The fourth book in Alison Weir’s factionalized series on the wives of Henry the Eighth, this is the one about which the least is known. It also gives Weir a chance to go outside the history and try to come up with a reason why. Anna of the history books is portrayed as reserved, demure, and totally unknowing of English ways and customs. The Anna is here is somewhat different. Here, she is naive for certain but also smart enough to realize the situation she is in and try to make the best of it. While it is almost impossible to say whether this book gives any insight into Anna herself, it does give insight into the life at Henry’s court in the later stages of his reign. Like the others in their series, I have enjoyed Weir’s take and look forward to reading the next one.

This was my favorite read by Alison Weir and I wasn't disappointed. I was a bit hesitant to read this story as it's book 4 in the series but in a way I think it worked because I saw things through Anna's eyes...she only knew things of King Henry through what she had heard...as did I. The author did an excellent job of conveying the emotions that Anna felt as she was preparing to meet her future husband...the anticipation, the hesitation, and the fear. The story was paced well but did have some slow parts. I didn't particularly enjoy the political parts but I know that they were necessary to the story.

I am fascinated with British history and look forward to reading Alison Weir's other novels. Highly recommended!

I received an arc of this book from NetGalley to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I will definitely recommend this title. It is very well thought out and imaginative. I can't wait for more titles by this author.

Title: Anna of Kleve: The Princess in the Portrait



Author: Alison Weir



Series: Six Tudor Queens book 4



Pages: 499



Genre: Historical fiction



Rating: 3 stars



Anna of Kleve is the fourth book in the Six Tudor Queens series, and even though it is a series each book is a standalone about a different one of Henry VIII's wives. This one being one of the lesser known ones. Anna of Kleve. I did enjoy this one though I pretty sure the book about Anne Boleyn is my favorite as she is my favorite of Henry's wives thought this one is a close second. I enjoyed that this one used Anna instead of Anne as for the majority of her life she would have been called Anna and Kleve is the German spelling of Cleve. Anna was a German princess more technically a German Duchess and it's safe to assume that the marriage was for a political alliance.

And even though Anna wasn't an English citizen I have to say that she was probably the wisest of Henry's wives in how she handled the situation she found herself in.



I enjoy Alison's nonfiction works and I am finding that I am loving this series as well. Even though there's no way to ever know what actually happened between historical people she still tries to stick to the facts as much as possible. So the historical thread is woven throughout the book but the book still reads like an historical fiction book and not a textbook. So it made for an enjoyable read.



With this being mainstream historical fiction there is language and other adult content.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

I am absolutely addicted to reading anything having to do with the Tudor dynasty and this 4th installment of Alison Weir's Tudor Queens series had me hooked from page 1. King Henry VIII and his wives are fascinating to me and I really did not know much about Anna of Kleve. Ms. Weir did a superb job with the story, the characters really came to life and were very relatable. I look forward to the next book. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced reading copy,

While I was familiar with Henry the VIII's six wives on a general level I did not know much about Anna of Kleve. Obviously a huge part of this book is fiction and comes from the imagination of Alison Weir but what was interesting was how she lived after her annulment. Not much of the book takes place during her marriage because it only lasted 6 months but her life as a "beloved sister" to the king lasted 17 years so most of the story takes place during that time.

Alison Weir did a great job of taking historical rumor and spinning that into a story. I cannot imagine what it would be like to live in the Tudor courts where so much about your life is dependent on someone else's ability to influence and convince. This book does a good job of portraying that through Anna's relationship/interactions with Sir Thomas.

This was a very enjoyable book to read and read very quickly. I was concerned that it might be dry since it is fairly long but it was not and if you are a fan of historical fiction in England or royal historical fiction give this one a read.

I loved this so much. Anne of Cleves is my 24x great grandmother and reading about her is always exciting.

I enjoy many different types of books but will always choose one set in Henry VIII's era. Very little is known of Anna of Kleve. With so little resource materials, Alison Weir writes a fictional depiction while remaining true to the Tudor Court's well documented history. You are reminded how little control a woman had over her destiny. Yet the Tudor wives that escaped the guillotine did get to live with some freedoms so it is completely possible for Anna to have lived this life. I'm recommending this book to my other Henry VIII junkies!

Alison Weir is one of my favorite historical fiction novels and in Anna of Kleve, she envelopes us in a narrative of her life that is rich in detail and beautifully written. I love at the end of the novel, she explains which liberties she took as far as historical accuracy. She's a must-read in my house and should definitely be on your TBR too.

