{"product_id":"six-wives-the-queens-of-henry-viii-isbn-9780694010431","title":"Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Extraordinary. . . . It is a tribute to Starkey’s narrative drive, his puckish wit, and sharp discrimination that it doesn’t seem a page too long. . . . With each queen, Starkey offers a vivid character study but also has fresh discoveries that subtly alter the picture he started out with.” — \u003cem\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/em\u003e (London)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe dramatic, legendary story of Henry VIII, his six wives, and the England they ruled—told by one of the world’s preeminent historians of the Tudor era.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerhaps no one in history had a more eventful career in matrimony than Henry VIII. His marriages were tumultuous and complicated, and made instant legends of six very different women. Henry took his first bride, Catherine of Aragon, when he was 17. Their 24-year marriage was a relatively stable prelude to what followed. Anne Boleyn, a pretty, French-educated Protestant who was the mother of Elizabeth I, was eventually beheaded. Jane Seymour served as a demure contrast to the vampish Boleyn, and gave birth to Henry’s longed-for son (Edward VI). After a brief marriage to the plain Anne of Cleves, Henry married a flirtatious teenager, Catherine Howard, who would be the second of his brides to lose her head along with the king’s favor. Finally, there was Catherine Parr, a shrewd Protestant bluestocking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this brilliant new work, one of the world’s most respected historians weaves startling new facts and fresh interpretations into a spellbinding account of the emotional drama and political intrigue that attended Henry’s six marriages. With a keen eye for both the personal and the global stage, David Starkey masterfully recaptures the Tudor era—and the wives of Henry VIII—as only he can.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eNo one in history had a more eventful career in matrimony than Henry VIII. His marriages were daring and tumultuous, and made instant legends of six very different women. What could make him marry six times? In this remarkable new study, David Starkey argues that the king was not a depraved philanderer, but someone seeking happiness -- and a son. Knowingly or not, he empowered a group of women to extraordinary heights and changed the way a nation was governed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHenry took his first bride, Catherine of Aragon, when he was seventeen. They lasted twenty-four years together, but Catherine suffered through many miscarriages and failed to produce a male heir. Henry then fell in love with Anne Boleyn, the mother of Elizabeth I. Their relationship transformed England forever, but Henry had Anne beheaded and married his next wife, Jane Seymour, on the very day of Anne's execution. At last, Seymour gave birth to Henry's longed-for son, Edward VI. What followed was a farcical beauty contest which ended in the King's brief marriage to the \"mare of Flanders,\" Anne of Cleves. Finally, there were the two Catherines: Catherine Howard, the flirtatious teenager whose adulteries made a fool of the aging king and who was the second bride to lose her head; and Catherine Parr, the shrewd, religiously radical bluestocking who outlived him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSix Wives\u003c\/em\u003e is a masterful work of history that intimately examines the rituals of diplomacy, marriage, pregnancy and religion that were part of daily life for women at the Tudor Court. Weaving new facts and fresh interpretations into a spellbinding account of the emotional drama surrounding Henry's six marriages, David Starkey reveals the central role that the queens played in determining policy. With an equally keen eye for romantic and political intrigue, he brilliantly recaptures the story of Henry's wives and the England they ruled.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“David Starkey reigns supreme over Tudor history.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmanda Foreman, author of Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Exciting. ... Very acute. ... It is so gripping that one finishes it wishing it were even longer.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Extraordinary. . . . It is a tribute to Starkey’s narrative drive, his puckish wit, and sharp discrimination that it doesn’t seem a page too long. . . . With each queen, Starkey offers a vivid character study but also has fresh discoveries that subtly alter the picture he started out with.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Times (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Acute and imaginative. . . . [Starkey’s] communication of subtle points in simple and vivid language is masterly. . . . In writing a book which scholars will need to read, and which huge numbers of people will want to buy, he has brought off the seemingly impossible.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Brilliant. . . . Starkey keeps the narrative alive with a combination of sound chronology, peppery opinion, and startling detail. . . . Six Wives provides an intriguing new perspective on this key period in English history.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Eminently interesting. . . . A rich account of the six long-celebrated women who, for better or worse, shared the throne with the ax-happy Tudor king. . . .A boon to fans of English royal history, full of murder and mayhem, but also of solid analysis of a maddeningly complicated era.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Acute and imaginative. ... [Starkey’s] communication of subtle points in simple and vivid language is masterly.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Brilliant. ... Six Wives provides an intriguing new perspective on this key period in English history.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[An] impressive biography. . . . [Starkey’s] language is fresh, alive, current. . . . Possibly the greatest strength of Starkey’s work is that he remains steadfastly focused on these six women . . . revealing much about them that was previously unknown and unfathomed, but also disproving many of the prominent myths.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Between scholarly work and storytelling, the book gives us high drama. . . . A strong, entertaining, and occasionally audiacious interpretation.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[Starkey] has new things to say about Henry’s queens. . . . Truly, this is history made as fluent and compelling as excellent fiction.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Truly, this is history made as fluent and compelling as excellent fiction.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Relentlessly scholarly, Starkey’s is the best study of Henry’s wives ever published. . . . The particular strength of this mammoth book lies in integrating the petty politics of family and personal advancement with the ‘high politics’ of state. . . . A masterly and persuasive narrative which, despite its prodigious detail, never loses its grip over the story or the reader.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Evening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Solidly researched and delightfully told, this is highly recommended.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Extraordinary. . . . With each queen, Starkey offers a vivid character study.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Times (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889238634725,"sku":"NP9780694010431","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780694010431.jpg?v=1730230818","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/six-wives-the-queens-of-henry-viii-isbn-9780694010431","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}