The history of Henry the VIII's court would be incomplete with Anne of Cleeves. Most Tudor court history books focus on Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn but the history is much more than just the first two wives. As the fourth wife, for six months, their marriage forged a link between the Tudor court and the Germans. In a time when women were little more than bargaining chips, the dissolution of the marriage between Anne of Cleeves and Henry Tudor freed Anne to live her life as she saw fit. This wife out lived not only Henry but his successor too. Her biography is full of information on court life and how England changed during her lifetime. I love reading about this era in history and found many new insights thanks to Sarah-Beth Watkins' excellent research and writing skills. I had not read any of her books before but have now purchased her book on Margaret Tudor.

I am very late in my review of this book but I thoroughly enjoyed Sarah-Beth Watkins book about Anne of Cleves. Anne of Cleves left her homeland in 1539 to marry the king of England. She was not brought up to be a queen, yet out of many possible choices she was the bride Henry VIII chose as his fourth wife. This is the Queen that King Henry VIII immediately divorced as she was "not pretty enough". After just six months their marriage was annulled, leaving Anne one of the wealthiest women in England. This is the story of Anne's marriage to Henry, how the daughter of Cleves survived him and her life afterwards.

We always hear about Catherine of Aragon or Anne Boleyn or Katherine Howard but Anne of Cleves always gets left behind. This book gives Anne of Cleves the recognition she needs. It was well written, well research and any history buff would enjoy this book!

As a Tudor fan, I was excited to see this book. Meticulously researched, it presents a portrait of a woman in a country unknown to her, betrothed to an infamous king. The fact that she survived the king's instant dislike for her and that she could adjust to living so far from her home contribute to the strength and resilience of this admirable woman.

This Tudor biography of Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife, by Sarah-Beth Watkins, is a well written and thoroughly researched book. It gives a detailed account of Henry VIII’s lesser known wife, Anne of Cleves, it covers her early life, her time as Henry’s queen and then his ‘sister’, and looks at her life after the death of Henry VIII and her time under his children’s reigns.
Although a biography, it reads as a fiction novel and is therefore easy to read. Watkins’ series of Tudor biographies make people like Anne and this era assessable to all. From the book it is clear that Anne of Cleves is a very fascinating lady who lived a varied life and it definitely paints her in a different light to the usual negative portrayals of Henry’s fourth wife. In both books and films, she is commonly referred to as the ‘Flanders mare’.
Watkins ensures that common myths, such as her being called a ‘Flanders Mare’ are discussed and proven to be just that, a myth. She writes, “Never once did Henry call her a Flanders mare”, this of course is backed up with written accounts from the time and references that can be followed up.
Using contemporary letters and accounts every detail is well researched and backed up with evidence. With a comprehensive bibliography, reference list and appendices this has the feel of a meticulously researched book, the author definitely knows her subject matter. The bibliography is useful to those readers wanting to delve further into Anne’s life.
My only suggestion to improve this book would be to include a list of names of the key people featured in the text and also a Cleves family tree. There are so many different names mentioned that I did find myself getting slightly lost at times. However, this did not put me off the book and only made me want to look up these people who had such an influence in Anne’s life, such as her mother and brother, William, Duke of Cleves.
I recommend this biography of Henry VIII’s fourth wife to anyone interested in Tudor history and particularly to those fascinated by Henry’s six wives. A relatively shorter book than many similar biographies, at 176 pages long, this work would be a great starting place for people new to this time period, as well as those more familiar with this era.
Reading this interesting and fascinating book has made me more aware of Henry’s queen and ‘Sister’ Anne of Cleves and makes me wonder why out of all Henry’s six wives she is the one least known and possibly the most misunderstood. I look forward to reading further books by author, Sarah-Beth Watkins.

After reading Sarah-Beth Watkins' previous biography of Margaret Tudor, I was really excited for her new book. She has a really good writing style, making the topic feel quite exciting instead of dry and boring. The book itself feels a bit fast paced.