I had such high hopes for this book, the fourth in the series, but I wasn't sure where the material would come from since little is known about her to create an extensive tome. Then it hit me in the face-she's making it up. Sooo much making up. I like my historical fiction based on fact, and typically Weir is spot-on. If I rated this book merely as a fiction it's wonderful, but I just can't. I'm too much of a purist and the other books in the series were so well-researched. I still have high hopes for the remainder of the series, though most definitely.

Alison Weir is my favorite historical fiction writer and in Anna of Kleve, she does not disappoint. The detail in this book, like all of her other novels, is rich. Reading her books makes it feel like you're there during the Tudor dynasty. I can't wait for this series to continue.

Alison Weir is wonderful! I love the detail she goes into in her historical fiction. Anna of Kleve really had a full life in this book. I can't wait to read the next book about Katherine Howard!

What a monster of a book! Easily over 450 pages when published, Anna of Kleve is the story of Henry VIII’s 4th wife. Though it is common knowledge that they never consummated the marriage, Anne stuck around for quite a long time...long enough to see Wife #5 (Catherine Howard) beheaded and #6 (Katherine Parr) come into power.
After her marriage to the King, Anne was regarded as his “sister”, a special friend, a woman who had the favor of the King and so help you if you decided to cross her.

Weir’s writing is amazing: full of detail without bogging the reader down in dates and names and meaningless words. I thoroughly enjoy her work and am waiting on tender hooks to see her take on young Katherine Howard!


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me this ebook in exchange for an honest review. I am deeply thankful and appreciative.

I requested this book by accident, so I wasn’t exactly excited to read it. I also haven’t read any of the other books in the series. I’m not a fan of historical fiction, but this book wasn’t bad! I did end up skimming some parts that didn’t interest me (but that would interest fans of historical things), but overall, I was pleased with the book.

This was a great addition to the Six Tudor Queens series. Alison has a talent for telling a story within the historical timeline. This book covered Anna of Kleve, wife number four of Henry VIII. I really felt for her, leaving her homeland to find herself in an unfamiliar court with a volatile husband. By the end, you identify with her and route for her to live happily. Even though I knew (historically) she was divorced, I still feared for her life with Henry. Great book!

While I did enjoy the story of Anna of Kleve, since I do think she is one of the more underrated wives of Henry VIII's, I did find her character a bit annoying as well as Henry himself. Henry was almost always put in a positive light which is so infuriating considering how badly he treated almost everyone around him (wives and children included). A lot of his shortcomings are extremely glossed over in a way that I don't think is historically accurate.

Further, I do think that the storyline between Anna and Otho was interesting and fleshed out well, but I was still left uninterested in what was going to happen to them, knowing that it was something invented out of Alison Weir's creative license.

Time also moved far too quickly or far too slowly throughout the novel, leaving me constantly left at places wondering where we were or what time period it was. However, I did actually enjoy the historical accuracies of some of the smaller things like what the houses and palaces looked like and what different individuals wore.

Overall an interesting story, and I still love Weir's writing, but there were just some minor technical character issues that brought me out of the story and wondering about historical accuracies.

Anna of Kleve: The Princess in the Portrait, book four from the Six Tudor Queens series, is a fabulous read. I highly recommend it.
Five stars.

Anna of Kleve is probably the least known of Henry VIII's wives. Not a lot has been written about her and obviously historical data and facts are skewed by the people in power who bent everything to the King's desires. Weir does what she does best in this installment which is combining fact with fiction. Anna, like most women in this era, really had no control over her life or her future. While she was somewhat quiet in historical records, I think she had to be one of the strongest women of her time. Let's face it, not many of Henry's wives lived to see their replacement. She found a way to beat the system. Weir portrays Anna as an innocent who was taken advantage of and had to grow up quickly.

I thoroughly enjoyed this work and can definitely say that Weir is now on my "auto buy" list. If you like Historical fiction, I encourage you to pick up this or any of her works. Thanks to Netgalley and Ballentine books for providing a copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.

I had the wonderful opportunity to read this book thanks to NetGalley. I love Alison Weir and every book she has written. I have read each in the wives of Henry the VIII series and looked forward to reading this one as well. This is about his fourth wife who survived despite Henry divorcing her. She was a very sweet woman and one of my favorite people to learn about. This book is fiction, but I enjoyed it a great deal. It is a fun read and highly entertaining. I will be recommending to my friends. Thanks again to NetGalley

This book outlines the life of Anna of Kleve, Henry VIII's fourth wife. This was a well written and interesting book. The author used speculation and history to create her own version of Anna's life, one a bit unexpected and thrilling. The book was well paced and kept me engaged throughout the story. Overall, well worth reading.