15 Historical Fiction Books Coming Out in 2019

Thanks to the amount of research I’m doing for my new Storical podcast, I have been completely immersed in historical fiction this year…even more so than usual! To help you stay up to date on all the 2019 releases that are going on my TBR pile, I give you my list of all the 2019 historical fiction releases I’m most excited about. You can also check out my list from 2018.

Already Published

The Paragon Hotel – Lyndsay Faye

Lyndsay Faye wrote Jane Steele, a play on Jane Eyre that I talked about in the Charlotte Bronte episode of Storical. Jane Steele was extremely well-written so I’m excited to check out her new book. The Paragon Hotel begins with a woman fleeing from 1920s Harlem to a hotel in Portland, Oregon which at this point was still something of a frontier. Run ins with the Ku Klux Klan ensue as does a mystery involving the hotel.

The Coronation – Boris Akunin

This book was originally published in Russia in 2000 but the English translation just came out this year. Set during Tsar Nicholas II’s coronation, this is a mystery with Agatha Christie flair and Romanov levels of intrigue.

The Night Tiger – Yangsze Choo

I’ve seen this book everywhere and you need to read the book’s full description to really get a flavor for what it’s about because there is A LOT going on. But what I find intriguing is that it’s set in 1930s Malaysia and uses Chinese folklore to tell the story. Sign me up.

The Familiars – Stacey Halls

WITCHES. The Familiars is the story of a pregnant noble woman who hires a midwife to deliver her baby. But then the midwife is accused of witchcraft and the noble woman tries to prove her innocence. Many historical figures make cameos in this book which is an examination of the Pendle Hill Witch Trials of 1612.

The Beast’s Heart – Leife Shallcross

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST FROM THE BEAST’S POINT OF VIEW!!!

House of Glass – Susan Fletcher

I love a good haunted house story and this one looks like a perfect fall read. Tasked with creating a greenhouse in an old manor in 1914, Clara finds herself in the midst of haunting activity. I’ve seen comparisons of this book to Rebecca so here’s a chance to get your goth on.

Oscar Wilde and the Return of Jack the Ripper – Gyles Brandreth

It was in the year 2019 that I discovered that there is a whole series of books with OSCAR WILDE as a detective, where have I been?! This is the seventh book in the series and a follow up to a previous title about Jack the Ripper. This one is told from the point of view of SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE.

Dark Queen Rising – Paul Doherty

Technically this came out in 2018 but the paperback comes out this year. This is the first in a new series about Margaret Beaufort aka Henry VII’s mom and Henry VIII’s grandmother. If you’ve been watching The White Queen and/or The White Princess, this needs to go straight to your TBR pile.

Anna of Kleve – Alison Weir

Alison Weir is at book four in her series of books told from the point of view of each of Henry VIII’s wives. Check out my reviews of the Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn books. Confession: I haven’t gotten around to Jane Seymour’s book yet because honestly, I find her boring but I need to get on it so I can get to this one.

Black Death – M.J. Trow

Again, it was in the year 2019 that I discovered there is a whole series of books with CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE solving mysteries. In this book, Kit Marlowe has a new play opening but there’s also a murder to be solved with Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster Sir Robert Cecil breathing down his neck. There goes my summer.

Coming Soon

Gods of Jade and Shadow – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I LOVE this author. Her vampire book Certain Dark Thinks was superb. In Gods of Jade and Shadow, the Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a quest that takes her across Mexico and into the Mayan underworld. YES PLEASE. This is slated to be released in July.

The Water Dancer – Ta-Nehisi Coates

I’ve only read non-fiction from Ta-Nehisi Coates so I’m very excited to marvel at how he writes fiction. In this tale, a boy born into slavery has a mysterious power which he uses in an underground war between slavers and the enslaved.

The Vanished Bride – Bella Ellis

THE BRONTE SISTERS AS DETECTIVES! Apparently all historical figures we love would have been detectives in other lives and I’m totally ok with this.