I didn't know much about Anne of Cleves, only that she was Henry VIII's fourth wife, and she survived due to a marriage annulment. A lot of the book focuses on her life pre-Henry, which, while interesting, felt a bit unnecessary with how short the book is. In comparison, there are only two chapters dedicated to her life during the reigns of Edward and Mary, which I think would have been much more interesting. My only other complaint of this book was that letters and primary sources are used frequently and often take up a couple of pages at a time. I found this quite distracting, especially as reading them could be quite difficult due to the spelling of English during this period.

Sarah-Beth Watkins has a knack for writing meticulously researched accounts of the lives of those who have been neglected by most historians to some extent, and as I thoroughly enjoyed her portrayal of the life and times of Margaret Tudor published at the end of last year, I knew I would appreciate this too. Despite being non-fiction, what really sets this author apart from the rest is that she makes an often dry topic seem exciting and accessible. It almost reads as easily as a fiction novel.

I couldn't think of anything worse - being the unwanted wife to a king who was renowned for his fiery, temperamental personality, and I am certainly glad that she has not been forgotten by every historian, so kudos to Watkins for bringing this maligned queen to the forefront. What is crystal clear is that Anne of Cleves was an interesting character, a strong woman and someone who had the depth and intelligence to make sure to remain in favour with Henry VIII, albeit as his "beloved sister", to maintain her position of wealth and power.

Brief, interesting and a worthwhile addition to any history buffs bookshelf, this was an informative read. I look forward to enjoying some more of Sarah-Beth Watkins' books in the future!

Many thanks to Chronos Books for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This was an interesting, well-researched book, but the writing was a bit dull.

However, I didn't know that much about Anne's life after Henry VIII died and Sarah Beth-Watkins details Anne's experiences during each reign. Also, I always thought of Anne as very Protestant but she was really Catholic and happy to go back to the Catholic Church during Mary 1's reign which surprised me.

I received this ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.
Posted by Viola at 11:22 PM

This is a nice addition to the library of any Tudor or history lover, comprehensive and interesting, though it doesn't really provide us with much in the way of new information or insights.

Although its main focus is on Anne of Cleves, at times a lot of attention goes to Henry and his other wives, even when their actions don't impact Anne. There are also moments when the book feels a little too much like a summary or a listing of belongings and important people, at various events, lacking the necessary background information to make it relevant or useful to the reader.

Anne remains quite enigmatic, for apart from her letters concerning the annulment of her marriage, we are left with little information that can help us figure her out.

I was a bit disappointed that the other known portrait of Anne of Cleves, that by Bartholomäus Bruyn, was only mentioned in passing without any mention of its depiction of Anne or how it differed from the way she was portrayed by Hans Holbein. I'd have preferred it if an image of his portrait had been included in the book as well.

There are plenty of quotes in the book, and sometimes even quite lengthy ones, very interesting both for their informative value as for the glimpse they provide us with of Early Modern English spelling.
I was disappointed by some of the choices the author made, however, in selecting these quotes.
She left out several insightful ones that we do get in other biographies dealing with Henry VIII and all of his six wives, so it is a pity that they are not shared in a book focusing solely on Anne of Cleves.

I'd have liked to have read more of Cromwell, for example, who was a key player in the ill-fated marriage of Henry and Anne, after all. Henry's conversation with his Lord Admiral, the Earl of Southampton, is also a very revealing one, but likewise cut short in this biography. We do not get to see Henry go off at him, crying out in despair "Whom shall men trust? I promise you I see no such thing as hath been shown me of her, by pictures and report. I am ashamed that men have praised her as they have done - and I love her not!"

This was an enjoyable read and a well-researched biography, but I don't feel as if I know that much more about Anne of Cleves now than I did before, having already read both Alison Weir's and Antonia Fraser's books on the Tudor era, among others.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this book for me to provide an honest and fair review!

