Henry VIII

FROM THE LINER NOTES

Henry VIII, ascended to the throne as a lithe, handsome seventeen-year-old and died after an extraordinary 38-year-reign, an embittered, obese invalid. The rest of Europe looked on in amazement as Henry, desperate for a male heir, cast aside the older, but loyal Katherine of Aragon for a series of marriages, with wives who are better known for the way their lives ended rather than for how they were lived: the determined temptress Anne Boleyn; the pious yet tragic Jane Seymour; the outcast Anne of Cleves; the young, adulterous Katherine Howard and finally, the devoted care-giver Katherine Parr. This tale of Henry VIII depicts the sexual intrigue, betrayal and rivalry that existed within his Court, in a reign hallmarked by political and religious upheaval, violence and corruption.