Six Wives of Henry VIII

Gladys Malvern uses her celebrated talent for prose to share the stories of Henry VIII’s wives with immense personality and captivating drama.   Henry VIII was married to six women during his reign as the King of England. Gladys Malvern characterizes them as The Saint (Catherine of Aragon); The Egotist (Anne Boleyn); The Diplomat (Jane Seymour); The Housewife (Anne of Cleves); The Coquette (Catherine Howard); and The Mother (Catherine Parr). Malvern masterfully tells each of their personal histories and how they intertwined through rivalry, vying for power, political maneuvering, and the hardships of losing favor with the man that seceded the Church of England from Rome for a divorce.

Gladys Malvern authored over 40 books, including many popular historical novels for young adults. Many of her works focus on entertainers, having had a successful career in theater, herself. She began acting at age 3 and performed on Broadway in 1908, at age 11, in a production of The Man Who Stood Still. She toured as an actress and vaudeville performer extensively into her early twenties, when she began a career writing copy at a Los Angeles based advertising agency. After over a decade in advertising, and with growing confidence in her ability to write and sell books, she dedicated herself to a new career as an author. She won the Julia Ellsworth Ford Foundation Award for Valiant Minstrel in 1943 and, in 1958, Behold Your Queen! was a main selection of the Junior Literary Guild.