jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
Brought up in the constricted and pious homes of her family, Anna is shocked when a marriage proposal comes from the notorious King of England. Henry has already had three wives and has scoured Europe for a fourth to try to get more sons, seeing Anna's portrait he decides upon her. However when they meet Henry is not so enamoured and Anna is fearful that her closely guarded secret will mean her downfall.
This is the fourth book in Weir's series about the wives of Henry VIII and here she has far less to work upon in terms of documentary evidence. That has afforded her the chance to really expand on the fictionalised part of the novel by introducing a lot of potentially scandalous plot lines with little evidence in the historical record. To that end I found this book more fiction than biography. However Weir is an eminent historian and her learning, though worn lightly, shines through. Managing to balance a keen sense of detail and fact with a genuine ability to tell an interesting tale, Weir has pulled off another great tale.
This is the fourth book in Weir's series about the wives of Henry VIII and here she has far less to work upon in terms of documentary evidence. That has afforded her the chance to really expand on the fictionalised part of the novel by introducing a lot of potentially scandalous plot lines with little evidence in the historical record. To that end I found this book more fiction than biography. However Weir is an eminent historian and her learning, though worn lightly, shines through. Managing to balance a keen sense of detail and fact with a genuine ability to tell an interesting tale, Weir has pulled off another great tale.
phoenix_skyj's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
little_red_dragon's review against another edition
2.0
In general, I enjoy Alison Weir's books, especially this series. However, I couldn't get behind this book because of the liberties that Alison takes with the source material. I fully understand that this is a historical fiction novel, but she essentially bases the majority of the plot on an event that has little to no historical basis.
Essentially, Anna's entire life and decision making in this novel rests on an event that likely never happened, which made it difficult to get into the novel. In addition, the novel is so bloated. 500 pages on Anna of Cleve? It's all too much and just drags on and on.
While I'd recommend most of the other books in this series, I'd advise staying away from this one.
Essentially, Anna's entire life and decision making in this novel rests on an event that likely never happened, which made it difficult to get into the novel. In addition, the novel is so bloated. 500 pages on Anna of Cleve? It's all too much and just drags on and on.
While I'd recommend most of the other books in this series, I'd advise staying away from this one.
drewanabri's review against another edition
3.0
Anna of Kleve is an engaging look at the most frequently overlooked of Henry VIII's wives, but I do think Weir took too many liberties with the story and twisted facts a bit too much.
inthelunaseas's review against another edition
3.0
In this edition of the Six Tudor Queens series, Weir brings the 'fiction' to 'historical fiction'.
It's understandable, when it comes to Anna of Kleve. Despite being one of Henry's wives, very little is known of her- and what is commonly known is often false (such as her being unattractive). It's no wonder the UK title of this book is 'Queen of Secrets'.
But all in all, I didn't enjoy Weir's foray into fantasy. She is clearly trying to give all the queens their time in the limelight (each book is roughly 500 or so pages, with Aragon's being 600), but with Anna only being Henry's wife for six months and the first quarter of her life being unknown beyond her being... well, born and being a princess of Kleve, there's dreadfully little to work with.
Broadly speaking, I enjoyed the general ideas Weir came up with, such as Anna having not one, but two secret children, and her being romantically entangled with a man. So far she's been the most sexually liberated of the queens, which is saying something as she's the only one to not have sex with Henry. But she's also the most dull here, and I didn't begin to really enjoy the book until the last 200 or so pages.
Up next is Kathryn Howard- my favourite queen. I'm hoping Weir doesn't disappoint.
It's understandable, when it comes to Anna of Kleve. Despite being one of Henry's wives, very little is known of her- and what is commonly known is often false (such as her being unattractive). It's no wonder the UK title of this book is 'Queen of Secrets'.
But all in all, I didn't enjoy Weir's foray into fantasy. She is clearly trying to give all the queens their time in the limelight (each book is roughly 500 or so pages, with Aragon's being 600), but with Anna only being Henry's wife for six months and the first quarter of her life being unknown beyond her being... well, born and being a princess of Kleve, there's dreadfully little to work with.
Broadly speaking, I enjoyed the general ideas Weir came up with, such as Anna having not one, but two secret children, and her being romantically entangled with a man. So far she's been the most sexually liberated of the queens, which is saying something as she's the only one to not have sex with Henry. But she's also the most dull here, and I didn't begin to really enjoy the book until the last 200 or so pages.
Up next is Kathryn Howard- my favourite queen. I'm hoping Weir doesn't disappoint.