Book info

• Title Henry VIII's Wives
• Author Julie Wheeler
• Year 2011
• Genre History

In his ambition to provide a male heir to the throne, Henry VIII married six times. Divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, caused England’s break from the Catholic church in Rome. He went on to divorce Anne of Cleves and behead Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard for infidelities. Jane Seymour died and Catherine Parr survived Henry. Henry VIII’s Wives in an Hour will introduce you to these six entirely diverse and captivating personalities and the events that propelled them to their individual fates. You will learn which wife had what impact on Henry and England and understand why Henry and his six wives form the most popular period of Tudor history.

Thoughts

I’ve enjoyed another of the History in an Hour series on the Cold War, and previously talked at length about how the format of the book is perfect for me. The facts, given in an easy to digest way, without overloading you with too much content. This book was being given away for free to encourage readers to the series, and whilst I do intend to snap up more in the coming months, I couldn’t resist this one.

My knowledge of Henry VIII’s wives is limited, despite it being one of the more popular history stories. I’ve seen a film or two, and know mostly about the first wife and that it had a big impact on the church. This book helped enormously, learning about the wives I did not know much about - particularly the last two.

Concise, not too much of a commitment, easy to read and recall, I loved the book, loved the subject matter, and loved the learning experience. Hopefully, I can still remember some of the facts when more time has passed though!

Rating: 5 / 5