I first became familiar with Alison Weir by reading her historical biographies which are far from dry and boring, but are instead entertaining, engaging, and read like novels. When she ventured into historical fiction, I did not hesitate to follow her along on that transition. I have yet to be disappointed. In Weir’s most recent novel, “Anna of Kleve: The Princess in the Portrait,” Weir weaves an intriguing story about Henry VIII’s fourth wife.

Anna of Kleve was an enigmatic individual. Of the four wives whose marriages ended at the King’s whim, Anna’s story was the least tragic and the most unusual. The King didn’t like her from their first meeting, but he married her anyway and quickly regretted it. Henry then came up with a weak excuse for a divorce and set out to convince Anna to accept his terms. If Anna would agree to end the marriage, Henry vowed to thereafter consider and treat her as his dear sister. Anna was no fool—this was a far better offer than being exiled or executed, so she agreed to the divorce. Henry was true to his word. He bestowed upon Anna various properties, provided her an income, allowed her to retain a retinue of advisors and household staff members for the rest of her life, and did indeed treat her as a beloved sister.

Those were the historical facts that appear in Weir’s novel, but Anna of Kleve’s life was not as well documented as some of Henry’s other wives. Weir uses that lack of recorded information to create an interesting backstory for Anna, beginning with her early teen years and the mistakes of youthful innocence. Those mistakes are used to define and explain Anna’s behavior and personality into adulthood, particularly during her brief tenure as Queen and her much longer tenure as “sister” of the King. Weir weaves a plausible and believable story and does it in a way that keeps you turning the pages to the very end. This is a “must read” for anyone who loves Tudor-era historical fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ballantine Books, and the author for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Anna of Kleve by Alison Weir is the 4th book in a series focussing on the 6 wives of Henry VIII. This is part nonfiction-part fiction.

I have always been a huge fan of Ms. Weir and with this gem I am not disappointed. Ms. Weir impeccably interweaves all of the historical facts that we know of Anna’s life before traveling to England and thereafter, adding her own flare of a fictional narrative (that is added in such astounding detail that it feels as if it truly belongs) to create a fantastic book that took me three days to devour.
I am impressed and great full that I could read and review this book.
I give this 5/5 stars and recommend this wholeheartedly to anyone, in addition to the remaining books in this series (and this author).

Thank you again NetGalley for allowing me to read this amazing novel in return for my honest review.
A must read!

Anna of Kleve, The Princess in the Portrait, is the fourth book in the Six Tudor Queens Series. As with the others, author Alison Weir has written a historical account of the fourth wife of Henry VIII, that will have the reader becoming drawn into the story from the very beginning. It is filled with the dangers that anyone close to King Henry VIII must endure on a daily basis. The life of Anna of Kleve is dictated from an early age and the emotional rollercoaster that she must ride throughout her life. There are many perils that Anna must face during her life in England and the love that is forbidden to her because of her title, Anna of Kleve, touches on all of the readers emotions. I highly anticipate the next book is this awesome series!

Oh my goodness, this novel is just so, SO good! The author brilliantly sets a scene, landing her readers directly into the middle of the fray. The characters are absolutely exquisite, with their own complexities, beautifully flawed and completely memorable. I loved every last word of this book, and can't recommend it enough! Alison Weir outdoes herself once more in this perfectly crafted novel, bringing my favorite Tudor Queen to life right before me!

This book was received as an ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have read so many books on Henry VIII and how he had so many wives and how he ordered them for exile. But, this story is the most intense /twisted story of that matter that I have ever read. Anna was such a beautiful young woman and the power of royalty overtook her beauty and Henry VIII knew that he could never love her and then falling for her cousin and trying to exile her just because her family wanted the royal bloodline in their family. This was such an enticing story with so much history embedded in and Alison Weir did an amazing job with her research and incorporating a lot of the Historical References throughout the entire book.

We will consider adding this title to our Historical Fiction section at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Anna of Kleve, The Princess in the Portrait is the fourth book in Alison Weir's Tudor queens series. Prior to this, I've read a couple of accounts of Anna of Kleve. Her situation with Henry VIII was so bizarre and never really understood. This is a man who chops heads off every day for no reason at all. Why, then, did he marry, divorce then send Anna away to live a pretty comfortable life? It's like she was his one act of kindness. Anna of Kleve was, in my opinion, the most successful queen. Henry called her ugly and not a maiden, and it seems like he just ran from here for some reason. Yet, he later calls her sister? It's puzzling indeed. I enjoyed reading this account of Anna's life and from where she came. She was strong and intelligent to endure the terrifying ordeal of being wed to a notorious wife killer. I love all of Alison Weir's work, including this new addition. It's well researched and written with a captivating flair. I felt like I was there. If you are a fan of the Tudor queens series, this is a must read. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Alison Weir is a treasure. Her books are captivating and wildly entertaining. This latest addition to her literary ranks is no different. Anna of Kleve will make fans of historical fiction squeal with delight.

