The Last Wife of Henry VIII cover art

The Last Wife of Henry VIII

A Novel

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

The Last Wife of Henry VIII

By: Carolly Erickson
Narrated by: Terry Donnelly
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £14.37

Buy Now for £14.37

From the luxuries of court to the last gory years of the outsize King Henry when heads rolled and England trembled, Catherine bestrode her destiny and survived to marry her true love. She was the least known of Henry VIII's six wives, but was the cleverest of them all.
Alluring, witty and resourceful, she attracted the king's lust and, though in love with the handsome Thomas Seymour, was thrown into the snakepit of the royal court. While victims of the king's wrath suffered torture and execution, Catherine withstood the onslaught, even when Henry sought to replace her with a seventh wife. She survived her royal husband, and found happiness with Seymour—but it was shadowed by rivalry with the young Princess Elizabeth, whose affection Seymour coveted. Catherine won the contest, but at great cost.

Historical Fiction Mystery Marriage Royalty Fiction Witty England
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

“Erickson is an acclaimed biographer, and Maggi-Meg Reed superbly reads the account as Marie Antoinette might have read it to her grandchildren, had she survived. Between the author and the performer, the listener is drawn into the queen's innermost thoughts so that we feel her joys, her fears, and her sufferings while she struggles to maintain her regal disposition.” —AudioFile on The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette

“I read The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette in two days, and when I finished it, I reread the final pages, as hungry for more as a child scraping the last crumbs of chocolate cake off her plate with her fingers.... This may be pure fiction, but it hardly matters. As the chronicle of one woman's life and loves, The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette rings true.” —Judith Warner, The New York Times

All stars
Most relevant
lots of historical inaccuracies which I found annoying and disappointing

did not enjoy narrator

interesting interpretation

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Just an interesting and fascinating piece of work, I do just want to say that there WILL
be people who give this book 1-2 stars and
CLAIM that it's "horrible TRASH " well If you are one of those people please please STOP TALKING. If you are one of the people who
are reading many reviews to see if this book is worth your money I just want to say that it is worth your money, but it is a little inappropriate, I mean they talk about nakedness and sex. Not to much but remember REALLY not that much.

JUST INCREDIBLE

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

In History lessons, and most documents covering the wives of Henry VIII, Catherine Parr is just an add on at the end, with no character of her own. She is often described as a nurse, or a middle aged nobody. It is interesting to read this book, which has lead me to read on further, to find she was quite the political animal.

My only quibble with this book is the narrator, who I find a bit insipid, but the story still held my attention despite that.

So interesting to hear about the last Queen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

As usual Carolly Erikson is on top form with the usual excellence in audiobooks.

I have most of her historical series now on my Ipod and will continue until I have the whole series through Audible. They are excellent value for money and high quality recordings. The stories are gripping and informative and take you into the world existing in that time period with authenticity and imagination.

I have never been disappointed with any of her works

The Last Wife Of Henry VIII

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

narrator

What did you like best about this story?

actual story woven around history was pretty good

What didn’t you like about Terry Donnelly’s performance?

very hard to listen too for any length of time, emphasis on wrong words, almost whingy in tone. Persevered the first time as wanted to hear the story but can't do it a second time.

Was The Last Wife of Henry VIII worth the listening time?

no

Any additional comments?

would have preferred to read the book version.

story good, awful narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews