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Anna of Kleve, the Princess in the Portrait
Anna of Kleve, the Princess in the Portrait | Alison Weir
Bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir tells the little-known story of Henry VIII's fourth wife, as the grieving king chooses a bride sight unseen in the fourth novel in the epic and intrigue-filled Six Tudor Queens series. Newly widowed and the father of an infant son, Henry VIII realizes he must marry again to ensure the royal succession. Forty-six, overweight, and suffering from gout, Henry is soundly rejected by some of Europe's most eligible princesses. Anna of Kleve, from a small German duchy, is twenty-four, and has a secret she is desperate to keep hidden. Henry commissions her portrait from his court painter, who depicts her from the most flattering perspective. Entranced by the lovely image, Henry is bitterly surprised when Anna arrives in England and he sees her in the flesh. Some think her attractive, but Henry knows he can never love her. What follows is the fascinating story of an awkward royal union that somehow had to be terminated. Even as Henry begins to warm to his new wife and share her bed, his attention is captivated by one of her maids-of-honor. Will he accuse Anna of adultery as he did Queen Anne Boleyn, and send her to the scaffold? Or will he divorce her and send her home in disgrace? Alison Weir takes a fresh and astonishing look at this remarkable royal marriage by describing it from the point of view of Queen Anna, a young woman with hopes and dreams of her own, alone and fearing for her life in a royal court that rejected her almost from the day she set foot on England's shore. For fans of Philippa Gregory, Hilary Mantel, and The Crown, this latest volume in the Six Tudor Queens series explores the surprising and dramatic life of the least known of King Henry VIII's wives.
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Wife
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Pickpick

A different take on the reason for the successful (for Anna) divorce from Henry VIII. Far-fetched? Maybe?, but enjoyable nonetheless. 3/5👑s
I‘m doing an alphabet challenge from my stacks to get out of my book slump. My goal is 3 books/month. If I don‘t have a letter, I get to choose a “WildCard” book.

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HoneyBeeLee
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Pickpick

I‘ve always felt sorry for Anna as she is following the line of wives who were either divorced, beheaded or died in child birth. Alison Weir does a good job of showing Anna‘s life as filled with so much strife and what she wanted always just out of reach. Unlike the previous book in the series you don‘t get a lot of over lapping, repeating events you have already read which was a nice change for me because you get more of Anna‘s story.

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ontheBL
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"Men did commonly blame the wife if anything went wrong…"

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ontheBL
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Mehso-so

In her latest novel, Anna of Kleve, she explores the oft-overlooked fourth wife of Henry VIII. Going off something he said to Oliver Cromwell the night after their marriage, Weir explores the possibility Anna had a secret love child long before meeting King Henry. It may not be a revolutionary take since the rumor has circulated for centuries, but at least, it's grounded in reality. https://onthebl.org/2020/06/20/anna-of-kleve-by-alison-weir/

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MallenNC
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When looking for books for this #FallisBooked prompt I noticed several of my royals books have red covers. I didn‘t even have to move them for the photo. #RedCover

OriginalCyn620 👌🏻📚😊❤️ 4y
38 likes1 comment
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Lynnsoprano
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Congratulations to the fabulous @Librarybelle who is celebrating an amazing milestone with #200Kgiveaway. The book I‘d like to read is the tagged one. It was mentioned in a Smithsonian magazine article, because Weir apparently runs with an unconventional theory that Anna was pregnant by another man when she married Henry VIII. So this has moved up my TBR. Thanks for a very generous giveaway.

Librarybelle Thank you! 😊 I just got a copy of this; can‘t wait to read it! 4y
Crazeedi I cant wait to read this either!! 4y
Lynnsoprano @robinb I know! Plus, I keep thinking she looks like someone I know. 4y
50 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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Bowietrek
Pickpick

Liking this book a lot. Anna is my favorite of the six.

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beaconhillbooks
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Pickpick

The Six Tudor Queen series is a fun romp for Tudor fans. Weir does flex her creative muscles here (again more strongly than I felt with Anne Boleyn‘s novel) hypothesizing a few storylines she felt could potentially have happened. This may disgruntle some readers however personally doesn‘t bother me as it is historical fiction and not non fiction.
#netgalley

Birdsong28 Looking forward to this. I have a signed edition pre-ordered from #Waterstones can't wait! Have you read the ebooks in between this series? 😘📚📖 5y
beaconhillbooks @birdsong28 Oh wow how cool! I‘ve been reading most of them through netgalley because I can‘t wait to read them lol 5y
Birdsong28 @beaconhillbooks You will have to check out the mini ebooks as they are a nice companion to each of the stories. 5y
beaconhillbooks @Birdsong28 thank you for the rec! 5y
17 likes2 stack adds4 comments