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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Unreadable, May 27, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII (Hardcover)
My children bought this book for me -- I'm a big reader of English history -- and, despite some reservations (based upon Starkey's sloppy bio of Elizabeth) I did give it a shot. But, it's simply unreadable. First, the writing is just awful. Execrable. Like a really bad pulp novel. Most sections (not just chapters, but sections in a chapter) end with some inane rhetorical question or similar lame attempt to build mystery. Here are some random samples: "But, within a few days, the minister was singing a very different tune." "There was a cloud over Catherine's marriage. But it was no bigger than a man's hand." "And soon she would have vengeance in kind." Da da da DUMMMM. Second, there's supposition and speculation about motives and actions, based seemingly upon how Starkey thinks normal women feel and think and act, as if the actions of these very forceful and determined people weren't enough to speak for themselves. There is absolutely NO context -- as if a 16th century queen, or would-be queen, trying to save her life and sovereignty, would act the way a 21st century suburban person would act. Third, he simply guesses at things!! And admits it! And then he uses his guesses to weave a fantasy of something that may have happened to explain something that did happen. A quick look at p. 419 -- not atypical -- will illustrate this tactic. Starkey sums it up himself by saying "It seems as likely as not." Really? Why? This is a shameful effort by someone who is associated with Cambridge (what were they thinking at that university?) or by anyone who purports to be a serious historian. Even Publishers' Weekly had a hard time finding anything good to say about this book. Save your $$, or go get Allison Weir's or Antonia Frasier's book(s). Better written and much more exciting. Or buy a good novel.
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17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Possibly the definitive biography of Henry VIII's six wives, July 7, 2003
This review is from: Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII (Hardcover)
This massive, but generally entertaining book has finally arrived after growing from a planned modest TV-tie-in to the largest and possibly the best of recent multibiog coverage of Henry VIII's six queens. But this book is not for the weak of wrist or the Tudor history rookie; the biggest audience will probably be those who have already devoured the lives of the wives by Alison Weir and Antonia Fraiser and know their Tudor history. Starkey hasn't uncovered any new, long-lost documents(although a reidentified portrait of probably a young Catherine of Aragon and one of Catherine Parr, formerly id'ed as Lady Jane Grey grace the book's cover and give us a look at both queens as Henry might have first saw them), but goes back to the surviving original and contemporary sources to attempt to strip off as much of the varnish of previous historical interpretations to get as close as possible to the real women who were Henry VIII's consorts.
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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A new study of a fascinating era, its king, and his women, October 29, 2003
This review is from: Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII (Hardcover)
Listing the 6 wives of Henry VIII and their fates was my childhood equivalent of counting sheep. I don't know why I had this fascination with the 3 Catherines, 2 Annes, and one Jane from such an early age, but I surely wasn't alone. King Henry's eventful matrimonial history has driven writers and historians to delve into the psyche of this charismatic monarch for several centuries. Generally Henry is portrayed as a depraved glutton, seeking only his own pleasures and intent upon changing laws and religions to have his way. In this terrific new study, David Starkey argues that the king was made of simpler stuff, and was seeking happiness, as well as a son and heir. In the process, he made near cult figures of 6 women and changed the way a nation was governed. Thumbnail sketches of these women and their fates: Catherine of Aragon - Catholic , deeply religious, no male child in spite of many pregnancies and miscarriages. Henry divorced her (creating the Anglican church in order to do so) to marry wife #2. Anne Bolyn's greatest contribution was giving birth to Elizabeth I (who went on to be queen of one of England's greatest eras). She was the first queen to lose her head. Jane Seymour, whom Henry married the day Anne was executed. She gave birth to Edward VI, the long sought male heir, but he proved sickly, as did his mother, who died 12 days after giving birth. A brief marriage to Anne of Cleves, which ended in anullment. Grateful for her cooperation, Henry granted her several homes and a generous income; she enjoyed an unusually independent lifestyle and often visited court as an honored guest. It's said ale and gambling were her only vices. Catherine Howard, an adolescent flirt and a beauty, was Henry's ill-fated 5th wife. She made a fool of him when powerful court figures suggested she conceive a child by one of the many young men who sought her favors and pass that child off as Henry's. She lost her head as a result of that game. Catherine Parr, a shrewd and brilliantly powerful woman who outlived Henry. Superb in every way.
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