Audiobook22 hours
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Written by Alison Weir
Narrated by Simon Prebble
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
This acclaimed best-seller from popular historian Alison Weir is a fascinating look at the Tudor family dynasty and its most infamous ruler. The Six Wives of Henry VIII brings to life England's oft-married monarch and the six wildly different but equally fascinating women who married him. Gripping from the first sentence to the last and loaded with fascinating details, Weir's rich history is a perfect blend of scholarship and entertainment.
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Reviews for The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Rating: 4.492063492063492 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
63 ratings12 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A very detailed account of the lives of the heirs of Henry VIII. It helps you to understand the mindset of his children and how his actions with both them and their mothers impacted their reigns. It tells how Mary was a girl who remembered when she was the center of attention and how she became bitter when she was no longer favored (this leading to the name "Bloody Mary"). Edward and Jane Grey were manipulated by everyone around them. And it has the early life of Elizabeth. A very enjoyable book.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great read, like a novel even though you know how it ends.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Super interesting and very well researched account of King Henry VIII’s 6 wives… drags a little with Catherine of Aragon and the annulment battle, but very easy to listen to and very informative.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I learned a lot about the monarchy after Henry VIII, but a lot still went over my head. It was much more detailed with less explanation than I needed.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the finest books I've had the fortune to read, this book is a gift that keeps on giving. The flow and the language, the way interconnections and links between the members of the royal family are explained, is top notch. The author does great justice to all the queens and their backstories with impeccable research and crisp language. I had not expected to enjoy this so much and I was sad when it ended. Extra commendations to the narrator for a clear and engaging tone at all times with perfect voice modulation to convey the several different emotions in the book. 10/10 for this one.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave a great insight into the intimate lives of the children of Henry VIII (including his grand-niece) and their relationships with each other. I've read a few Alison Weir books and enjoyed them all. I find them almost novelistic and exciting, yet the content is constantly backed up with important source evidence throughout.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alison Weir is an exceptional historian. This book examines the four individuals who all succeeded to the throne after Henry VIII. One of the four was not Henry's actual child, but Lady Jane Grey was a relative and a possibel heir. Weir examines each in turn, while also showing how their lives intersected. She spends time on their youth, education and how they were raised 9and by whom). Fantastic, and easy to read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book is shorter but more repetitive than Six Wives. I really only wanted to put it down in the really repetitive sections. The death of Edward VI and Mary I lasted for about 60 pages more than necessary, same with Mary's pregnancies and the constant questioning of Elizabeth I. The book seemed to chronicle the same conflict over and over and over. Which is fine since, after all, it's a history book and presumably this is the way it actually happened. I just think there were too many pages devoted to things that could have been more concise. Edward's death which is clearly important and deserves a lot of attention, still could have been shorter. It went something like this: Edward got sick, (ten pages later), Edward is still sick, he gets sicker and sicker, (ten pages later) he's so sick people think he's dead, but no he's just still sick, (ten pages later) oh! he got better, oh no wait still sick, still sick, a little more sick, sick sick sick, (20 pages later), he died. Even so, I really enjoyed it and it definitely got in the way of doing school work.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Well-researched and interesting to read, but I wish more context had been given to the political climate they were working in.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very detailed and intriguing historical perspective on the marriages and the women behind the veil
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is a comprehensive biography of the lives of Henry VIII’s three surviving children, Edward, Mary and Elizabeth. The book details their lives and each of their reigns. It also offerings a fascinating psychological insight of the children, particularly concerning Mary and Elizabeth. Mary and Elizabeth were each declared as illegitimate by their father at points in their lives. Each of their mothers were treated cruelly by their father. However, both Mary and Elizabeth struggled to maintain their fathers goodwill while he was alive and tried to live up to his image as a strong ruler after his death.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It has been a while since i read any non-fiction and this was a good choice for me. Alison Weir seems to have her ducks in row while still writing a readable book. I believe that I learned quite a bit particularly about Edward VI who was much more interesting, and heartless, than I would have imagined. It never fails to amaze me how complicated the history of this family is. Lots of small details added depth to some of the characters involved in all this drama. I would recommend this book as a very good introduction to the later Tudors. I will definitely read other works by Weir.