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Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite
Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England. Her life story has been sadly overlooked and misrepresented, just like the king overlooked the potential of this woman. D. Lawrence-Young is an historian and educator with a passion for the history of England during the reign of Henry VIII and his offspring. He has taken a not-so-well-known woman from the Tudor royal house and created a story that introduces a woman with feelings, compassion and incredible intelligence. To many, this woman is only known as one of the six wives of Henry VIII. To the readers of Lawrence-Young's book, Anne of Cleves becomes a real person.
I like the way the author writes from several points of view. Anne's side of the story is told in first person by Anne herself. The House of Cleve's story is told in third person as is Henry VIII's side of the story. These different viewpoints allow the reader to feel compassion for the main character, Anne. It also distances the reader from the political powers (Tudor England and the House of Cleves) which controlled her life. Anne is presented as a strong character, intelligent and wrongly judged, but also a lucky woman, as she managed to keep her head (quite literally) even when the king decided he wanted to be rid of her.
Lawrence-Young's research is thorough and very particular. He has included the famous painter from Henry VIII's court, Holbein, who painted Anne of Cleves' portrait. Holbein seemed to capture the woman in his painting. It was the image that Holbein captured that first attracted the king. However, it was the king's blatant narrow-mindedness that resulted in his lack of insight into the true beauty of the one queen who would have been to his credit. Holbein saw this and painted, no captured, the woman's soul as only an artist could do. This book was generally speaking very well written, artfully done.
