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chocolate_pea's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.0
Shit.. If I were Anne.. š¤·š½āāļø
lisamshardlow's review against another edition
4.0
Who knew Henry VIII could be so romantic? Obviously I didn't! Now I know for sure there was no doubt about whether he loved Anne Boleyn or not, as he very obviously did. The only thing I have issues with is the old English language, so some of the things he was talking about made absolutely no sense to me, but the end notes helped with that.
alexagarcia's review
4.0
Currently watching the tudors and naturally had to pause the show to look up the real letters written by Henry VIII :-) also really amazing to look at the actual high-quality digitised scans of his letters online- I only wish Anneās replies hadnāt been lost!
literallykalasin's review against another edition
3.0
I want to preface this review with the following meme, which I believe some readers may find applicable :
Don't get me wrong: I am a history and Medieval studies major, so I always enjoy a good primary source. But seriously, Henry, I sometimes wonder about you! Most of this short little series of letters is Henry complaining how lonely he is, and how badly he wants to get into Anne's skirts. It's nice to know men don't really change much, I guess.
Don't get me wrong: I am a history and Medieval studies major, so I always enjoy a good primary source. But seriously, Henry, I sometimes wonder about you! Most of this short little series of letters is Henry complaining how lonely he is, and how badly he wants to get into Anne's skirts. It's nice to know men don't really change much, I guess.
heatherday916's review against another edition
4.0
The history nut and Anglophile in me found these fascinating. It's such a treat to read the direct words and thoughts of Henry VIII. Very neat read.
kathryn14's review against another edition
fast-paced
4.0
Yes, he was a murder and yes, he was a massive misogynist and general dick but ... Henry VIII could write a lovely letterš
8/10 (I can't exactly give the man 10/10 for his love letters - he chopped off her headš¤·āāļø)
8/10 (I can't exactly give the man 10/10 for his love letters - he chopped off her headš¤·āāļø)
mada21's review against another edition
2.0
MÄ frustreazÄ maxim atĆ¢t pe mine cĆ¢t Či pe licenČa la care lucrez faptul cÄ scrisorile lui Anne Boleyn cÄtre Henry VIII nu s-au pÄstrat. Chiar nu vreau sÄ aud cum Henry VIII vrea sÄ Ć®i sÄrute lui Anne "her pretty duckies".
amorrison5's review
3.0
It was kind of what I expected but I wasn't too impressed with henry's love letters but that has more to do with the king himself as opposed to the book in which they are all compiled.
helenephoebe's review against another edition
4.0
ISBN? - 9781603863575
General Subject/s? - History / Tudors
Title? - Exactly what it says - this is the collection of love letters that Henry VIII sent to Anne Boleyn in the late 1520s, including one letter Anne sent to Henry, and also letters sent from Anne to Cardinal Wolsey.
General Analysis? - I just re-read these for my dissertation and what always strikes me about them is how unusual they are. Henry VIII hated writing and these letters are some of the only work that survives in his own hand. What this particular edition does well is it explains the dating as J.O. Phillips sees it, and why previous datings have been wrong. It also explains the context of each letter, helpful if you don't want to, or don't have time to, cross-reference all the time.
Recommend? - Yes for anyone interested in the Tudors in general, as they're quite eye-opening about Henry VIII.
General Subject/s? - History / Tudors
Title? - Exactly what it says - this is the collection of love letters that Henry VIII sent to Anne Boleyn in the late 1520s, including one letter Anne sent to Henry, and also letters sent from Anne to Cardinal Wolsey.
General Analysis? - I just re-read these for my dissertation and what always strikes me about them is how unusual they are. Henry VIII hated writing and these letters are some of the only work that survives in his own hand. What this particular edition does well is it explains the dating as J.O. Phillips sees it, and why previous datings have been wrong. It also explains the context of each letter, helpful if you don't want to, or don't have time to, cross-reference all the time.
Recommend? - Yes for anyone interested in the Tudors in general, as they're quite eye-opening about Henry VIII.
sarahbryson's review
4.0
I know that the love letters Henry VIII wrote to his second wife Anne Boleyn before their marriage are available for free online, but for me there is nothing like having them all compiled into one little book. I admit that I have read this book several times but this is the first time that I have sat down and written my thoughts and feelings as I read.
What I love most about these letters is how you can literally feel the passion and desire Henry held for Anne. Itās almost as though that passion seeps into your fingertips as you hold the book and read. Henry was completely and utterly smitten with Anne, as though no other woman in the world existed to him but her. They are also very romantic and this is a different side of Henry VIII, far from the tyrannical obese monster most people imagine him to have been. Here is a very passionate, very romantic man writing words of love and devotion, promising to be Anneās loyal and faithful servant. Giving her his heart and wishing so desperately that time were shortened so that they might be together again. Henry was a King of England, a larger than life ruler literally putting himself at the very feet of Anne Boleyn. These letters are such an extraordinary insight into the mind of Henry during the time he was courting Anne.
What I also find very astounding about these letters is that history tells us that Henry did not particularly like to write letters, and yet here he is pouring out his heart onto paper because of the love and affection he held for Anne. Even more than this the letters seem to suggest that Anne often promised to write back to Henry but many times did not. She left him hanging, the King of England! For me this is truly incredible and helps to show just a little of the magnetism and attraction that Anne Boleyn must have had about her. I can only imagine what it would be like to be in her presence, a woman whom could hold the attention of a King for so long and through so much. I think these letters in themselves prove that there was more to Anne than just a bit of French skill and charm. She truly was a captivating, intriguing and compelling woman.
