November 9, 2008

The Fourth Wife


As you all know, I adore anything Tudor. I especially love learning about all of Henry VIII's wives. I've a couple Catherine of Aragon books, tons of Anne Boleyn, and one about Jane Seymour. My Lady of Cleves, by Margaret Campbell Barnes, is the first book that I've read about his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. I haven't found a lot of fiction about her. I actually quite liked this book, and in turn like her. She is quite possibly the only wife of Henry's that was able to keep a content lifestyle once he no longer wanted her for a wife. You also get to stay with Anne while she observes Henry's fifth and sixth marriages to Katherine Howard, followed by Katherine Parr (he had a thing for Katherines, didn't he?) If you like Tudor fiction and are curious about wives other than his first two, grab this book. It's a little bit older, but the quality is still there.

I recently got a part-time job to help pay for my schooling at my local library (dream come true!!). While I was there, I picked up two Jean Plaidy books, one about Katherine Howard and one about Katherine Parr. So by the end of 2008, I'll have read at least one book about each of Henry's wives. Hurray!

On a completely different note, this is to anyone who has not read the Twilight series. You need to read these books. I know they're young adult, and I know that they are ridiculously popular and remind you of the Harry Potter mania (which I miss terribly). But they really are wonderful books. They're great fora young adult and for an older adult. I'm 23 and could not put them down to so much as eat. It pained me when I had to put my book mark in them and get back to doing work. You'll love them. And you'll finish the first one easily within 24 hours, I did. And if you act now, you'll even get the first book, Twilight, read before the movie comes out on November 21. You'll be able to find me at the theatre at midnight with all of the 14 year olds. So there's my two cents about Twilight.

1 comment:

Passages to the Past said...

I really enjoyed My Lady of Cleves too! She didn't seem quite as drab as they have said about her, actually the opposite. If only she could've acted on her love for Hans and had the children she always wanted.