Fascinating! I could not put this book down; I had to read the whole thing through from cover to cover.
From the title of this book, it is clear that the author wishes to treat the memories of these six women with respect. No longer are they to be known only for their role as the wives of Henry VIII but as queens.
Working in chronological order, each of the six Queens of Henry VIII are given their own section.
To begin with we discover, using a fact file and a short biography, the basic information about their lives; birthplace, education, their allies, when they were married, if they had children and their motto.
Then with sections in a graphic novel style we are transported back in time to life as it would have been for them.
We learn about their personalities, how they handled being the wife of the king and the ways of the Royal Court as well as their relationships with other members of the court. Many were influential in their views, Catherine of Aragon went to war whilst pregnant, Anne Boleyn had radical ideas about religion and Katherine Parr acted as the King’s Regent when he went to fight the French.
Not only that, but this book also gives an interesting insight into what life was like during this period in history from religion to war and culture, including the dress and behaviour codes of the time.
Each woman had a motto they lived by for example Katherine Parr, who was the first woman to ever publish a book in her own name, lived by the maxim, ‘To Be Useful In All I Do’.
Although I read this book in one sitting, it also lends itself to being picked up to read one or so sections at a time.
For fact hungry readers, this book is superb.
Looking at history from a different point of view, that of the wives instead of the king, lends itself to some fascinating reading. No more shall readers think of Henry VIII’s six wives as just ‘divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived’.
Both the Tudor Family Tree and Tudor Family Timeline at the end of the book are an excellent and helpful summary of the facts given throughout.
Jaimee Andrews has done an amazing job with the illustrations, there is so much detail and variety that this book is an absolute pleasure to read and would make a wonderful gift.
Thank you to @hachettechildren’s for the review copy.
@HonorCargillM
Insta @hcargillmartin
@jaimee.andrews
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