The Secret Keeper

Author: Sandra Byrd

Genre: Life, King Henry VIII, King Henry VIII’s Wives

Series: Ladies in Waiting

Number in series: 2^nd

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Historical fiction

Number of pages: 330

Time period: 1500’s

My overall opinion: Once again, I loved Sandra Byrd’s book! I anticipated reading this book all summer, and was finally able to. It was certainly a book worth reading! It’s the story of Kateryn Parr, King Henry VIII’s sixth wife, the one who outlived him. Secret Keeper is written from the view-point of a fictional friend of Kateryn (or Kate), one who eventually becomes her lady-in-waiting. It is a riveting story, full of palace intrigue, adventure, a dash of romance, and the general trials and joys of life. It’s written for adults, and has some heavy material, so I’d recommend it for age 16 and up. However, there’s nothing explicit or bad. As you should know, the times of King Henry VIII weren’t pretty. As far as I know and could tell, it was factual to history; I now know more about Kate than I ever did before! I highly recommend this book if you enjoy reading about this time period, reading historical fiction, or have even a passing fancy to the cover. Did I mention I love the cover? I do. Great book, and worth paying full price for! Definitely keeping this one.

**Sandra Byrd, the author, sent me a copy of this book in return for my honest review. I have reviewed the book honestly, given my true opinion. I received no other compensation for this review.**

Birthday: King Henry VIII

King Henry VIII

Birth: June 28, 1491

Death: January 28, 1547

I’ve posted about him: http://austenitis.blogspot.com/search/label/King%20Henry%20VIII

It’s his 521^st birthday!

You know him because – he had six wives. He killed some, loved one, and had three children. The wives are also famous.

The Wives of Henry VIII

Author: Antonia Fraser

Genre: Ummm...biography.

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 479 (smallish print. Yeah, big book)

Time period: 1500's

Main characters: King Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, Catherine Parr

My overall opinion: I found it to be a very interesting book. If you have either a little or else no interest in King Henry VIII and his wives, you will find this book very boring. I will admit, even I skimmed parts of it and it's one of the parts of history I find most riveting! But overall, I enjoyed it and learned SO much about them. I can now keep them apart. :) I recommend you try it. But be warned...it's a huge book.

Movie: A Man For All Seasons

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 7.5

Main characters: Sir Thomas More (and yes, I spelled that right), King Henry VIII

Genre: Adventure

Primary actors: Paul Scofield, Orson Welles

Length: Two hours

Based on: I believe it's based on the book/play called A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt.

Time period: 1500's

Exciting events: Yeah.

Year it came out: 1966

My overall opinion: It was a good film and I learned a lot about Sir Thomas More and the general people from that time period. I recommend it.