I have long been fascinated by Tudor-era history: the
upheaval of religion, the reign of Elizabeth I, and of course, the martial
affairs of the notorious Henry VIII. I’ve
seen all the movies, watched all the shows, read plenty of the fiction… but I
had never read the experts, until I picked up Alison Weir’s Six Wives of Henry
VIII a few weeks ago.
A gigantic tome, the Six Wives chronicles the events,
intrigues, controversies, and more behind Henry VIII’s love of women, along
with his complication relationship with the Catholic Church and his quest for a
legitimate male heir.
Like many others, I knew the basics of his story: His first
wife, Katherine of Aragon, was older than him and unable to give birth to a
surviving boy; their daughter, Mary, would one day become the first true Queen
of England, but she was seen as unfit to rule by her father (and basically
everyone else). Henry sought to divorce
Katherine and marry Anne Boleyn, with the hope of their union producing a son;
eventually, when the Pope wouldn’t grant this request, Henry removed England
from the realm of the Catholic Church and created the Church of England,
declaring himself the rule of both church and country.
Eventually Katherine died, and Anne, unable to produce a
baby boy (despite birthing Elizabeth I), was sent to the executioner under
charges of adultery and treason. Henry
quickly wed Jane Seymour, who produced his only surviving son but died less
than two weeks later. From there, his
marriages were in quick and unsuccessful succession: to Anne of Cleves, whom he
claimed smelled poorly and divorced within 6 months; to Katherine Howard, who
was much younger, cheated repeatedly, and was eventually beheaded; and to
Katherine Parr, a woman who had been married several times before and who was
the only wife to outlive Henry.
Until I read this book, though, most of my knowledge came
from social studies classes and historically-questionable TV shows like The
Tudors, which might be tense and sexy and fascinating but definitely isn’t
accurate. So much of the Tudor story
seems focused on Henry VIII’s desire to fuck Anne Boleyn (to put it extremely
indelicately); too often, that is explained as the primary motivator behind his
divorce and separation from the Catholic Church. That, as it turns out, proves to be only
semi-accurate; far more potent a motivator was Henry’s desire for a son, a
desire that put all others to shame.
Alison Weir’s talent for historical writing is unmatched by
any others I’ve encountered. She blends
letters, court records, recovered journals, financial records, and more to
bring each figure to life; each record provides insight into the intimate
details of these figures’ lives, and each makes them feel much more real, more
tangible, instead of over 400 years old.
As I read, I was hearing Henry’s voice in his love letters to Anne Boleyn,
listening to Katherine of Aragon’s prayers, witnessing Wolsey’s struggle to
persuade the Pope.
In addition to this powerful ability, Weir has also
conducted research far beyond the events and intrigues of the time. She pulls
information from all areas to inform this story: religious documents and
experts delineate Henry VIII’s case against Katherine of Aragon and various
ambassadors offer insight into the treatments of Henry’s wives, children, and
nobles at court. Weir even pulls in
medical texts to discuss the possible afflictions of some of these women; Anne
Boleyn is suggested, for example, to have suffered from Rh negative blood
issues, which would have affected her ability to bear a child after
Elizabeth. I realize that this theory
isn’t new, but Weir’s care in analyzing its implications for not only the lives
of any potential children but also Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII’s marriage show
just how devastating it really was. There
is so much information out there that simply gets ignored in fiction and TV
(and sadly, in classrooms), and Weir, by embedding it into her work, helps keep
the mystery and intrigue of this era alive.
I read this book in less than 72 hours; I quite literally
sat reading during the slow songs of a Pearl Jam concert. When I finished this whirlwind of history, I
scoured libraries until I found a copy of The Children of Henry VIII, a shorter
work that focuses on the facts and stories of the reigns of Edward VI and Mary
I.
Henry VIII’s son, Edward VI, was his final child and
eventual heir, who took the throne at age nine.
His reign, cut short by a deadly bout of tuberculosis at 15, was
overshadowed by political in-fighting and attempts by his Regents to gain
power. Mary I, his half-sister and Henry
VIII’s eldest child, took the throne upon his death; her reign, also brief, was
remembered for her ruthless persecution/execution of Protestants. Mary tried hard to conceive a Catholic heir,
but her marriage to Philip II of Spain occurred late in her life, and despite
at least one full-blown phantom pregnancy, she never had any children. When she died, her half-sister Elizabeth I
took the throne, paving the way for a period of peace like never seen before in
England. Weir’s book The Children of
Henry VIII is just as fascinating as The Six Wives, and I anticipate that The
Life of Elizabeth I (her next work) will be equally absorbing.
