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A review by agameofbooks
The Sixth Wife by Suzannah Dunn
3.0
Recently I discovered a copy of The Sixth Wife by Suzannah Dunn in a little free library near my house. Since historical fiction novels about the time of Henry VIII are some of my favourites, I was very excited about this find.
The story is supposed to be about Katherine Parr, Henry's sixth and final wife. However, even though the novel was named after her, it's actually the story of the Duchess of Suffolk, Cathy. She tells us her memories of Katherine Parr from the moment of Henry's death until Katherine's own death. Because of this set up the story was told in a very distant way. I couldn't relate to Katherine Parr because her thoughts and feelings were never described. Additionally I couldn't relate to Cathy either because there was barely anything you learned about her. I didn't even know who the storyteller was until I was more than 50 pages into the book. Confusing, and I didn't even know what to Google to try and clear it up for myself.
On the other hand, I did really like reading about Henry's final wife. I didn't know too much about her, because most novels that are set in this time focus on Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. I never knew that Katherine Parr was such an educated, calm and kind woman. I just really wanted her to have a happy ending even though I did know her fate beforehand (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived).
The story is supposed to be about Katherine Parr, Henry's sixth and final wife. However, even though the novel was named after her, it's actually the story of the Duchess of Suffolk, Cathy. She tells us her memories of Katherine Parr from the moment of Henry's death until Katherine's own death. Because of this set up the story was told in a very distant way. I couldn't relate to Katherine Parr because her thoughts and feelings were never described. Additionally I couldn't relate to Cathy either because there was barely anything you learned about her. I didn't even know who the storyteller was until I was more than 50 pages into the book. Confusing, and I didn't even know what to Google to try and clear it up for myself.
On the other hand, I did really like reading about Henry's final wife. I didn't know too much about her, because most novels that are set in this time focus on Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. I never knew that Katherine Parr was such an educated, calm and kind woman. I just really wanted her to have a happy ending even though I did know her fate beforehand (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived).