What makes a man marry six times? Was Henry VIII a voracious philanderer? On the contrary, says Dr David Starkey, the King was seeking happiness -- as well as hoping for a son. The first of his wives was Catherine of Aragon, the pious Catholic princess who suffered years of miscarriages and still births and yet failed to produce a male heir. As Henry VIII's interest shifted from her powerful Hapsburg relations and drifted towards France, so began his obsession with the pretty Lutheran Anne Boleyn. Jane Seymour's submissiveness was in contrast to Anne's vampish style -- and Henry married her on the day of Anne's execution. Jane died soon after giving birth to the longed-for son. There followed a farcical 'beauty contest' which ended in the short marriage of the now grossly overweight Henry to 'the mare of Flanders', Anne of Cleves. The final part of Six Wives contrasts the two Catherines -- Catherine Howard, the flirty child whose adulteries made a fool of the ageing King, and Catherine Parr, the shrewd, religiously radical bluestocking.

2004-05-08 More about the King than his wives

There is a certain fascination with the larger than life (and towards the end of his life, grotesque) figure of Henry VIII. Of all of the Kings of England/Britain he is almost certainly the most recognisable. And the Tudor era certainly seems to be one which fascinates on television lately. This book, however, was supposed to be about, not King Henry, but his wives. Although they are all here, along with their life stories (to a greater or lesser extent - for some their lives before becoming Queen seem to be shrouded in mystery) the figure of Henry dominates the book, very much as he must have dominated these women in life.

The most interesting stories are that of Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Here the stories are most dramatic, and therefore most gripping. In audiocassette form, the first 2 (of 4) tapes are taken up with these two - more Katherine than Anne admittedly, though of course, their stories overlap by about 7 years. The final four wives make do with approximately a side of a tape apiece.

Although well written the final four wives seem almost two-dimensional characters in comparison with Henry and his first two wives, and it is easy to see why there are biographies of Anne Boleyn by the score, but very few of say Jane Seymour - you simply couldn't find enough to write a full-length book it seems.

As I have read a couple of David Starkey's books before and found them to have depth, as well as being amongst the most fast paced and readable of histories, I do wonder how much personal detail about the women, which would turn this from a history text into a collection of biographies, was cut in the abridgement. I suppose I shall just have to read the book to find out.

All in all this is well worth buying for a long journey to pass the time, but I did expect to enjoy it more - it dragged a little towards the end, but only a very little. I must say though that the narration is excellent.

The thing that perhaps proves most strongly that this book is about Henry rather than his wives is that Katherine Parr's story ends with the death of the King and not her own. I found this especially irritating, as, although I know a little about what happened to her after the death of the King, I would have liked to have had the chance to see her story through to its real completion.