Watkins begins the book explaining that Anne of Cleves is barely treated by other historians, and when she is, it is in a considerably unfavourable light- I think she has done a fantastic job of detailing Anne of Cleve's life. Anne is often seen lurking in the background throughout Henry, Edward, and Mary's reigns but historians tend not to go into any sort of detail. Watkins goes into far more detail, and brings Anne to the forefront (without failing into the trap of so many historians and biographers who try to fill in the gaps when they don't know).

I wouldn't say that you need to be an expert in Tudor history to read this by any stretch, but I would suggest it for people who have a cursory knowledge of "Who's Who" in the Tudor courts. Watkins does a wonderful job of sharing Anne's childhood and life before moving to England. There isn't a huge wealth of information but there is enough to give you more of a picture of who she was! I found it particularly fascinating that she had no knowledge of the English language prior to leaving on her journey, and spent the rest of her life in England. She also shows Anne's discussions with her family in Germany, which I very much appreciated- we often hear extensively about Catherine of Aragon's family discussions, and of course Anne Boleyn's, but less so about the other wives. Overall, a great biography!

This is a compact, non-fiction biography with oodles of footnotes and quotes of first hand source material. One can only say that the spelling of the English language was quite fluid at the time. Anne might not be modern-sexy but she was a survivor and negotiated her way through perilous times when many others fell afoul of the politics or religious twists and turns. She made a life for herself which she mainly controlled. I’d say she did pretty well. B

This is the biography of Anne of Cleves, King Henry VIII's fourth wife, the one most famously known as going from the king's wife to the king's beloved sister in a matter of months. Anne wasn't raised in a household with the aim of becoming queen. So, one can imagine how difficult it must have been to suddenly have to enter that world. Not only that, but she spoke an entirely different language than the members of her new kingdom. Shortly after her arrival and their marriage, the king decides he doesn't really want her as his wife and begins the process of annulling the marriage. This sounds like a terrible situation for Anne, but she winds up coming out pretty well off in the end through a series of unexpected events. The author did a good job of capturing the king during this period of his life as well, portraying him as old and obese with the infamous festering wound on his leg. Catherine Howard is also discussed since Anne continued to stay a distant part of Henry's life after their marriage broke up and Henry took Catherine as his fifth wife. Anne's story typically handled a bit on the shorter side since she wasn't Henry's wife for very long, so it was refreshing to come across a book that actually gave this woman's story some decent attention. I recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of the Tudor era.

I have always been fascinated by the often forgotten or maligned Anne of Cleves. Sarah-Beth Watkins has written a well-researched and engaging portrait of her life and the world she lived in. The woman that is revealed is a fascinating, strong woman who managed to thrive in a foreign land during very turbulent times - particularly for the women who were tied to the King. Anne of Cleves managed the near-impossible: not only did she survive her marriage to Henry VIII, but she carved a place for herself in England where she was surrounded by friends and loved ones. Anne of Cleves, by becoming Henry's "beloved sister", maintained a position of wealth and power that she could never have equaled had she remained in or been sent back to Cleves.
I liked the layout of the book and the inclusion of the documents in the three appendices. I wish that the partial bibliography had been expanded to a complete bibliography; however, the texts that were included showed a wide range of research and could easily be used for a deeper investigation of Anne of Cleves and her times by a motivated reader.
I enjoyed Sarah-Beth Watkins book tremendously and will happily read more of her work in the future.

This Anne has always been my favorite queen, second only to Catherine of Aragon. Anne has always held my interest because she managed to do what none before her had: survived a marriage to Henry VIII. Not only that, but only she and the last Catherine survived Henry, period (albeit Anne last nearly a decade longer than Catherine).