The Glass Woman – Caroline Lea

WITCHES IN ICELAND!

Medici: Ascendancy – Matteo Strukul and translated by Richard McKenna

The Medici’s pop up in history constantly yet I don’t know their full history. This is the first in a planned trilogy about the family and I’m so excited to learn more and maybe take a break from the Tudors. (Probably won’t though.)

Film Review: Colette

Last year, I did a blog post on the historically based movies I was most excited to see. Number 1 was Colette, a film starring the queen of period-pieces, Keira Knightley, and based on the French writer. Here is the brief description I wrote of the film (and you can check out the rest on the list here):

The movie is based on the life of Gabrielle Sidonie Colette who married a controlling Parisian man named Willy who was 14 years her senior. Her creativity flourished when he introduced her to the bohemians of Paris, and recognizing her talent, convinced her to publish her writing under his name. Her "Claudine" series was so popular that she and her husband became the first modern celebrity couple. Increasingly frustrated by the lack of recognition, however, Colette began an affair with the Marquise de Belbeuf...a woman.

Are you not sold?

Well it took me a year, but recently I was on a plane to Ohio and I got to watch a historical double header of Mary Shelley and Colette. More on Mary Shelley very soon, but for now, let’s talk Colette. Should you watch it?

YES!

First let’s talk technical. The cinematography and costume design is divine. This is Belle Epoque Paris and the salons, music, and atmosphere were artfully done. There is a scene where Willy brings Colette to her very first party in Paris and she is wearing a country dress around women decked out in flowing fabrics and adornments. The musical choice for this scene was a sort of carnival-esque waltz and Keira Knightley’s eyes conveyed so much - awe, excitement but also a little disbelief at how pompous some of the artsy Parisians could be. If you are a Francophile, this movie has luscious scenery, gardens, and houses. If nothing else, you’ll like it for that.

Now let’s talk story. I had never heard of this Willy gentleman and it really bugged me that he didn’t seem to have a name other than Willy. You can easily Google and find out his name but I have to tell you, by the end of the movie I hated him so much all I could think was, “Yeah just having a single obnoxious word as your name works.” Dominic West is so magnificent at playing jerks. This performance was really an extension of his brilliant work as Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

We start with Willy courting Colette at her parent’s house in Burgundy. She seems intrigued but at this point still very girlish (which was sort of weird to see Keira acting like a teen). BUT THEN we see them hooking up in the barn right after said meeting with parents!! This was very exciting to me because Willy kind of bowls everyone over and this was the first instance where you’re like WOA COLETTE GET IT GIRL. There are many such instances.

The film leaves the idyllic country for Paris where we see what Willy does. He is a famous writer in Paris, but we learn, he doesn’t actually write anything. He hires other people to write for him. He was a notorious libertine and had many affairs so this next portion of the movie is kind of culture shock for Colette. She’s bored with the Parisian party life, has nothing to do, and is still figuring out her feelings for this man who is so much older than her and cheating on her.

Lucky for us and for literature the creep had Colette try her hand at writing stories under his name. Surprise, surprise she has talent and her Claudine novels become a sensation. At first Colette seems to think this is funny and likes watching everyone fall over themselves to praise Willy. But during this time, Colette’s sexuality is awakened when she finds herself attracted to the American wife of a wealthy businessman. Because he can’t talk, Willy encourages their liason and Colette ends up having a passionate, sexual relationship with this woman (there are sex scenes and nudity but I’d say it’s pretty tame).

BUT THEN WILLY HOOKS UP WITH COLETTE’S LOVER! And that folks is when Colette was done. Her novels were getting popular, she recognized the man she married was a jerk, and she wanted to be with ladies! Willy became abusive at this point and would lock her in rooms to force her to keep writing for him.

Colette eventually found love with her Marquise and the two of them started a traveling acting troupe and she kicked Willy to the curb. GOOD.

