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A review by savage_book_review
Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All by Linda Sue Park, Jennifer Donnelly, Candace Fleming, M.T. Anderson, Stephanie Hemphill, Lisa Ann Sandell, Deborah Hopkinson
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
The premise of this book is essentially the same as 'Six The Musical' - to bring the six women who married Henry VIII front and centre, to give them their own voice and to separate them from their husband. Each wife has been studied by a different author, and is presented as if writing a diary/memoir towards the end of their marriage. This is interspersed with Henry popping in to briefly give his point of view. Listening to the audiobook, it's narrated by a full cast, so you really do get to hear each Queen's 'voice'.
It's a great overview of the history from their perspectives, and gives you a small taste of what their personalities could have been like. I wouldn't day it's groundbreaking in its originality; as much as they want to paint the women as more than the stereotypes, they do still lean quite heavily into them (albeit toned down for a YA audience). However, there are a few moments that work very well - I love the exploration of Anne of Cleves in this; it's another example of taking a woman who is generally ignored or overlooked and expanding on her story in a fictionalised way that makes her more intriguing than all of the others.
Henry's continual blaming of everyone but himself for the failure of his marriages is particularly stark in this; he really does come across as a whiny, petulant child! It's a great contrast with the grace and dignity of the wives and works really well within the context of the book. I'm not sure it's the fairest representation of him overall, but this is just an overview rather than a scholarly work and it does what it's meant to do; include him, but not draw focus from the women.
There are a couple of things that grated on me; the "narrator's" American accent threw me completely at the outset and just sounds wrong given the topic at hand. And there are a few cases throughout of modern parlance and Americanisms creeping in, I.e. "he fancied me", Fall instead of Autumn etc. It's not so common that it stopped me enjoying it, but it happens enough that I felt it needed a little more Brit-picking in the edit.
I don't think they quite achieved what they wanted to; overall, much of the wives' discourse was mired in Henry's thoughts, feelings and actions towards them rather than their own individual identities, and it generally "stuck to the script", picking up on the same old episodes that have been examined innumerable times before. Of course, I understand that's because they are the events best documented, but when you're writing a fictionalised version of history there's no reason to hold back with the artistic licence to consider those moments shrouded in mystery. Nevertheless, it's an interesting beginners guide.
It's a great overview of the history from their perspectives, and gives you a small taste of what their personalities could have been like. I wouldn't day it's groundbreaking in its originality; as much as they want to paint the women as more than the stereotypes, they do still lean quite heavily into them (albeit toned down for a YA audience). However, there are a few moments that work very well - I love the exploration of Anne of Cleves in this; it's another example of taking a woman who is generally ignored or overlooked and expanding on her story in a fictionalised way that makes her more intriguing than all of the others.
Henry's continual blaming of everyone but himself for the failure of his marriages is particularly stark in this; he really does come across as a whiny, petulant child! It's a great contrast with the grace and dignity of the wives and works really well within the context of the book. I'm not sure it's the fairest representation of him overall, but this is just an overview rather than a scholarly work and it does what it's meant to do; include him, but not draw focus from the women.
There are a couple of things that grated on me; the "narrator's" American accent threw me completely at the outset and just sounds wrong given the topic at hand. And there are a few cases throughout of modern parlance and Americanisms creeping in, I.e. "he fancied me", Fall instead of Autumn etc. It's not so common that it stopped me enjoying it, but it happens enough that I felt it needed a little more Brit-picking in the edit.
I don't think they quite achieved what they wanted to; overall, much of the wives' discourse was mired in Henry's thoughts, feelings and actions towards them rather than their own individual identities, and it generally "stuck to the script", picking up on the same old episodes that have been examined innumerable times before. Of course, I understand that's because they are the events best documented, but when you're writing a fictionalised version of history there's no reason to hold back with the artistic licence to consider those moments shrouded in mystery. Nevertheless, it's an interesting beginners guide.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child death, Torture, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and War