This is not a terribly long book for being a biography, but it does not really need to be. Sometimes I find in the non fiction that I read that too little is known about the subject to warrant a full length biography, so tons of additional material is added that deals with the time and place, political situations, and world events going on in the period. While this text did touch on all of those things, it did not overwhelm that actual subject and Anne was allowed to shine, inasmuch that we got to learn concisely but sufficiently about a queen who always seems to be the least remembered. I always find that a bit odd, because Jane died so soon into her reign. But she will forever be well-known, as she was the one who gave Henry his heart's desire, a surviving male child, then had the decency to die before he grew tired of her. Callous perhaps, but so was Henry. I don't know that he ever truly loved any of them, so much as he was infatuated or obsessed - or in Catherine's case, it was an example of young puppy love that grew into a solid partnership. Need for an heir or not, how could anyone, no matter the time period they lived in, ever treat someone they loved the way Henry treated Catherine? As all this is a tangent that I had no idea I was going to go off on, let's now return to the actual book I am supposed to be reviewing.

Given that I have a soft spot in my heart for Anne, I was excited to see a biography dedicated solely to her, as the only other one I can recall coming across off the top of my head is a bio by Elizabeth Norton that is still on my TBR. I fear this might be because Anne is viewed by many Tudorphiles a tad bit...boring. Perhaps this is because she did not make waves, she agreed to the annulment to save her head (though it is doubtful that she was ever truly in danger of that), and lived out a peaceful existence in her adopted country. Compared to the women before and after her, it does make her look rather boring and it is easy to see why many gloss over Anne, keep up with the horrible insult of the 'Flanders Mare' (let's stop now already, okay), and in general provide no favorable information whatsoever.

An equal factor at play is the fact that, given Anne's lack of causing trouble, there is simply not nearly as much information recorded about her than literally any of the others. While I know a fair share about Anne, much of the known information of her upbringing was new information to me. In previous biographies I have read of the six, Anne often gets the least amount of attention, and I feel like a lot of Tudor enthusiasts might be in the same boat. The information relating to her religion was of interest to me as well, I guess I have never realized she was Catholic, or at least given it much thought. This should have been obvious to me though, given that she had a good relationship with Mary, who was nearly her age; they were only about a year apart. I wish we could know more about this friendship but again, when you're not as interesting as the others, very few details of your life get recorded for posterity.

Watkins provides all there is to know about Anne's childhood, and how she came to be the unlucky young woman who belonged to a family willing to potentially sacrifice their kin in order to cement an alliance that could be beneficial - but useless if the marriage failed. Luckily for all, and Anne in particular, despite the failure of the marriage, through no fault of her own, becoming 'The King's Sister' was a far more lucrative position and Anne became the wealthiest woman in England once the annulment was complete. Not too shabby for a girl from Cleves.

...and yet she was not just 'a girl from Cleves'. Remarkably, what many do not know about her is that Anne had an impressive pedigree, coming from a royal family connected with other royal houses, such as being related to kings of both England and France. Anne, however, was not meant to be a queen. A duchess, yes, as there was at one time a planned engagement to the Duke of Lorraine. hat fell through however, and Anne was once again on the market. Poor thing, it came at a terrible time, just as Henry was searching for his next victim wife.

The greatest tribute I feel can be paid to Anne, and something I think the author does quite well, is to rehabilitate the image of a woman who has been sorely maligned for centuries. The unfortunate side effect of Henry's declaration that he "like her not!" was that for the following 500+ years, we were left only with this idea that Anne of Cleves was an unattractive, stupid, frumpy, smelly young woman who happened into a marriage with one of the most powerful men on earth. Watkins uses contemporary sources to show that this is not actually the case, and she does so with great care. Surely one had to have been intelligent in order to outwit Henry, which is exactly what Anne did. Though she may not have wanted a divorce (and perhaps hoped they would marry again once the Howard girl was out of the way), Anne knew better than to fight it. Otherwise, a banishment or beheading would have no doubt been in her future. Instead, Anne accepted it and made money off the deal. It is easy to see how people could believe that Anne was less than desirable. After all, Henry did not want her. Yet I think we can all probably agree for his real reasons to not want to stay in the marriage: Anne had embarrassed him. Ever imagining himself as a young and handsome king, Henry chose to meet Anne in disguise, fully believing she would recognize him even so as her true love. Instead, Anne was alarmed at the intrusion in her rooms, and offended by the ruse, not knowing that it had been Henry to burst in. Henry had to save face and even though it took six months, there was no way the marriage could have been successful once his pride was deeply wounded. Perhaps that was the exact moment that he realized he was no longer much of a catch - though one would have thought that the pungent aroma of his oozing leg wound would have been his first clue. Alas, Anne would not be so lucky, and the failure of the marriage was placed firmly on her shoulders.