That is a very abbreviated version of the movie and here’s what I think: I would have liked way more time spent on Colette and the Marquise. The Marquise seemed super interesting but didn’t talk very much and I wanted more. I think Keira Knightley and Dominic West were perfectly cast. But much like in the real story, Willy definitely seemed to have more air time and good lines. Or maybe Keira’s performance (I talk about her like she’s my friend) was just more understated than West’s. I’m not sure. But the whole time I was cheering her on.

I think this is a great introduction to a writer that many Americans haven’t heard of and I really loved getting to see a diversity of relationships in a historical piece. I feel like historical pieces gloss over a lot of queer relationships and it was fun to see an empowering example.

Come for the costumes, female liberation, and empowering queer relationships. Stay for seeing a bad dude get his comeuppance!

What I Loved in Historical and Witchy Pop Culture in 2018

2018 was quite a year. Immortal Perfumes saw a 30% increase in business (THANK YOU!). My hope is to keep that forward momentum into 2019 and offer you fun new content in both blog and audio form, new perfumed products, and of course, new historical perfumes that hopefully become your new signature scents.

This past year was a journey for me. I had to re-identify my priorities and chart a course into unknown waters. So basically LIFE. I’m feeling stronger and more fierce than I have in two years and a lot of that was thanks to some pretty great books, movies, TV shows, and podcasts that helped me get out of my head.

So I present to you all of my loves of 2018. Hope you find something you like!

Books

Gods Behaving Badly

This was published in 2007 and yet I only found it this year. I listened on audio (actually I’ve listened twice!). In the novel, all of the major gods and goddesses of ancient Greece are now living their immortal lives in a decrepit house in London. They have millennial tastes and deal with waning fame and popularity. This book is hilarious in a dry, British sense of humor type manner. Everyone in the book is extremely selfish and awful, yet I loved them for it.

Eligible

Published in 2016, Eligible has been on my list ever since it came out. This is another book I listened to (also twice!) and is a supremely modern take on Pride and Prejudice. In the book, Longbourn is in Cincinnati, all the Bennet sisters are considerably older (ranging from 23 to almost 40), and this is another instance where all the characters are horrible. I think this take actually made me realize that they’re all kind of terrible in Jane Austen’s original work but it was more hidden behind the gentility. I’m not sure if this is better to read or listen to but the originality of a well-worn story made it enjoyable for me.

Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession

This was the third book in the Tudor Queens series by Alison Weir. I absolutely love these books because they are extremely well researched and told from the perspective of those who have been vilified or cast aside by history. Anne is an early feminist in this book and as delicious as ever. That said, it is possible to OD on the Tudor literature so I’m actually taking a break. I still haven’t gotten to the Jane Seymore book that came out in May. Here’s my full review of this book.

Longbourn

This is another variation on Pride and Prejudice that came out in 2013. The writing is beautiful, clearly modeled on Austen’s tone and pacing. This story is a downstairs retelling and I enjoyed the glimpses of the Bennets from the other side. I will admit part of the appeal of this was I had no idea where it was going when it started so I was intrigued. I think it was good throughout but I was kind of thinking there would be more to the story.

The Rules of Magic

Here is a prequel that I think is better than the original. The Rules of Magic is a witchy coming of age of the Aunts in Practical Magic. Family curses, hexes, tragic deaths, this book had it all. The writing was gorgeous throughout and I loved having more backstory to the mysterious characters of the original.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

I can no longer handle children’s music and I need something to listen to when I’m shuttling my kindergartner around to school and her various activities. We both enjoy magic, witches, and darker fairy tales so this book fit the bill. Even if you don’t have kids, this book is highly original and intriguing for those who enjoy some Neil Gaiman or Holly Black.

Podcasts

Victorian Secrets

Stephen Frye narrates this dark history of Victorian oddities. I LOVED IT. I listened while I worked and it gave me a whole new context for some of the weird stuff Victorians were into. My favorite episodes were the ones about Spiritualists, Sherlock Holmes, and Afro-British history. This show is peculiar and intriguing with high production value. You can get the whole thing on Audible.

