Anna of Kleve, the Princess in the Portrait - Alison Weir

Written by Alison Weir
Read by Rosalyn Landor
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 48 Kbps
Unabridged

Six Tudor Queens Series, Book 4
Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
Release date: May 21, 2019
Duration: 18:58:30

The surprising and dramatic life of the least known of King Henry VIII’s wives is illuminated in the fourth volume in the Six Tudor Queens series—

Newly widowed and the father of an infant son, Henry VIII realizes he must marry again to ensure the royal succession. Forty-six, overweight, and suffering from gout, Henry is soundly rejected by some of Europe’s most eligible princesses. Anna of Kleve, from a small German duchy, is twenty-four, and has a secret she is desperate to keep hidden.
Henry requests her portrait from his court painter, who portrays her from the most flattering perspective. Henry is entranced by the lovely image, only to be bitterly surprised when Anna arrives in England and he sees her in the flesh. Some think her attractive, but Henry knows he can never love her.

What follows is the fascinating story of an awkward royal union that had somehow to be terminated. Even as Henry begins to warm to his new wife and share her bed, his attention is captivated by one of her maids-of-honor. Will he accuse Anna of adultery as he did Queen Anne Boleyn, and send her to the scaffold? Or will he divorce her and send her home in disgrace?

Alison Weir takes a fresh and astonishing look at this remarkable royal marriage by describing it from the point of view of Queen Anna, a young woman with hopes and dreams of her own, alone and fearing for her life in a royal court that rejected her almost from the day she set foot on England’s shore. Weir’s clever plot reimagines Anna’s deliciously scandalous maidenhood, sacrifices, and yearning for love. This riveting historical resonates long after the last page is devoured.

“… With Landor at the mic, places, characters, intrigues, and betrayals are truthful, immediate, and completely absorbing. Beginning with Anna’s life in the German duchy of Kleve, listeners experience every emotion of the 24-year-old princess–from joy at her first love to trepidation as she navigates the treacherous Tudor court. Landor expertly portrays both Anna, who hides a secret that would surely seal her doom, and the mercurial, obese, ailing 46-year-old Henry, who grows to like Anna, although he does not love her. Weir’s careful research and Landor’s sumptuous performance make this an audio gem.”. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2019,