My lady of Cleves
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
My Lady of Cleves reveals the mesmerizing story of Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's fourth wife, one of the rare women who matched wits successfully with the fiery king and lived to tell the tale.
Written by world-renowned historical novelist Margaret Campbell Barnes, My Lady of Cleves gives readers an intimate portrait of the warm, unpretentious princess who never expected to become Queen of England. Knowing the king's ravenous desire for a son, and aware of the disastrous consequences of not bearing an heir, Anne of Cleves bravely took on the duty of weathering the Tudor King's temper, whims, arrogance, and irresponsible passions - and won the hearts of his subjects in the process.
A treat for readers of Tudor fiction and those fascinated by the complex relationships of Henry VIII and his wives, My Lady of Cleves leads readers into a world of high drama and courtly elegance.
Reviews with the most likes.
Have you ever wondered what Henry VIII's wives thought?? Well, here is a chance to find out!! Anne of Cleves leaves everything that she knows and loves to marry the English king and become wife number four. Throughout this read, you are giving glimpses of what her life must have been like, but you have to wonder if her kindness was really there, or if that was expanded to suit the authors view.
I enjoyed this read, quick and easy and fun. :)
I love Anne of Cleves, but I just couldn't get into this book. The parts that featured Henry VIII weren't very interesting, and of course it's a book about his wives so he's in it quite a few times. I liked the invention of a hopeless love between court painter Hans Holbein and Anne. I just gave up reading. It's not boring, exactly, it's just... not intriguing, I guess? I'm not sure. I read books before I go to bed and I found I was putting off going to bed so I wouldn't have to read the book. It's not BAD. I'm sure for readers in 1952 who didn't have a wealth of other, more exciting Tudor fiction it was pretty good.
Also my copy (published in 1952!) was full of typos and there's some occasionally confusing sentence structure, so I'd have to go back and reread something three times to figure out who was talking. Like it would say “...he said” but the dialogue sounded like it should've been said by Anne.
I mean I love reading but it took me a month to get through 40 pages. My recommendation is to check it out of a library if possible, don't buy unless you can get it for super cheap.
Also this isn't really a review, but the cover for the 1952 version is hilarious - we all know approximately what Anne looked like because of a few paintings of her, but the 1952 cover features a 1950s-style pinup of an almost blue-skinned woman with shoulder-length black hair and curved bangs. Looks absolutely nothing like Anne of Cleves, it's actually pretty funny.
