Trip to the grisly Tower of London.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

     As I read Weir’s book about the unfortunate wives of King Henry VIII, I felt like I was really there in 1500s Britain. I’m not one to enjoy too much detail in story telling. I always want the author to get on with it already. However in this book, Weir smoothly swirls in the details about dress, food, sport, war, disease, torture, beheadings, and politics. No need for a spoiler alert. All of us have heard that Henry the VIII would not take “no” for an answer. Even if it meant telling the Pope to get lost or beheading a couple of wives that were in the way. Weir invokes our sympathy for even the bitchiest wife, Anne Boleyn. It is fascinating to find that the rich and powerful are just as miserable and foolish as the rest of us. It is a long book, 656 pages, but it is action packed. Not a dull moment. Even the executioner’s axe is sharpened to provide clemency.