Portrait of an Unknown Woman

Excellent mix of Fiction and history! Edge of your seat listening. I felt transported back to the 1500's and King Henry the VIII's court. Meg Giggs becomes as real as well researched historical back round. 15 hours - I found it difficult to turn off the cd's. This one has it all - Intrigue, history, romance, imagination and taste.

I've been reading historical fiction about the Tudor period for almost 40 years, and it is rare that I find a book that is not only entertaining, but firmly based in historical realities (in which unfortunately, much of the most popular books in the genre, such as those by Phillipa Gregory, fall short). My most recent visit to a smallish chain bookstore displayed perhaps 10 (TEN!) series about Henry VIII and his wives, so I have to add my voice to those who are happy that this book focuses on a different group of people during the same historical period. Even though one of the main twists to the plot is a huge stretch, and personally one that I do not subscribe to (see Alison Weir's "The Princes in the Tower"), I was able to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the premise and plot thoroughly. I find today's fashion toward erotically spiced fiction to be a bit humdrum, and was pleased to find that although sexuality was important to the book, it wasn't included in a "titillating manner". Historical detail was complete and accurate. Further, it was very satisfying to get an idea of what Hans Holbein, the man, was like as a human being. The enormity of the cultural change which unfolded over this period - the Renaissance vs. the Medieval - Protestantism vs. Catholicism - Humanism vs. Religion - was fully explored and included in a way that is not didactic or boring. I have had little exposure to art history, but this is the second book I've read this year (the first being "The Golden Tulip" by Rosalind Laker) which has focused on the subject, and I find it fascinating. I had no idea that Holbein was more than a "mere" visual portraitist and that the symbols included in many of his paintings bear psychological or other significance to the subject portrayed. It filled me with a desire to learn more about Holbein's work, and about art history in general. This book is more than a historical novel, there is a wealth of well-written and -organized supplemental information about not only the basic history of the times, but also significant cultural aspects of the period, especially in relation to the book. It has been decades since I've been able to say that I've learned a great deal from a book about this period - so those who wish to improve their mind as well as enjoy a good read will be very happy with the novel. All in all, I could not recommend this book more highly.

Thomas More is a saint and a cultural icon. But he was far from perfect, and certainly ought not to be confused with the paragon depicted in A Man for All Seasons. In Portrait of an Unknown Woman, Vanora Bennett brings some humanity, flaws and all, to the cardboard image. This imaginative look into the lives of the More family, embedded as they were into the very heart of the religious wars that forever changed English culture, appears to have been grounded upon analysis of the composition of the More family portrait painted by German artist Hans Holbein. The interpretive theory, explicated by Jack Lesau at the website of the Hans Holbein Foundation, proposes the ideas around which the plot of Unknown Woman revolves. Thomas More is depicted here as a sincere, but at times fanatical, hunter of heretics. His children, all adults at the time of the novel's setting, are all brilliantly educated and conversant with the classics and the major schools of thought of their day, particularly humanism. Nevertheless they are constrained to live in accordance with the morals and mores of their era. At the center of the plot stands Meg Giggs Clement, known to have been the ward of More. I will not go into the various plot twists and turns for fear of spoilers, but, whether or not these family secrets and surprises are true, they make for good reading. This is a novel, after all. Portrait of an Unknown Woman presents a beautifully written, vivid, and memorable glimpse into the life of those people fortunate or unfortunate enough to have lived during the turbulent, world shaking reign of Henry VIII.

If you are interested in art history, as well as interested in a good historical novel, this one is for you. Find insights into English history and the techniques of Holbein. Find out why Thomas More is depicted wtih red velvet sleeves. Google More family and Holbein, and see the sketch of the characters, and the knowledge of the significance of the items included will delight you. I bought this for my cousin who is an art teacher, and I got a copy for myself, too, since I know I'll read it again.Portrait of an Unknown Woman: A Novel

From the moment I picked up this book,I was entranced: by the writing,the story, the pace,the details. The author writes fluently,lyricaly and makes you care for the characters. I wanted to know what would happen next and why. Fiction will play with the facts and with what a character "might" do or feel in any given situation so there is no reason to look for a history text here. I loved this book. I hated to finish it. There was nothing I would have changed. Meg Giggs was the perfect narrator;the author makes her feel horror at More's actions and yet retains her love of him. This is a must read. By the way, I don't reveal the secrets of a book..