Watkins used as many contemporary sources as are probably available, considering how little is actually recorded of Anne's life. Not only were these documents relied on and used well throughout, in the Appendix we are able to read Anne's Will, as well as the document pertaining to the financial arrangements related to the marriage. I always enjoy getting to see the original sources and was glad they were included.

While this book may not provide any new breakthroughs or discoveries of lost documents related to the life and death of Anne of Cleves, it is a sound and well-researched biography. I feel Watkins used as much of the material as she had available and was able to paint as clear a portrait as possible of a woman who did the best in the circumstances she found herself in, and survived.

A brief but often interesting biography of Anne of Cleves. The most interesting section for me was the account of her journey to England and her short marriage. Her life after her divorce was not as interesting as I thought it was, and much of that part of the book recounted other events in Tudor England with Anne herself very much on the fringes. I found the long letters in original English a drag and must confess to skim reading some of them- short quotes or a modern translation would have helped the book flow for me. An interesting read if you are new to the Tudors.

Thanks netgalley for this advanced copy in return for an honest review

I have always been curious about the life of Anne of Cleeves. Most Tudor biographies pass over her marriage to Henry VIII quickly so it was refreshing to read a biography giving her the credit she deserves.

This is a well researched biography although I feel it was quite brief. I didn't learn a great deal more about Anne but this would make a great introduction for anyone who is interested in a woman who survived a marriage to Henry VIII.

I have always had a soft spot for Anne of Cleves. I live near Cleves and have visited the Swan Castle where she stayed on her way to marry King Henry VIII as his fourth wife. She had the unfortunate luck to go into history as the “ugly one”, rather than the survivor that she was. As a result, she also seems to be the rather forgotten wife. After Anne and Henry’s short marriage, she was named “The King’s Sister” and she became a pretty wealthy woman. She outlived Henry and all of his other wives and lived well into the reign of her stepdaughter Queen Mary I.

Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife is the most recent look into Anne’s life. I really enjoyed Sarah-Beth’s style of writing and the book flows really well. You can certainly sense the desperation Anne must have felt during those uncertain six months. Nevertheless, I am not sure the book brings much new information to light, though one can never have too many books about royal women!

I really enjoyed this. Well researched and the writing style is both clear and engaging.
I would highly recommend.

Divorced, Beheaded, Died
Divorced, Beheaded, Survived.

Henry VIII is one of the most famous English monarchs...and one of the worst husbands...ever. His notorious marriages are still the subject of much talk, even after the passage of 500 years.

Anne of Cleves was Henry's 4th wife, but not for very long. Henry didn't like her. He complained about her appearance and mannerisms from day one. And poor Anne has been unfairly maligned as fat, ugly, and even stupid for centuries following her disastrous (and short) marriage to Henry VIII. So unfair!!

Sarah-Beth Watkins presents much more favorable details about Anne of Cleves in this book, presenting her as intelligent and cunning, rather than stupid. After all, she survived Henry's unhappiness and was, for a time, the wealthiest woman in England because of her choices. She chose to let Henry have a divorce after six months of marriage, living as his "sister'' and being paid quite well for her silence on the matter. Take the money and run, honey -- definitely a smart move on her part.

I enjoyed this book. I knew a lot about Anne and her disastrous marriage already....but I didn't know much about what happened to her after Henry's death. The author also includes the text of the marriage and financial arrangements that brought Anne to England and her Last Will and Testament. I had never read those two documents before. Very interesting!

