Author: Sarah-Beth Watkins
Divorced, Beheaded, Survived.
Henry VIII is one of the most famous English monarchs...and one of the worst husbands...ever. His notorious marriages are still the subject of much talk, even after the passage of 500 years.
Anne of Cleves was Henry's 4th wife, but not for very long. Henry didn't like her. He complained about her appearance and mannerisms from day one. And poor Anne has been unfairly maligned as fat, ugly, and even stupid for centuries following her disastrous (and short) marriage to Henry VIII. So unfair!!
Sarah-Beth Watkins presents much more favorable details about Anne of Cleves in this book, presenting her as intelligent and cunning, rather than stupid. After all, she survived Henry's unhappiness and was, for a time, the wealthiest woman in England because of her choices. She chose to let Henry have a divorce after six months of marriage, living as his "sister'' and being paid quite well for her silence on the matter. Take the money and run, honey -- definitely a smart move on her part.
I enjoyed this book. I knew a lot about Anne and her disastrous marriage already....but I didn't know much about what happened to her after Henry's death. The author also includes the text of the marriage and financial arrangements that brought Anne to England and her Last Will and Testament. I had never read those two documents before. Very interesting!
I'm glad someone FINALLY presented Anne as a smart, relatively attractive woman who just happened to somehow not please an aging, possibly crazy, monarch. By the time he married Anne, Henry was fat, in ill health, and literally reeked because of a constantly infected open sore on his leg (from a jousting injury he sustained.) Supposedly people could smell Henry approaching long before actually seeing him.....that's like ewwww factor 10+. Not only that, his reputation in marriage preceded him. When his queen Jane Seymour passed away after childbirth, nobody wanted to marry him. He had divorced Katherine of Aragorn in a horrible manner....then beheaded Anne Boleyn....who wanted to risk being the next victim? Poor Anne of Cleves was offered up by her family to cement a relationship with the monarchy. When she first arrived in England, Henry snuck into the room in disguise to meet her. Not recognizing him as the King, she rebuffed his attention, angering him. I imagine that was embarrassing, emasculating and upsetting for Henry. He saved face by blaming the problem on her, maligning her personality and appearance. It couldn't possibly be that she couldn't believe a smelly, fat, old man was actually the English King.....
Sarah-Beth Watkins tells Anne's story with respect, dignity and truthfulness. The information is backed up with well researched facts and presented in a very interesting manner. I enjoyed this book! The writing style is excellent. The story kept my attention from beginning to end. Even though I have read copious amounts of information on Anne of Cleves, I still learned some new facts and enjoyed reading an account more favorable towards Anne than most others. The poor woman has been called The Flanders Mare for almost 500 years. Give it a rest....she wasn't ugly. She wasn't fat. And she definitely wasn't stupid. She was a victim. And, she did the best she could in a bad situation. She came out of it a rich woman. Henry advised her to "Be quiet and be merry''....and she did. It kept her head firmly attached to her neck, which is better than a couple of Henry's other wives fared.
At 176 pages, this book is a fairly quick read. I definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Henry VIII. Great information backed up with research, presented in a concise, interesting manner. Loved it!
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from John Hunt Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
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