Reviewed by Beth C. on

4 of 5 stars

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An interesting take on the many marriages that Henry VIII had, their origins and outcomes all explained not only by the women themselves, but by King Henry as well. Basing their stories on factual documentation, I loved that each of their stories - written by different authors - follow one right after the other, giving the reader an excellent timeline of just how close together they all were. It's sort of disconcerting in a way, and I can only imagine the mental whiplash that some must have been feeling at the time. And as I read, I had a thought - in a way, the dissolution of Henry and his body echoed his treatment of his queens. Not something I had thought before, but having the stories all together, it really showed how his aging and broken body got worse with each successive queen.

Anyway, the writing was interesting, especially with the different voices for each queen and the same for each response from Henry. Being interested in this history, I was looking forward to this and ended up greatly enjoying it. There are also a ton of resources in the back for more information - the authors clearly state that this is fiction, though they used as much factual information as they could.

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  • 11 July, 2018: Reviewed