Valerie Schutte is a historian of early modern England and an associate of the University of Oxford. She has published extensively on royal Tudor women and book history, including two monographs – Mary I and the Art of Book Dedications: Royal Women, Power, and Persuasion (2015) and Princesses Mary and Elizabeth Tudor and the Gift Book Exchange (2021). She has edited seven volumes on Queen Mary I, Shakespeare, and queenship, three of which are prizewinning in their fields. She is currently editing volumes on Queen Mary I, Tudor myths, and the Tudors in historical fiction.
This study of Anne of Cleves, the fourth wife of King Henry VIII, offers readers a more nuanced retelling of her queenship, which has often been dismissed as unimportant due to its brevity.
Re-evaluating many of the misconceptions surrounding the queen, including her religion, the fateful year of her marriage, and her appearance, the book brings together historiography and the most recent research on Anne, not least her fascinating relationship to books and her foreign reputation. Schutte expertly weaves together her analysis of well-known archival sources, alongside that of letters, printed books, manuillegalscripts, engravings, and other material objects to illuminate Anne´s rich cultural legacy.
This book combines chronological chapters with thematic ones to offer the most comprehensive study of Anne available. It stands as a valuable resource for students, specialists, and all those interested in Tudor history, queenship, women´s history, and Henry VIII and his wives.
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
Section I: Becoming an English Queen
2. Negotiating a Marriage
3. Journey to England
Section II: Queen Anne
4. The Six-Months Queen
5. Queen Anne: Another Perspective
Section III: Texts for a Queen
6. The King´s Sister
7. Books and Manuillegalscripts
Section IV: Remembering a Queen
8. Memorializing a (Former) Queen
9. An Intertwined Legacy with Hans Holbein
Epilogue
Works Cited
Index
This study of Anne of Cleves, the fourth wife of King Henry VIII, offers readers a more nuanced retelling of her queenship, which has often been dismissed as unimportant due to its brevity.
"Valerie Schutte´s new biography of Anne of Cleves will change how we look at the life and brief queenship of Henry VIII´s fourth wife. [...] Schutte demonstrates that Anne´s six-month queenship was not the immediate disaster traditionally depicted; rather, she conducted the usual duties of a royal consort and enjoyed the perquisites of being queen. Henry showed no sign of being dissatisfied until after Thomas Cromwell´s arrest in June. [...] These are blockbuster revelations, backed by abundant evidence and delivered in a very well written account. This is an important book!”
William B. Robison, Southeastern Louisiana University
"Insightful, critical, and a jolly good read!”
Nadia van Pelt, Delft University of Technology
