TITLE: THE WIVES OF HENRY VIII
AUTHOR: ANTONIA FRASER
PUBLISHER: KNOPF; 512 PAGES; $25
THE BOTTOM LINE: A historian with fresh feminist insights gives a Queen's-eye view of England's Bluebeard King.
WHEN LADY ANTONIA FRASER was growing up, she always attended costume parties as the tragically romantic Mary Queen of Scots. From the time she was 22, fresh from Oxford, the budding historian was immersed in English monarchs. In the 38 years since, she has published biographies of, among others, James I, Charles II (her ancestor) and the Scottish Queen of her girlhood fantasies. She is also a committed feminist. Could...