I think it fair to say I’m not the right reader for Alison Weir’s Anna of Kleve: The Princess in the Portrait. The book seems to have tickled the fancy of many, but I was not enthralled by the author’s creative choices and admit my attention wandered on more than one occasion.

While I identified no historical anachronisms, Weir took the story in directions I struggled to wrap my head around. I consequently spent more time questioning the author’s choices than I did with the narrative which is a reality that severely hindered my ability to lose myself between these pages.

Weir is a scholar of Tudor history and her interpretation of Anna is likely a byproduct of years spent with the material. I can and do respect that, but the idea of Anna as a gentle and naïve romantic bored me to no end. Perhaps I don’t know enough to understand what prompted Weir to characterize Anna as she did, but I wanted more depth and substance than this story suggested and was challenged by the disparity that exists between my imagination and the text.

I received an ARC of this from NetGalley. As usual, I loved it. I love Alison Weir and immediately stopped everything else I was reading in order to start this book about Anna of Kleve. I read in the author's notes where a certain "scandal" was added to the book but had never been proven. I have to say I loved that part!. The entire story of Anna of Kleve is such a weird one that I was happy to read Alison's take on it. Any lover of the Tudor Age must read Mrs. Weir's books!

This was a beautiful and engrossing historical novel, written by this incredibly talented writer. I absolutely loved the amazing descriptions of the charactere and the era. Will be definitely reading more books by Alison Weir.

A sweeping historical account of Anna of Kleves, full of period details and personages.
Mature situations: Moderate; Violence: Mild (animal)
Weir brings what must be an epic amount of research to her works, but in this case it feels like the historical facts drag down the story at times rather than helping it along. Still overall a great read for historical fiction fans!

I was really looking forward to Alison Weir's Anne of Cleves novel in her Tudor series, and Anna of Kleve does not disappoint. Anna's story has an irresistible central mystery--why did Henry reject her and divorce her, yet have her named his sister and give her attractive properties along with nice chunks of money? The traditional story is that Henry found her ugly and refused to sleep with her and was able to annul the marriage. But the known portraits of Anna do not show her as ugly, and Henry's gifts show that he cared about her. So what happened?

No spoilers here. Alison Weir's Anna is based on her historical study of the woman based on what little was written about her. Anna was the daughter of Kleve, one of those cheerless German duchys where people do not dance or make music in public. She was betrothed to a French prince in young childhood but the engagement was broken off because the alliance was no longer important to either side. The alliance would be good for England, so Thomas Cromwell opened discussion of the marriage of Anna to Henry..

There are wonderful descriptions of the preparations for Anna's journey to England, the way she was greeted and the state in which she traveled. She's likable, kind. How will she fare in the Tudor court of high-stakes schemers?

I love these Tudor books, written by a historian who skillfully fills in the many blanks in the story with delectable possibilities. "Anna of Kleve" is all you were hoping for.

I am a huge fan of Tudor history and Alison Weir’s book and this one on Anna of Cleves kept my interest the entire time, I could not put it down! Without going into spoilers, there were of course some areas where I was wondering if it was true or realistic but that is historical fiction and Weir did a great job filling in the blanks of Anna’s life when there isn’t much information about her.

Anna of Cleves is considered one of the successful wives of Henry VIII in that she survived the marriage; however, her life is somewhat of a mystery. Alison Weir has done a superb job of filling in some of the blanks with her new book Anna of Kleve, The Princess in the Portrait. This tome is the fourth in her new series, Six Tudor Queens.

I had always thought Anna’s life would be easy once she was divorced/annulled from Henry but Weir details Anna’s known struggles with money and religion along with a new twist of a left behind son and lover. Her precarious position lasted throughout her life.

After Henry dies and his generous gifts become a thing of the past, money becomes scarce as Parliament regularly neglects to pay Anna her promised income. On top of that, prices skyrocket as inflation overtakes the country. Time and again she was forced to relinquish valuable properties as her importance waned due to new political powerhouses.

Often thought a Protestant and a support of Luther, Anna was a Catholic in a country where religion was an ongoing battle. Power shifted back and forth between the two factions and Anna was always viewed with suspicion by both sides which filled her life with uncertainty.

Multiple sources detail Henry’s claim that Anna was no maid due to the condition of her breasts and belly on their wedding night but his statement has habitually been seen as an extension of his desire to end the marriage with no real credence being given to the assertion. Weir, however, explores the theory as if it is fact and weaves a plausible tale of seduction, motherhood, and a fostered child.

Details of Anna’s life are scarce but Weir offers conceivable scenarios to bridge the known events and helps Anna come alive on the page and in the mind. Anna’s world was fraught with insecurity and powerlessness but she managed to do well where so many others failed. She found love and happiness in a life governed by others.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House (Ballantine Books) for the ARC to review.