Unobscured

Another podcast by Aaron Mahnke of Lore fame, this is an exploration of the context behind the Salem Witch trials. It’s well researched, produced and very interesting.

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

JVN is the grooming expert on the latest iteration of Queen Eye (I meant to write Queer Eye but I’m going to leave this typo because I think Jonathan would have wanted it this way). He’s hilarious and over the top but also really smart and interested in fascinating things. Some of my favorite episodes were about Brexit, the science of bees, and of course, Who Was the Beyoncé of Renaissance Art?

The rest of my podcast recommendations can be found here.

Movies and TV Shows

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

I love this show so much that as soon as I finished watching it I got depressed because I felt like my friends were gone. Then they had a Midwinter special and I was SO HAPPY…until it was over. But Netflix has already approved it through season 4 so now it’s a matter of waiting.

This take on Sabrina The Teenaged Witch is based on a horror revamp of the original comic. There is a whole lot of Satan in this show and these are bad, scary witches. Sabrina herself is torn between two worlds and is also a little feminist growing up in an ultra-patriarchal world. The costumes, makeup and cinematography are DIVINE. I hope the series remains strong because this was probably my favorite thing this year.

The Haunting of Hill House

I LOVE Shirley Jackson and Stephen King and Stephen King said this was stellar. So I checked it out and…I’m only on the third episode because I get too scared. The Bent Neck Lady I’ve only seen once or twice so far yet cannot stop thinking about and anytime I wake up in the middle of the night I’m convinced she will be there staring down at me. I will finish the show eventually, but I will be watching one episode at a time at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

Glow

Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling was a real thing in the 1980s. This delightful Netflix show is both hilarious and dramatic and features quirky characters with messy relationships. Superb acting and ridiculous 80s costumes and makeup make this one a hit for me.

The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell

This is not historical it is just plain weird and twisted. Think Martha Stewart meets Tim Burton with murderous Jim Henson puppets thrown in the mix. I can’t look away.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

On this the year that I developed a taste for terrible Hallmark Christmas movies, this felt like a World War II Hallmark movie. Great actors and very well done in terms of cinematography and costumes, but a bit cheesy. I had never read the book so didn’t know what to expect but I enjoyed it.

Wynona Earp

This is a Canadian show with horrible production quality but I could not look away. The premise is that Wynona is a descendent of Wyatt Earp and she has to kill all the demon Revenants (bad guys Wyatt put away who are now in human form in the 21st century). Undead Doc Holiday is her friend. It combines a lot of things I enjoy: westerns, demons, history, badass ladies and undead Doc Holiday. It’s terrible and I love it.

Alias Grace

I had no idea this was a Margaret Atwood book and wow. Loved it. I watched this at the very beginning of 2018 so to be honest I can’t quite remember everything that happened but I loved that it was dark, brooding and had both the who dunnit and the spiritualist aspect to it. This was also one of the first pieces of media I consumed after a dark period and as I was watching all I could think was, “wow I feel like myself again because I like this.” I don’t know what that means, but there you go.

American Horror Story Apocalypse

This show is hit or miss. The first four to five episodes are usually pretty fun and then it’s a whole lot of filler until the final episode where you remember why you loved it in the first place. This season is just fantastic throughout. Mostly because they just took the two best seasons, Murder House and Coven, and combined them together. This is another show with OUTSTANDING costumes and makeup. It too has a lot of Satan. Don’t make the same mistake as me and watch both Apocalypse and Sabrina at the same time. I had some pretty disturbing dreams for a few months.

Things I Wanted More Out Of

Season 2 of The Crown

Unpopular opinion, but I just couldn’t get into it. I found it boring this time around.

