This is a wonderful work of historical fiction of one of the lesser-known wives of King Henry VIII, Anne of Cleves, who was a young Flemish princess of the Duchy of Cleves. When Jane Seymour, wife number three, died shortly after giving birth to the future King Edward VI of England, counselors to King Henry VIII urged him to marry again for reasons of state. His Lord Chancellor, Thomas Cromwell, urged upon him an alliance of political expediency between Cleves and England, hoping to buttress England’s new-found Protestantism, as Cleves was a Lutheran stronghold.
King Henry VIII provisionally agreed, and he commissioned renowned court painter, Hans Holbein, to go to Cleves and paint miniatures of these two princesses of Cleves. When Hans Holbein arrived in Cleves, he painted miniature portraits of both Anne and Amelia. While Amelia was the more superficially attractive one, Hans Holbein saw something in Anne that transcended physical beauty, and, being the artist he was, his vision transposed itself onto the miniature portrait that he painted of Anne, creating a portrait of exquisite sweetness. After Holbein sends the completed portraits to England, it is Anne who is chosen to be Henry’s bride.
Unfortunately, when they met, Anne did not live up to his expectations, referring to her in pejorative terms as a great “Flanders mare”. Anne was on the tall side, a large-boned and buxom woman, while King Henry VIII had a penchant for petite, slender women. Coming from a strict Lutheran duchy, Anne had none of the expected accomplishments that were de rigueur for the Tudor Court. Anne could not sing, dance, or play a musical instrument, nor was she particularly well educated in scholarly pursuits. Her education had been more pedestrian and geared to more housewifely pursuits such as the running of a household.
From then on, Anne’s life as Queen of England was to be one of humiliation. Henry made no secret of his dissatisfaction and worked to disengage himself from this marriage, as he liked her not. Although Henry looked to cast Anne aside and had already set his sights on wife number five, the beautiful teenager, Catherine Howard, one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting, Anne continued about her business with dignity. Henry’s children loved her, as did many who would come in contact with her.
History shows that Anne made the best of a dangerous situation by quickly agreeing to Henry’s demands when he wanted to annul their marriage. For her reward, she received several homes, and a generous stipend, along with the title of ‘The King’s Sister.’
Everyone in this novel is played out as a sympathetic character, each having their motivations to play out. What I did like was that all the characters are given not just motivations, but purposes, some tragic, some happy, and Anne herself is a very likable person, working at making her life in England a success, and being that rarity — a queen of Henry’s that perhaps had the happiest fate of all. She was a favorite of all three of Henry’s children, providing a safe, accepting environment that let them be children.
This is yet another terrific work of historical fiction by this author. She expertly weaves a colorful tapestry of fact and fiction against the backdrop of the splendor of the magnificent Tudor Court, creating a three-dimensional story around some most interesting personages in history. This book takes the reader on a spellbinding journey through the life of Anne of Cleves. It continues her story through two more wives, Catherine Howard and Katherine Parr, and the death of King Henry VIII, whom Anne herself would outlive by about ten years.
