My lady of Cleves

My lady of Cleves

Ratings2

Average rating3.5

15

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.

April 19, 2021Report this review