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel

Ok, as you may remember from my blog post, this was my most anticipated read of 2018. And I did like it and I plowed through it pretty fast. But I guess my issue was that I didn’t know it was romance. I loved that Katrina got a voice and was feminist in an ultra-rigid Puritanical society. But three things bugged me. 1. Katrina is just world’s worst friend. Her best friend in the story is the daughter of the town midwife and everyone thinks she’s a witch. Katrina basically orders her around and guilts her anytime she doesn’t do exactly what Katrina wants exactly when she wants it. That really bothered me. 2. I’m not anti-romance novel but I am also a prude and found the sex scenes uncomfortable. Mostly because the whole time I was like “GIRL, YOUR DAD IS GONNA FIND OUT AND YOUR’RE GONNA BE SCARLET LETTERED!” and also because the name Ichabod is not sexy and reading people moan that or say sexy things about it is just so so weird. 3. I felt like the Sleepy Hollow story was just kind of thrown in every so often so it could be said this was a Sleepy Hollow story. However, I thought the writer was very talented. It was well-written and I think it definitely has an audience.

 Here’s to 2019 and the media we shall soon consume!

10 Historical Fiction Books To Look Forward To

I don't know if you know this about me, but I LOVE HISTORICAL FICTION. The Marie Antoinette trilogy by Juliet Grey is what led to the founding of Immortal Perfumes. So without further ado, I give you a list of all the historical fiction books being released in 2018 that are going on my TBR pile.

Already Released

Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell

A book from the perspective of Shakespeare's younger brother! Omg do I love sibling rivalry and now we have one with SHAKESPEARE. This story takes place during the first run of A Midsummer Night's Dream and that is juxtaposed with Richard Shakespeare's gritty life in the alleyways of London.

The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin

I used to live in Los Angeles and I absolutely adore old Hollywood lore, especially from the silent era. We even had Charlie Chaplin films projected onto a wall during my wedding. This book is about the friendship of Frances Marion and Mary Pickford. It sounds like Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino make cameos. So I'm probably going to fast track this to the top of my list.

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

As you know, I love mermaids (see my story, "The Mermaid of Puget Sound"). This book takes place in 1780s England when a merchant is gifted a mermaid. I'm going to be honest, I'm not sure what the book is about from the descriptions but it sounds so delightfully strange that I am here for it.

Upcoming Releases

Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir

Yes, my pretties. It is time. I've reviewed the first two books in the Six Tudor Queens series, and cannot wait to read this title. As I've made quite clear in my reviews, the first two wives are arguably the most famous. I don't know a ton about the rest so it should be super interesting to hear their side of the story with history's most temperamental king. The release date on this one is kind of all over the place. I saw some say it was available in April, then I saw May 3. On Amazon it says May 15. I'll have my review up in the next month or two. For the reviews of the first two, you can find Katherine here and Anne here.

Another Side of Paradise by Sally Koslow

I used to love F. Scott Fitzgerald because I loved Gatsby. But as I got older and learned more about him, it really jaded me to the author. This is probably an unpopular opinion but I think I loved the Baz Lurhmann Gatsby spectacle more than the book itself. Anyway I'm firmly team Zelda and this book is about Fitzgerald's affair with Hollywood gossip writer Sheilah Graham. I will hate read this. It comes out May 29.

The King's Witch by Tracy Borman

This is the first book in a new series about an herbalist healer during the reign of King James I. After she helps the dying Queen Elizabeth, she is regarded as a witch - at the time punishable by death. This is Tracy Borman's debut novel. She, like Alison Weir, is an historian so I'm pretty excited to see how this one turns out. Release date is July 3.

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel by Alyssa Palombo

OMG SLEEPY HOLLOW TOLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ICHABOD CRANE'S LOVE INTEREST! It needs to be out now! But we must wait until October 2 :(

Dracul by Dacre Stoker and JD Barker

A prequel to Dracula written by a Bram Stoker descendant. The book is about Bram Stoker as a young man who goes out to battle "an ungodly beast" and writes about the experience. My brain is going to explode. Out October 2.

