Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII

click here for more details, find new or used items	David Starkey Our price £7.55 (£11.99) New from £5.98 Used from £1.00 Pages: 852 (Paperback) ISBN: 0099437244 Pub: Vintage Pub date: 2004-03-04 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 19620

Reader Reviews:

Tudortastic! (0/0 people found this helpful)

I like Starkey's pithy, witty narrative and I believe he manages to successfully fuse academia with an interesting, accessible account of the women behind the 'great' man.

The six wives are dealt with in turn with the main emphasis centreing on Catherine of Aragon, 'The Great Matter' and 'Anne Boleyn'. The other wives are dealt with in less detail, probably because as a serious Historian, Starkey is a stickler for evidence and sources (less is known about Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard). Starkey does not 'romance the stone' and much of his work expels common myths that allow these women to break free of one-dimensional stereotypes.

Starkey breathes new life into this well known tale and challenges our assumptions.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone with a serious interest in Henry VIII and his wives. Moreover, this book would provide an excellent stepping stone, for the novice, who wants to learn more about this fascinating period of history.

Has anyone noticed the mistake? (0/2 people found this helpful)

Has anyone notice the big mistake on the cover? The bottom right picture-which I imagine is meant to be Catherine Parr, Henrys 6th wife-is actually a picture of Lady Jane Grey and NOT Catherine. How could they have made such a mistake!!

six wives: the queens of henry viii (0/0 people found this helpful)

now i have a book on my favourite subject. and perhaps i'll learn something new!!

Very thorough but at what cost! (0/3 people found this helpful)

I read this tome of a book with some trepidation. A subject that has fascinated me for years. The plus side is the new evidence and the myths that Starkey explodes in the book; plus his perspective on events during those times are impressive and backed up with strength of evidence.

'The Great Matter', however seemed to have consumed most of this book, and maybe could have been covered by a book that was purely written on that subject. I'm sure the topic could have been edited better in this book without losing much of the relevant detail.

I also found that whilst some information that was submitted in the book seemed like superfluous padding, whilst other information was sadly lacking, for example, a reference to Lady Margaret Douglas's misdemeanour's being eluded to by Henry VIII, without explaining what they in fact were. Whilst a description of Kingston taking to his horse was added for no real apparent reason whatsoever.

Lastly; how many of his readers does Starkey believe actually use words such as 'Quoth'instead of 'Said? Ths and other similar prasings kind of make this book less accessible than other books on this subject. Which tome is odd from someone whose aim seems to be giving a modern day edge to fascinating historic events.

Very Good (1/1 people found this helpful)

Very good book which I have just started reading. Very detailed which I love but might not suit everybody who likes a light read. Overall very enjoyable

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