When I read Anne Boleynās letter to Cardinal Wolsey asking of his health and of the great matter my mind was struck with an image. I imagined Anne Boleyn sitting at her desk in her chamber, the window close by casting the orange glow of the afternoon sun upon the paper. I imagined Anne writing, her long slender fingers holding the quill as it moved across the paper, pausing only to dip into the black ink. For some reason this image really stuck with me and I felt so connected to Anne through reading her letter. If she only could have known then what a huge impact her life has on mine.
I cannot help but wonder if Henry wrote anymore letters to Anne than the seventeen that have survived today? We tragically have only one letter that Anne Boleyn wrote to Henry and that letter was probably very early on in their relationship during the late summer of 1526. Anneās letter is beautifully written, so humble and thankful for the great wonders the King has shown her. And yet there is also something else in her letter, a hint of something more, a promise of a kiss? Or the promise of something even more meaningful like her heart? It pains me greatly to wonder what ever happened to the letters that Anne wrote to Henry. How many did she write? When did she write them? What was she thinking and feeling when she wrote them? Whatever happened to them? I think, in my little fantasy, that Henry kept the letters with him. After Anneās arrest and fall I imagine that he took the letters out late one night and cast them one at a time into the crackling fire, watching as they burnt and turned to ash. I guess that is one of the greatest mysterious of all time, one question that perhaps may never be answeredā¦ what happened to the letters Anne wrote Henry?
Iāve read the Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn countless times and yet every single time they still pull me in and I find myself lost in a history of love and passion. So many wonderful and detailed images and places fill my mind as I read and I think of the passionate, happy times Anne and Henry would have spent together. A time when it seemed as though it was just them against the world. We all know about Anneās fall and her execution but sometimes, especially when I read these letters, I like to reflect upon the happier, promising times of her life with Henry VIII. Even after hundreds of years there is just something about these letters, as though when they were written the writer poured so much of himself into the paper that that passion, desire and longing can still be felt today. Thereās such a mystic and power about these love letters that I will forever be drawn to themā¦ like a moth to a flame.
What I love most about these letters is how you can literally feel the passion and desire Henry held for Anne. Itās almost as though that passion seeps into your fingertips as you hold the book and read. Henry was completely and utterly smitten with Anne, as though no other woman in the world existed to him but her. They are also very romantic and this is a different side of Henry VIII, far from the tyrannical obese monster most people imagine him to have been. Here is a very passionate, very romantic man writing words of love and devotion, promising to be Anneās loyal and faithful servant. Giving her his heart and wishing so desperately that time were shortened so that they might be together again. Henry was a King of England, a larger than life ruler literally putting himself at the very feet of Anne Boleyn. These letters are such an extraordinary insight into the mind of Henry during the time he was courting Anne.
What I also find very astounding about these letters is that history tells us that Henry did not particularly like to write letters, and yet here he is pouring out his heart onto paper because of the love and affection he held for Anne. Even more than this the letters seem to suggest that Anne often promised to write back to Henry but many times did not. She left him hanging, the King of England! For me this is truly incredible and helps to show just a little of the magnetism and attraction that Anne Boleyn must have had about her. I can only imagine what it would be like to be in her presence, a woman whom could hold the attention of a King for so long and through so much. I think these letters in themselves prove that there was more to Anne than just a bit of French skill and charm. She truly was a captivating, intriguing and compelling woman.
When I read Anne Boleynās letter to Cardinal Wolsey asking of his health and of the great matter my mind was struck with an image. I imagined Anne Boleyn sitting at her desk in her chamber, the window close by casting the orange glow of the afternoon sun upon the paper. I imagined Anne writing, her long slender fingers holding the quill as it moved across the paper, pausing only to dip into the black ink. For some reason this image really stuck with me and I felt so connected to Anne through reading her letter. If she only could have known then what a huge impact her life has on mine.
I cannot help but wonder if Henry wrote anymore letters to Anne than the seventeen that have survived today? We tragically have only one letter that Anne Boleyn wrote to Henry and that letter was probably very early on in their relationship during the late summer of 1526. Anneās letter is beautifully written, so humble and thankful for the great wonders the King has shown her. And yet there is also something else in her letter, a hint of something more, a promise of a kiss? Or the promise of something even more meaningful like her heart? It pains me greatly to wonder what ever happened to the letters that Anne wrote to Henry. How many did she write? When did she write them? What was she thinking and feeling when she wrote them? Whatever happened to them? I think, in my little fantasy, that Henry kept the letters with him. After Anneās arrest and fall I imagine that he took the letters out late one night and cast them one at a time into the crackling fire, watching as they burnt and turned to ash. I guess that is one of the greatest mysterious of all time, one question that perhaps may never be answeredā¦ what happened to the letters Anne wrote Henry?
Iāve read the Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn countless times and yet every single time they still pull me in and I find myself lost in a history of love and passion. So many wonderful and detailed images and places fill my mind as I read and I think of the passionate, happy times Anne and Henry would have spent together. A time when it seemed as though it was just them against the world. We all know about Anneās fall and her execution but sometimes, especially when I read these letters, I like to reflect upon the happier, promising times of her life with Henry VIII. Even after hundreds of years there is just something about these letters, as though when they were written the writer poured so much of himself into the paper that that passion, desire and longing can still be felt today. Thereās such a mystic and power about these love letters that I will forever be drawn to themā¦ like a moth to a flame.