Candace Fleming

The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All

Fatal Throne

Lacy W

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tw: child death, infidelity, sexism, child neglect, incest, child abuse, cancer

I’m just going to start off this review by saying I loved this book! It breathed a new life, as least for me it did, into a topic I’ve read so many times, which is King Henry VIII and his wives. I was starting to get bored with the topic but then I read this book and it got me excited for the topic again. 

Because the book was split into chapters with each wife’s point of view and King Henry in between those chapters, that is how I’m going to review this book; chapter by chapter. Basically, I’m just going to review how I felt about the wives as they were portrayed. I should note that each wife was written by a different author, which I thought was a cool aspect. King Henry was also written by a different author. Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn and Henry’s daughter, gets a small little chapter as well. 

Katherine of Aragon: I always forget that she is Spanish. That was my first thought when I started her chapter. Oftentimes, it seems to be a thing that isn’t mentioned in a lot of books I’ve read about her. Her chapter showed more of her Spanish culture than I had seen with other books so I appreciated that. She spoke a little bit of Spanish, which was a nice touch. Overall, I just feel so bad for her since she was cast to the side because Henry was horny. 

Anne Boleyn: Finally! She was not cast as a villain! You all don’t know how excited I was to see that. Too often, she has been shown as a villain for “stealing” Henry away from Katherine. She felt like she couldn’t say no to Henry and I feel so bad for her. People tend to forget that you just can’t say no to the king unless you want to be punished. She is my favorite Queen and I hope we get more books of her being shown as the victim she is. 

Jane Seymour: I often wonder what would have happened if she had lived past giving birth. Would there be a different England compared to the one we know now? I guess we will never know. I did like her as a Queen. She seemed very gentle and knew how to deal with Henry efficiently. 

Anna of Cleves: This is another Queen I felt so bad for. She was basically sold by her mother and brother to the King and he didn't even want her. He was so rude to her. I’m just glad he didn’t kill her. Her chapter was told as her telling her story to others while she was dying. It was a nice breakup compared to the other chapter. 

Catherine Howard: This is the Queen I also absolutely feel so bad for even more than Anne and Katherine of Aragon. She was just a young girl and because of her being a young girl, she was killed. Henry is such a tool, honestly, and not to mention a pervert for preying on such a young girl. 

Kateryn Parr: Honestly, she was one of the best Queens and I wish she could have remained Queen. She was so progressive and she could have been an excellent Queen. I loved how learned she was and she was willing to battle Henry, even though it might have cost her her life if she wasn’t careful. 

Henry: After every Queen’s chapter, he got a chapter where he talked about each of the Queens. I’m sorry but this man was a jackass. He was so disrespectful to every queen but Jane. Honestly, I’m pretty sure he only loved Jane because she gave him the son he always wanted. Sure, he did a lot for England but he was awful to his wives and that’s not that great if you think about it. 

Like I mentioned above, I enjoyed this book so much! I wasn’t sure what I was going to get when I first started it because I’m so glad I read it. It was different from the other historical fiction novels I have read over the years. Overall, check this book out if you enjoy reading about King Henry VIII and his wives like I do.

Fatal Throne The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All

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