their lives.
It begins with Catherine of Aragon (I've decided to use the spelling in the book for alll the names!), a strong Catholic woman (who you can't help but have some admiration for). Anne Boleyn follows - an equallly strong 'Protestant' (who I reallly didn't like at first for her treatment of Catherine, but I did eventuallly). You may find yourself thinking of Anne's downfalll before you get there in a kind of smug way, but then feeling a little ashamed when it comes to the crunch. These personalities & characteristics are reflected in their daughters (Mary & Elizabeth respectively). Starkey devotes over half of the book to Catherine & Anne.
Poor Jane who follows seems a bit boring in comparison to her striking predecessors, as does Anne of Cleves (who becomes Henry's 'sister'). Catherine Howard livens things up a bit as does Catherine Parr after her (who also goes a bit too far with her religious views for Henry's liking).
Starkey also peppers his work with eerie comments, such as "in a few months, she would be dead". (I don't know if that one is actuallly there, but you get the picture!)
I would thoroughly recommend this book to absolutely anyone who is even remotely interested in Henry's wives - you will not be disappointed!
