Review: The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

My third Alison Weir book of the year!  With the 2011 Summer Book Challenge in full-swing, and waiting on some more books to come in, I jumped to one I have read before, to fulfill the "historical nonfiction" category.  And so here is the review for The Children of Henry VIII.

When King Henry VIII died in 1544, he left behind three talented, intelligent children to rule England, three children from three very different mothers and ways of life.  Mary, born to Henry's first wife, Katharine of Aragon: nervous, anxious, and piously Catholic.  Elizabeth, born to the infamous Anne Boleyn: beautiful, flirtatious, and cautious.  And Edward, the long-awaited legitimate son and heir: insensitive, brilliant, and a committed Protestant.  In the wings was Henry's intelligent and piously Protestant niece, the Lady Jane Grey, never desiring the crown yet having it thrust upon her to her own detriment. These four "children" (Mary veritably middle-aged, Elizabeth a teenager, and Edward and Jane only nine years old) were left to continue in their father's famous footsteps, but quickly discovered that differences of religion, combined with old rivalries never buried, would divide their paths and bring about tragedy.  

 

This book is the "sequel" to The Six Wives of Henry VIII (my review is the link), and continues through the next 14 years of the English monarchy.  Weir describes the juvenile reign of Edward VI, who ascended the throne at only 9 years of age and ruled for six years, turning England into a completely Protestant state and ruthlessly executing those who opposed him, even his relatives, and disinheriting his biological sisters in favor of his cousin, Jane Grey, who was a Protestant like he was.  Jane followed Edward, and won herself the title "the Nine-Days' Queen" in honor of her brief reign before Mary took control of England and took what she felt was her rightful place.  The next five years were devoted to Mary I's rule of England, the Counter-Reformation which turned England into a Catholic nation again, and won the soubriquet "Blood Mary" due to her fanatical burning of Protestants.

Weir's history is just as thorough as before, though unlike Six Wives, this reads more as a history book than as a novel.   I find the first half of the book, about Edward VI, less interesting than the other parts, although I am fascinated with the short and sad reign of Jane Grey and the sad and turbulent years of Mary I's rule.  The book ends with Elizabeth (her 45-year reign earned it's own sequel), which does inspire me to (finally) finish Weir's The Life of Elizabeth I...but I think it's time for a break, and to get to something more lighthearted and fictitious.

Rating: *** and 1/2