Six Tudor Queens 4: Anna of Kleve, Queen of Secrets

There is an Anne of Cleves we all think we know - the dumpy fourth wife so uninspiring that Henry VIII couldn't even consummate their marriage. Alison Weir gives us a radically different 'Anna of Kleve' - one who is definitely hiding some secrets under her thick, unbecoming German gown. It takes a writer of Weir's skill to make us believe her fantasia on the established story. But more importantly, it takes a historian of Weir's experience - her familiarity with the sources, and the period detail - to use this compelling fiction to cast a revealing fresh light on the real historical figure. Sarah Gristwood