I like themes. Once I had a crimes-against-humanity movie
marathon (African edition), which included Hotel Rwanda and The Last King of
Scotland. It left me horribly depressed for weeks.
This time around I planned a
Tudor-themed reading rampage beginning with the riveting The Six Wives of
Henry the VII by Alison Weir. The next book on my list, The Other Boleyn
Girl by Philippa Gregory paled so much in comparison that I didn’t even make it
past a hundred pages. (Maybe I’ll take it up again when I get bored)
Truth ever so often surpasses fiction in drama, intrigue
and action and this is one of those rare times. Henry VIII’s reign was so well-documented;
Weir took advantage of this and employed many different resources. The result:
a rich narrative that perfectly captures one of the most interesting periods of
European history. Although a work of non-fiction, the beautifully crafted prose
reads like a fascinating historical novel. Weir is primarily a fiction writer
and if her other works are anything like The Six Wives of Henry VIII then they
are hella better than Philippa Gregory’s Tudor series.
So which of Henry VII’s wives are you? Each of these
women—these queens, to be precise, are interesting in their own right. They
perfectly embody different female archetypes, probably even more than the
notorious Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha of Sex and the City do.
“…Katherine
of Aragon was a staunch but misguided woman of principle; Anne Boleyn an
ambitious adventuress with a penchant for vengeance; Jane Seymour a
strong-minded matriarch in the making; Anne of Cleves a good humored woman who
jumped at the chance of independence; Katherine Howard an empty-headed wanton;
and Katherine Parr a godly matron who was nevertheless all too human when it
came to a handsome rogue.”
I’m embarrassed to admit it but I’m probably a combination
of Anne (Boleyn) and the two Katherines. I’m an empty-headed and wanton
adventuress with a penchant for vengeance who is all too human when it comes to
handsome rogues. Eep!
