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The Six Wives of Henry VIII
- Narrated by: Isla Blair
- Length: 7 hrs
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The Six Wives of Henry VIII
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Summary
So the six wives of Henry VIII (Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr) have become defined in a popular sense - not so much by their lives as by the way their lives ended. In the same way, their characters are popularly portrayed as female stereotypes: the Betrayed Wife, the Temptress, the Good Woman, the Ugly Sister, the Bad Girl, and, finally, the Mother Figure. But, as Antonia Fraser brilliantly and conclusively proves, they were rich and feisty characters. They may have been victims of Henry's obsession with a male heir, but they were not willing victims. On the contrary, they exhibited remarkable degrees of spirit and defiance, of which women living now might still be proud. They displayed considerable strength and intelligence at a time when their sex supposedly possessed little of either.
Antonia Fraser deals with each woman in turn with sympathy, the sympathy they deserve for having had the unenviable fate of being Henry's wife. Inevitably, there was great rivalry between them - so high were the stakes in the great game of marrying the king of England. There was jealousy too: the desperate jealousy of queens who found themselves abandoned, but also the sexual jealousy of the king who discovered himself betrayed. The story Antonia Fraser tells is romantic and cruel, funny and sad, dramatic and enthralling. This is historical biography at its best.
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Critic reviews
What listeners say about The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Neil
- 17-03-17
Anne of Cleaves. Who knew?
Enough about each queen to make it enjoyable, not enough to get bogged down in any details.
I could have taken a bit more on Catherine Howard. The post Henry life of Anne of Cleaves could also have been given more space as it sounded really interesting.
Narration was painfully slowly paced.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MR C MCNALLY
- 03-02-24
beautifully narrated
little brief on Jane Seymour and the scandal around Kathryn Howard, but overall brilliant.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- bookfairy
- 03-02-23
Fantastic
I really liked how well the history was told. Great details provided in a digestible way.
The narrator has a wonderful pitch and tone.
Fab.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rebecca
- 16-04-14
Enjoyable and Informative
What did you like most about The Six Wives of Henry VIII?
This is a really well written historical biography. The narrative captures you and you are sucked into the journey of each of these fascinating and very different women.
What did you like best about this story?
I have read many biographies about Henry's queens and while the facts in this book are obviously the same as those, you do feel you have come out having learned something new.
The book not only talks about well known and accepted historical facts but also brings forth other aspects that are not as well agreed on. In these instances Fraser details the evidence and why she has reached her conclusions. This gives extra texture to the narrative and reminds you that we still don't know everything.
Any additional comments?
This is a great book. Its not very long but I think that works in its favour. Its very informative and entertaining. It was written to tell a story of each queen and their relationship with the king - focusing on the personal lives of the queens rather than just giving you pages of dates and places that you can never remember. It was easy to follow and, even though we all know the ending, the book makes you want to keep listening.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Philip
- 23-02-12
History Comes Alive
Well read by Isla Blair. The various personalities of the wives come over well. The political background could have been emphasised more.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- G. HOLMES
- 17-08-07
Six of one, and half a dozen of the other...
A good listening to a familiar tale for those interested in English history. Isla Blair's reading comes across as earnest without being emotional. From a woman's point of view King Henry VIII's odd confusion of ruthlessness and naivety must have been puzzling to say the least. Antonia Fraser's book helps to put this extraordinary and frustrating saga of a great king's personal desire and the dire political necessity of producing a legitimate heir into perspective. Perhaps our most famous and notorious, if not our greatest monarch, would probably be appalled if he knew that history only remembers him and his reign for his six wives! Despite its seven hours of narrative I was sorry that it came to an end when it did. Thoroughly recommended.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 03-07-24
Great book but hard to listen to
I found the reader quite hard to listen to. Slightly jerky monologue. Saying that I really enjoyed the book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 11-06-12
Hugely enjoyable
This is a very well written and informative book which I would strongly recommend. The fate of many characters in this story is tragic and astonishing.
I also recommend Monarchy by David Starkey which covers the history from the reign of Henry VII to ER2.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gaby
- 10-04-18
Irritating narration
As always, a well researched offering from the author but the narrator drove me to distraction. She was unable to speak in sentences, just irritating, punchy phrases. I ended up, halfway through the audible, buying the book on kindle and reading it myself. Better really as the audible is abridged which detracts from the history.
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1 person found this helpful