I'm glad someone FINALLY presented Anne as a smart, relatively attractive woman who just happened to somehow not please an aging, possibly crazy, monarch. By the time he married Anne, Henry was fat, in ill health, and literally reeked because of a constantly infected open sore on his leg (from a jousting injury he sustained.) Supposedly people could smell Henry approaching long before actually seeing him.....that's like ewwww factor 10+. Not only that, his reputation in marriage preceded him. When his queen Jane Seymour passed away after childbirth, nobody wanted to marry him. He had divorced Katherine of Aragorn in a horrible manner....then beheaded Anne Boleyn....who wanted to risk being the next victim? Poor Anne of Cleves was offered up by her family to cement a relationship with the monarchy. When she first arrived in England, Henry snuck into the room in disguise to meet her. Not recognizing him as the King, she rebuffed his attention, angering him. I imagine that was embarrassing, emasculating and upsetting for Henry. He saved face by blaming the problem on her, maligning her personality and appearance. It couldn't possibly be that she couldn't believe a smelly, fat, old man was actually the English King.....

Sarah-Beth Watkins tells Anne's story with respect, dignity and truthfulness. The information is backed up with well researched facts and presented in a very interesting manner. I enjoyed this book! The writing style is excellent. The story kept my attention from beginning to end. Even though I have read copious amounts of information on Anne of Cleves, I still learned some new facts and enjoyed reading an account more favorable towards Anne than most others. The poor woman has been called The Flanders Mare for almost 500 years. Give it a rest....she wasn't ugly. She wasn't fat. And she definitely wasn't stupid. She was a victim. And, she did the best she could in a bad situation. She came out of it a rich woman. Henry advised her to "Be quiet and be merry''....and she did. It kept her head firmly attached to her neck, which is better than a couple of Henry's other wives fared.

At 176 pages, this book is a fairly quick read. I definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Henry VIII. Great information backed up with research, presented in a concise, interesting manner. Loved it!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from John Hunt Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Thankyou to NetGalley, John Hunt Publishing, Chronos Books and the author, Sarah-Beth Watkins, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Anne Of Cleves in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I thought this book was well written and very informative. While much is known about King Henry VIII's other 7 wives, Anne of Cleves remains somewhat of a mystery. This book manages to answer some of those questions.
Well worth a read for fans of Tudor England.

The Queen who managed to escape a tyrant King,and was happily divorced,rich and lived in London,and was known as ' his dearest sister'. Better than having your head chopped off!
Anne is the Queen that history forgets,once her marriage has been annulled,she seems to completely disappear from Tudor history. Occasionally, you come across houses that are proudly named Anne of Cleeves,and you do wonder about the truth of this,but school was a long time ago,and life gets in the way of investigating.
I found this to be extremely readable and informative. Most books in this genre are packed full of Court correspondence,letters that are badly translated and can become a bit boring,but this book I liked. I felt sorry for this Queen,cast aside by Henry,so he could marry a more attractive woman,and all through her life,being embarrassed by the machinations of her brother in his war efforts,and the constant worries about money and somewhere to live. Although Anne had been left money in revenues from estates ,Richmond Palace and a place in the country, Bletchingley Manor in Surrey,to live,often the money to pay servants ,her food and clothes bills and expensive gifts for her Royal connections fell short,and she was reliant upon the Royal purse to pay arrears. She couldn't return home to Cleeves or her allowance would have been diminished,and the idea of being humiliated and dependent upon her family and being soiled goods was too great a price to pay. I feel she was never free from the long arm of Henry ,she had to be of the 'right religion' ,and was constantly on her guard regarding so called friends in high places. Everyone has their own agenda,and Anne certainally didn't want to annoy Henry.
After the death of Henry,during the reign of Edward, gradually,she lost her residences in favour of the new wave of courtiers and her income was reduced. She was treated with suspicion by the Protestants, yet managed to cultivate a relationship with Mary Tudor when she ascended the throne.
I think she regretted the chance to marry and have children,yet she did have a ringside seat during some of the most exciting times in history.
This is a well researched book that manages to be most informative without being boring. It could almost tempt me to do some additional research myself.
It should be on the bookshelves of most English schools. I have posted this review on Goodreads today.