Review: Anna of Kleve

Anna of Kleve: The Princess in the Portrait is the third in an (anticipated) six books historical fiction series by Alison Weir on Henry VIII's wives. As with the others in the series, it starts with Anna's childhood years before meeting/marrying Henry, details how she comes to be his wife, and the end result. If you don't know her fate, I won't spoil it!

For entertainment value, this was on par with the other books in the series; I enjoyed it. I didn't really know anything about Anna going in, so I got a lot out of it. She definitely portrays Anna as a sympathetic character and, as with his other wives, you can't help but feel sorry for her.

It's also been interesting over the course of the books to see the evolution of Henry's relationship with his various wives and how different the dynamics were, at least in Weir's interpretation. Her portrayal of Henry throughout the books is nuanced; sometimes you hate him, sometimes you feel sorry for him. Sometimes you just don't know what to think. I look forward to reading her biography on him at some point. He was a little less "real" to me as a character in this than in her previous two books; because there is less of a connection between him and Anna than between him and his first two wives, we don't really get to know him as well. However, that fits well with his relationship with Anna as Weir has protrayed it.

Anna of Kleve, painted by Hans Holbein 

I always love Weir's books; you're always going to get a good story out of her fiction, and her non-fiction generally lays out her argument where there is some question in the historical record, which I appreciate. I'll always recommend her to anyone interested in the Tudor period.

My only real gripe with this novel is that she played it a little fast and loose with historical accuracy with regard to some pretty important plot points. (Incidentally, I have a similar complaint about her novel The Lady Elizabeth.) She is very clear about this in her afterward, where she explains what is factual and what is fiction (which I always very much appreciate), which absolves her somewhat. I understand that she did it to make the story more interesting, and it did make for a better read - over all Anna is just not as interesting as Katherine or Anne. However, on balance I prefer my historical fiction to stick as close to accuracy as possible, with deviations on minor plot points. This is particularly true for someone like Weir, who writes both fiction and non-fiction. This is especially true as she has made thinly veiled references to lack of accuracy in other novels, particularly The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. (Full disclosure, I put off reading Gregory for a long time because of the accuracy issues, but have been working my way through her books lately and I must admit, they do make for an enjoyable read.)

Anyway, overall I enjoyed it and can still recommend it, despite some bumps with regard to accuracy. If you're interested in this book it can be read as a standalone, although I recommend reading the other books in the series, Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen and Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession. The remaining books in the series are forthcoming (she seems to finish them about once per year).