The Mistresses of Henry VIII

Loved this book. Just finished reading it and will again. Love history about the Royals etc. and this one I thoroughly enjoyed.

This was interesting because it was history from a very different point of view! There are some very interesting facts about some of the (other side of the bed) descendants from these alliances!

I am glad to say that after just finishing this book I found it thoroughly enjoyable. It breathed life into many of the king's women that were nameless in this account but relevant, and many that we have heard about previously but were underdeveloped in other accounts. I highly recommend it to anyone who cannot get enough to read about the Tudor period. It suggested significant insights regarding the interrelationships between Henry and his women, wives and lovers, children etc. Most books that I have previously read just graced over these facts and this book went into much appreciated depth regarding these topics. You walked away feeling you knew much more about these womens' intelligence and character than you ever knew before.

This book of Henry V111 and his mistresses is accurate and full of history and tells of mistresses that I didn't know about plus the ones like Bessie Blount and Mary Boleyn who are famous. The book flows quite well and is easy to read for a history book. I recommend it highly.

Of late, what with the quinticentennial of the coronation of Henry VIII, King of England, there has been an influx of new histories and novels about this notorious king and his many wives. One title that stood out for me was Kelly Hart's multiple biography about the rather shadowy women that were the king's other women. The Mistresses of Henry VIII takes a look at not just the three ladies-in-waiting that the king made first his mistresses and later his queens, but also those women who entertained him, but never acquired the status of queen. Some were mothers or possible mothers of his illegitimate children, others were there to entertain or amuse him. Not only does Hart explore the three women who were rumoured to be the king's mistresses before he married them -- Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Catherine Howard -- but those whom he did not marry. At least one of them gave him a living child -- and male to boot -- Bessie Blount -- but the other was Mary Boleyn, Anne's elder sister, who may have borne him two children as well, another son and a daughter. But there were more mistresses in Henry VIII's life, including various women of the court. And this is where it gets interesting. For sexual mores of the time had particular ideas about what was proper in a marriage when a wife was pregnant. Sex during pregnancy was considered to be harmful to both the fetus and mother, and of course, since conception had already occurred, this was sex for pleasure's sake, a big no-no when it came to the Church's teachings. And Henry, being virile and not used to abstaining in just about anything, took mistresses to fill the sexual void when his wives were pregnant. For a mistress, having a fling with a king not only could be an adventure, it could lead to quite a few gifts in terms of land and trinkets, as well as political favours to her family from a grateful king. On the flip side, being a mistress wasn't just about bouncing in a bed either -- mistresses were expected to entertain and amuse their kings, and Henry VIII had high standards for his women as well. And Henry's Queens were expected to ignore or look the other way when it came to his mistresses. After all, they were the ones getting the glory and the status, and if it caused a few scenes between husband and wife, or between Queen and lady-in-waiting, most of the time it was a low simmer, if that. And most of Henry's mistresses were married off, or already married when the king tired of them or moved on. But when it came to Anne Boleyn, the dynamic changed. Anne famously declared that while she was not good enough to be his wife, she was certainly too good to be his mistress -- an event that drove Henry to eventually divorce his wife of many years, Katherine of Aragon, and the break with the Catholic Church. Suddenly, there was an entirely new game in Henry's court, especially when Anne got pregnant and the king turned to other women for sexual satisfaction... I found this to be very interesting

I'd have to say that this, so far, is my favorite Tudor History book, and I have read many. It keeps the interest, and has many facts that I have never seen touched upon before regarding Henry VIII's love life & loves. You get the feeling of a more updated fresh literary style of writing with this new book too. You won't regret buying this one. I can't wait until Kelly Hart's next book! If you have never delved into Tudor history before and don't know of the characters she's speaking of, you may not enjoy it until reading a book with general info about the Tudor age & Tudor royalty first.