A review by jmatkinson1
Anna of Kleve: Queen of Secrets by Alison Weir
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.