Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII

One of the ways I wanted to use this blog is as a means to keep track of all the books I read. I tend to read a lot, but I've never actually kept count or a running tally or anything like that.

The book I just finished reading is Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII by David Starkey. You could say I have a mild obsession with Tudor history. I love all of Alison Weir's historical non fiction, but Starkey is new to me. I don't usually buy books, because I'd go broke if I did. Instead, I usually borrow from the library. I did buy this one though. It was on the buy 2 get 1 free table at Barnes and Noble. It's a long book, some 760 pages, but it took me a really long time to read it. That's not to say that it wasn't good, because it was. It just was not a quick read at all. Starkey had an interesting perspective because he focused on more of the intrigues from the men's perspectives rather than the women involved.

Some quibbles: he spent a really long time on the Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. I realize this is because they spent the longest time with Henry and had the most interesting story line, but this is precisely why I wanted more about the last 4 wives. Also, I didn't really like how he transitioned from one queen to the next. It wasn't smooth at all, especially in spots where two queens would overlap. The book also ended rather abruptly. I was left wanting more. Finally, you could definitely tell where Starkey's biases laid. I want my historical non-fiction to be generally unbiased.

I haven't read Weir's account of the 6 wives yet, but I plan to check it out soon to compare. All in all, I enjoyed this book, but it's not one I'd run out and buy again.