In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt

One of my favorite movies of the last few years was The Witch. It was atmospheric and unsettling, mood horror as I call it. This book sounds similar. A puritan woman disappears in colonial era New England at the height of witch fever. This is out October 16.

Little by Edward Carey

An historical fiction about Madame Tussaud! From the description it sounds like the legendary wax museum founder will be getting the Tim Burton treatment. The book takes place in Revolutionary Paris and has the protagonist saving Marie Antoinette and befriending radicals. This book is released October 23.

Happy reading!

Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession

This is the review of the second book in Alison Weir's series, Six Tudor Queens. If you missed the first one, check out the review of Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen.

I said it in the last review. Anne Boleyn's story is Tudor prime time and A King's Obsession, the second book in the Six Tudor Queens series, did not disappoint. 

For the most part, in every history book I've ever read, Henry's wives are just side-notes of history - a list of names in a paragraph, not actual people. When they get more than a mention, it's usually to insinuate that they were women to be pitied, they were conniving, or they were merely vessels for the heir Henry desperately wanted.

What I love about Weir's work is that, even though it's fiction, I'm finally seeing a fuller picture of how complicated all of Henry's wives actually were, not to mention the precariousness of their positions. With that said (I am really long winded, wow), let's get to the force of nature that was Anne Boleyn.

The novel begins with 11 year old Anne at Hever Castle, bored and restless. We see her rivalry with older sister Mary and her close bond with younger brother George. We also see Thomas Boleyn as a man who cared only for his upward mobility on the court social ladder.

Anne is sent to Margaret of Austria's court in the Netherlands and Ladies, it sounds like medieval heaven for women. Anne Boleyn was woke before woke was a word (that I hope I'm using correctly). Intellectual conversations about the role and power of women abound between Margaret, Anne, and the other ladies in waiting. This continues a few years later when Anne is sent to join Mary in service to Queen Claude of France. In France she is exposed to all manner of debauchery and in conjunction with her time with Margaret, she has zero tolerance for men not treating women as their own masters. The rape of her sister Mary and King Francis' sister Margueritte (portrayed as Anne's friend and confidant), enraged the young Anne and solidified her early feminist views.

When she came to serve Queen Katherine, Anne was horrified to discover that King Henry had not only raped her sister Mary (who was married by that point) but had also fathered her child before casting her aside. With this secret knowledge in mind, Anne was initially disgusted by Henry's attentions.

In my review of The True Queen I mentioned how I basically thought the portrayal of Henry and Anne on the TV show The Tudors was real. Sure she initially had her ambitions set on him but theirs grew into a passionate love! According to Weir, not so. Anne, having already had her first love ripped away from her by Wolsey (seems like Tudor queens just did not get on with Wolsey), Anne decided she would never love again. While she initially rebuffed Henry's advances, Anne soon realized she liked the idea of power - for her family's prospects and because she was passionate about women's rights and church reform.

This, however, was the part of the story that had painfully slow pacing. I loved the beginning of the book because her early years were a mystery to me other than she had served in the French Court. While I enjoyed seeing the whiny king grovel over her (seriously when you read this you'll wonder how this "fearsome" king got anything done), they were locked in a flirtatious court game for 7 years. It got repetitive.

The rest of the book was extremely anxiety provoking for me. Even though you know her fate, the things Anne went through and Weir's slow, historian pacing provide an inescapable sense of dread. Having finally gotten her title of Queen, Anne chose the motto "The Most Happy" and dutifully submitted to producing an heir. Once Elizabeth was born and Henry's disappointment palpable, Anne's fate was sealed. She grew more paranoid, especially once she found out about new mistresses including Jane Seymour. 

Despite her ambition, unlike Katherine, Weir portrays Anne as being willing to step aside to keep her life. Henry's love - once boundless - turns to unadulterated hatred. Charges of treason were drawn up and she was accused of fornicating with five men including her own brother.

