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9:44 am
January 27, 2010
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I've recently started reading this and I'm about a quarter of the way through, (except that I decided to take a break from the Tudors and got sidetracked by Twilight but that's another issue!), and I was wondering if anyone has finished it and if it's worth it? So far it seems quite good but I'm getting annoyed by Will Somers' blatant dislike for Anne. I expected it from Henry but not Will.
Also, if I'm nitpicking, I'm getting annoyed by the Americanisms that the author has sneaked in. I appreciate that she's American but it grates a little when she's writing an English character, a famous one at that.
Any thoughts? 🙂
7:27 pm
March 12, 2010
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I read this book a while back and I know what you mean about the dislike for Anne. I too was kind of surprised. However, I really enjoyed it and I was ecstatic about there being a book that chronicled Henry's whole life from his perspective. What Americanisms do you mean? (Being American, I apparently kind of looked over them!) 
1:05 pm
January 27, 2010
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I agree, it is nice for him to have his own say! The main Americanism I kept spotting was 'gotten'. We Brits tend to say 'got'. I wouldn't have noticed it except that that particular one has bugged me before when seeing Americans doing English accents! Now I'm doomed to notice it everywhere!
8:32 pm
March 12, 2010
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Ohh haha I know what you mean. I've heard that before. Hope you enjoy the book anyway though!
12:05 pm
February 24, 2010
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I read this book quite a while ago, and enjoyed it. Fools were the only people at court who could actually say what many others were thinking and get away with it. They usually didn't have to worry about being tactful. Will somers is a perfect example of what a court fool was like.
This is a very enjoyable book. Keep at it.
2:25 pm
March 12, 2010
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I agree…you won't regret it. And personally, after reading that book, I'd like to learn more about Will Somers himself.
12:58 pm
January 27, 2010
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I have recently picked it up again and I do intend to finish it. It's weird, whenever I read it I enjoy it, but it just doesn't seem to grab me. I've come to the conclusion that this might be because I just don't like Henry.
4:20 am
February 8, 2010
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I read the book when it first came out which is years ago, still have it and occaionally either re-read the whole book or “dip-in”. I have to say it is very good at showing HVIII as the spolt brat and ready to blame anyone, but himself, for what went on. The fact that it is written in diary form shows the twist in moods.
I have vairous book shelves, trying to keep books in some semblance of order. On some shelves I have the biographies or studies of History characters and events and on other shelves, novels about the same people – so it's interesting sometimes to compare the two.
11:17 am
June 5, 2010
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Hi Beth — and just tweaking my post a bit. Realized that you said you were up to Catherine Parr, and I started kicking myself for not remembering that. (I blame it on working nights and getting Overtime today LOL I really ought to be asleep right now).
One of my sisters gave me the softback version a few Christmases ago, and I spent the next couple of weeks reading it. I mentioned in another thread that I have mixed feelings about it. I knew Will Somers so was fascinated to hear a few things from his POV, but when it was all over, I can't say that I liked Henry all that much. I've never actually hated the man, despite some of the despicable things he did in his life, but thanks to this book, I came very close. I think I was telling Bella44 that I kept reminding myself that THIS was — after all — Henry's version of things, but some of it felt a bit off to me. I'm remembering specifically the scenes that nearly seemed to scream 'See…Anne Boleyn IS a witch!' The only thing missing was her cauldron, her familiar and her broom! (Did I imagine a scene where she appears in blood red lip coloring and red nails?) Then there was the Twelfth Night scene (I think it was Twelfth Night) when Henry appears in costume as one might have in his youth, only to find that Katherine Howard and her company are dressed…well, I think I remembered reading the scene and thinking Okay, am I having a throwback to Caligula or something?
And thanks to this book, I can't walk by a grape now without thinking of Henry discussing himself, Mary Boleyn and grapes? (I'm not saying anything more than that!!! 
)
Henry: Mistress Anne, will you teach the king of England how they dance in the French court?
Anne: There is nothing that France can teach England, your majesty.
King Henry VIII: Well said. Well said.
– Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
12:26 pm
January 27, 2010
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I know, I have to keep reminding myself that it's supposed to be biased, but it really gets me!
All the witch references annoyed me too, they were so Halloween. (As a 'real' pagan witch, all the stereotypes irritate me!) I don't remember the scene with the lip and nail colours, but I may have blocked it out as a painful memory! I do recall the scene with Catherine Howard. It just made Henry look dense that he didn't come to his conclusions about her more swiftly!
Mary Boleyn and the grapes…well, at least she's getting her five a day!
