I have been fascinated by the rather mixed reviews this book has received on Goodreads. There is no doubting that the book reflects excellent scholarship and meticulous research, but then the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII is an easy topic for any historian to warp themselves around in part because there has already been so much written about them, but also, in part because the story of the King who had six wives still continues to fascinate today. Much like some of Starkey's other female readers, I did struggle somewhat with Starkey's presentation of the women's likely thoughts and feelings, and his characterisation of the real-life figures, while entertaining, may not always have reflected accurate historical reality. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, as much as I identified parts of it that could have benefitted from a severe editing. I also think the latter wives could have done with a little more fleshing out. If it was a book about the six wives (rather than just their marriages) there was an awful lot more to say, especially about Anne of Cleves. I am moving on to Weir next so that I can compare.

Descriptive and informative

This book was highly entertaining, and also richly detailed to dispel the popular-culture image of Henry VIII and his wives.

This book took me quite a long time to read, but was well worth it. It is full of information about all 6 of King Henry VIII's wives although the longer chapters are about his first wife Catherine and his second wife Anne Boleyn. The author did a lot of research before writing this book and it shows with all the details he provides about each woman. We learn about each womans family background, her likes and dislikes, her clothing preferences and he even provides us with detailed descriptions about her lodgings and her day to day life. The best part was how he went into detail about all the ceremonies the women went through, he supplied all the details as to where, when, crowns, jewels, clothing etc.

The only thing I found a little off about this book was that sometimes he would say that historians were not sure as certain dates/ceremonies (the details were a little fuzzy), but he, the all knowing author, knew how it really happened but yet really provided no true evidence.

I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Tudor family or in King Henry VIII. Enjoy!

I wanted to like this book, because it is about a period of time that fascinates me as much as the country it takes place in. Sadly, I was a bit disappointed.

There is no doubt that Starkey is a researcher, but the bit in Catherine Howard's chapter about the documents simply being ignored by other historians for centuries because they were illegible? Seriously?

Though I am no admirer of Anne Boleyn, I was disappointed in the chapters surrounding her. While I realize the Great Matter obviously came about because of her, most of her chapters were actually dedicated to the religious upheaval the divorce brought. There is much more to Anne Boleyn than was presented and I thought it unfair that, though I am no fan, her story was not told as the others' had theirs told.

I enjoyed the chapters about Catherine of Aragon, because she is a woman I greatly admire. She fought to the very end to protect Mary and her claim to the throne, as any good mother would do. Catherine knew a woman could rule just as ably as any man, and wanted that right for her daughter. It is heartbreaking that they never saw each other again after Catherine was cruelly shipped off, and I think it is clear that Mary's reign might have gone differently if the stress of her youth has been lessened. Certainly Henry and Anne should be found guilty in that arena.

I did learn new bits of information in regards to the last three queens, particularly Anne and Katherine Parr.

Lastly, there are several disputed facts throughout. Example: the bit about Seymour and Elizabeth at the very end. He "made open love to Elizabeth"? Other statements throughout are as scandalous or salacious, and are not befitting a serious scholarly work.

It was also hard to take seriously an author who speaks of himself throughout the text, often interjecting what he thinks and is quite self-congratulatory at times. It's as off-putting as the entire Forward, which I had to skip for the exact same reason if I wanted to give the book a fighting chance for me to finish it.

Read my review at https://time2tome.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/six-wives-the-queens-of-henry-viii-by-david-starkey/

If you squint a little, it becomes a certain sort of triumph to, as a biographer supposedly purveying unbiased facts, reveal so much of your own personality. Unfortunately for David Starkey, his own personality is highly unpleasant, catty, and misogynistic. Go ahead and read Alison Weir if you want to learn about the wives, not only will you roll your eyes less, but the book will move faster, spend more time on the wives who are supposed to be the main focus, and wander off on fewer boring tangents. The main virtue of this book is that it is very, very heavy, and can be used as a barbell for indoor exercise, if you so choose.

Well..very rarely does this happen to me, but its not a first time...i am presently and for the nearest future officially giving up on a book about one of my fav topics of historical discussion.
This is impeccably researched, and obviously written by someone with decades of knowledge on the topic, however, the author has failed in engaging my attention and interest...and this is like the 20th book on the Tudors i have had in my hands!
David Starkey seems to "suffer", at least in my opinion, of a small problem called - i am awesome in my field of expertise but lack the ability to transmit my wisdom in a human, modern, interesting, engaging way!
Since i have read only half of it i am sticking to the 2 stars - the writing frankly bored me to death, and that is one expression i never thought i would use regarding anything about Henry VIII!!
I will get back to it eventually..no mountain should be left unconquered...but for the time being i am changing topics and directing my attention towards a nice gory bloody murder mistery:)