A wickedly entertaining and utterly absorbing modern take on the life and marriages of Henry VIII...if he were a twenty-first-century womanizing media mogul rather than the king of England.
Master of the universe Harry Rose is head of the Rose Corporation, number eighteen on the Forbes rich list, and recently married to wife number six. But in 2018, his perfect world is about to come crashing to the ground. His business is in the spotlight--and not in a good way--and his love life is under scrutiny. Because behind a glittering curtain of lavish parties, gorgeous homes, and a media empire is a tale worthy of any tabloid. (From the book blurb) My thoughts: Olivia Hayfield takes on the challenge of retelling the lifestory of one of the most powerful and notorious English monarchs- that of Henry VIII and his six wives. We've all heard about their fate: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived, but what would these marriages have beeen like if Henry Tudor was somehow reincarnated in our times? Would he have been able to get away with the way he treated the women in his life or would he have got his punishment? There is no doubt the book is well-researched and a lot of thought has gone into how to translate the historical context to make it both entertaining and relevant. For example, Henry's obsession with begetting a male child and an heir to his kingdom or Henry beheading two of his spouses is impossible to recreate, so the author resorts to other plot devices: Katie Paragon (Catherine of Aragon) has a severe depression exacerbated by miscarriages and stillbirths, while her husband seeks comfort in the arms of other women; Ana Lyebon (Ann Boleyn) is all about ambition and climbing the career ladder. Part of the charm of this book is following how the author reimagines the historical figures and what modern life circumstances she endows them with. I must say however hard I tried I still could not come round to liking Harry, but the wives?- I liked and sympathised with all of them. The book is quite long with its 430 pages, but we are talking about a lifetime here coupled with a very large cast of characters, so the length is quite justified. Similarly, the pace is a bit slow at times, picking up at others. Again, we have to remember that in real life the first marriage of Henry VIII lasted for twenty four years, while the following five marriages happened over fourteen years and ranged in length from three and a half years to six months. Overall, enjoyable, entertaining, recommended for fans of historical romantic fiction in general and Tudor times in particular. Thank you to Edelweiss and Berkley for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|