Weir has Anne bravely accepting her fate but I implore you: if you are at all squeamish, DO NOT read the last page. It hit me pretty hard.

Overall, I really loved A King's Obsession. I'm at the point in my life where I'm tired of always getting the dude's side of things and it was refreshing to see a portrayal of a strong, smart, feminist woman of that time period. Weir states in the author's note that unlike Katherine, Anne didn't leave many letters and not much is known about her. I sincerely hope that she was an ounce as strong as portrayed here (she brought about the English Reformation so I'm thinking probably). This book is long and at times slowly paced. However, it's a must read for fans of Anne Boleyn and The Tudors in general. It's also interesting to see Anne's view of Katherine having just read Katherine's side of the story.

The third book in the series, Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen, releases in May (check that link for some e-shorts Weir is releasing with the books). Can't wait!

It is said that Anne Boleyn liked to bathe in champagne and violets. Smell the luxury of everyone's favorite Tudor queen in my perfume, Boleyn. For Henry click here.

Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon Book Review

Immortal Perfumes came about because of my love for historical fiction. I've always been a history nerd, but I didn't realize that the heroes of history I'd enjoyed reading about could be fleshed out and made to come alive again until the TV show, The Tudors, came out in 2007. After I got hooked on that show, I got past my haughty, self-imposed, English major, "I only read literary fiction" weirdness and began devouring novels based on the Tudors and Marie Antoinette, among others.

Which brings me to the subject of this blog post. The historian, Alison Weir, is one of the foremost scholars on the Tudor dynasty and she had the brilliant idea to write a whole series told from the perspective of each of Henry VIII's wives. I'm only mad I didn't think of it first.

The series is called Six Tudor Queens and the first two books are already out - the third is scheduled for a May 2018 release.

Onward to my review of book one!

Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen

As I said above, I was obsessed with The Tudors starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII. Obsessed to the point where I basically thought it was real and it has totally clouded what I think about the actual historical figures in question. In the show, for all his faults and temper tantrums, Henry is the protagonist and you can't help but side with him - he's found his true love in Anne Boleyn, it makes sense that he'd want to ditch his older, pious wife for a saucy, young intellectual! So while I was reading Katherine, I was struck with so much more sympathy and understanding for the doomed queen than TV or brief sections of history books allowed.

In her portrait of Katherine, Weir has done something I hadn't encountered before - giving the Spanish queen her due. Alison Weir is probably my favorite author in the genre because, while the stories are juicy and engaging, she still brings a historian's sensibilities to the writing.

Katherine begins as the heroine leaves her native Spain to wed Prince Arthur - Henry's older brother and the marriage that became the basis of Henry's later claim for annulment. Her marriage to Arthur was unconsummated (according to Weir) and when the young Prince died, Katherine was kept as a virtual prisoner by Henry VII. When the king died she was overjoyed that Henry VIII would still take her as his bride.

So set in motion their 24 year marriage (did not realize they were married so long!) which Weir portrays as mostly happy, positive, and loving. One of the biggest surprises (to me) was how sure of herself and undaunted Katherine was despite her husband's cruel treatment of her toward the end. I never put it together that she was the daughter of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand and it is her illustrious lineage where Katherine drew her self confidence and determination to keep her marriage with Henry intact. I had always just saw her as hanging on and being a nag - what a difference it makes when you can get inside a character's head! She really did love Henry, she believed in her divine right to rule and make a difference, and she was just overall a tough cookie who wouldn't take the abuse lying down.

Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen is a book that finally gives the cast aside Queen her royal due. Despite the tragedy of her life (so many miscarriages and the ultimate public humiliation), the book was an enjoyable read and lent a new perspective on the people behind the world's most famous divorce.

I will admit that while I'm much more team Katherine than I was before, Anne Boleyn is still prime time to me. I'm almost finished with the second book, Anne Boleyn: A King's Obsession, so look out for that review coming soon.

If you'd like to read along, you can get the books here.