Publisher Description
Perfect for anyone fascinated by the Royal Wedding, Netflix's The Crown, or Wolf Hall, this is a pitch-perfect reimagining of the romance and tragedy of Henry VIII and his six wives, told from multiple points of view by some of your favorite authors. If you were one of King Henry VIII's six wives, who would you be? Would you be Anne Boleyn, who literally lost her head? Would you be the subject of rumor and scandal like Catherine Howard? Or would you get away and survive like Anna of Cleves? Meet them and Henry's other queens--each bound for divorce or death--in this epic and thrilling novel that reads like fantasy but really happened. Watch spellbound as each of these women attempts to survive their unpredictable king as he grows more and more obsessed with producing a male heir. And discover how the power-hungry court fanned the flames of Henry's passions . . . and his most horrible impulses. Whether you're a huge fan of all things Tudor or new to this jaw-dropping saga, you won't be able to get the unique voices of Henry and his wives--all brought to life by seven award-winning and bestselling authors--out of your head. This is an intimate look at the royals during one of the most treacherous times in history. Who will you root for and who will you love to hate? ONE OF THE NYPL TOP TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR "Ambitious and exciting." --Bustle "A clever, feminist reimagining of one of English history's most fascinating moments." --Refinery29 "These stories of love, lust, power and intrigue never fail to fascinate." --Shelf Awareness, Starred Review Who's Who: M. T. Anderson - Henry VIII Candace Fleming - Katharine of Aragon, wife #1 Stephanie Hemphill - Anne Boleyn, wife #2 Lisa Ann Sandell - Jane Seymour, wife #3 Jennifer Donnelly - Anna of Cleves, wife #4 Linda Sue Park - Catherine Howard, wife #5 Deborah Hopkinson - Kateryn Parr, wife #6
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“Seven talented YA authors and gifted narrators embrace the personalities, foibles, dreams, and philosophies of Henry VIII’s unfortunate wives. First-person narratives reveal each queen in her own right, not eclipsed by the famous king or distorted by stereotypes. Portraits are distinctive and individual. Varying tones properly represent the power and struggles of each…Elliot Hill, as an heir-obsessed Henry, is, first, powerful and arrogant and, later, sullen and lonely. Together, these perspectives paint a personal, poignant, thoroughly engaging view of history. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
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AudioFile
About the Authors
Stephanie Hemphill is the award-winning author of Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist; Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book; Sisters of Glass; and Things Left Unsaid: A Novel in Poems. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.
Deborah Hopkinson has written many award-winning author books for children, including Beatrix Potter and the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig. Her picture books include Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building, named an ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book. Her historical fiction includes A Boy Called Eel, which has been featured on more than a dozen state award lists and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award.
Jennifer Donnelly writes books for children and adults. She has written novels in the Rose series and the Waterfire Saga, as well as eight stand-alone novels. Her young adult novel A Northern Light won the Carnegie Medal and a Printz Award Honor.
Linda Sue Park is the author of the Newbery Medal book A Single Shard, many other novels, several picture books, and a book of poetry.
Candace Fleming is the prolific author of The Great and
Only Barnum, a YALSA Award
for Excellence in Nonfiction nominee and a Publishers Weekly and Booklist
Best Book; The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary, a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award recipient; Our Eleanor, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults;
and Ben Franklin’s Almanac, a James
Madison Honor Book. She is also the author of many highly acclaimed picture
books.
M. T. Anderson is the critically acclaimed author of many picture books and novels, including Feed, which was a National Book Award finalist and Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party, which won a National Book Award and was a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, as well as many other books for children and young adults.
About the Narrators
Mark Edwards write
psychological thrillers. His first solo novel, The Magpies, topped the Kindle chart in the UK. He has coauthored
four novels with Louise Voss: Catch Your
Death (a #1 bestseller in the UK), Killing
Cupid (chosen by Peter James as his book of 2012), All Fall Down, and Forward
Slash. After a career that has taken in everything from picking broad beans
and answering complaint calls for a rail company to teaching English in Japan and
being a marketing director, Mark currently writes full time. He lives in the
West Midlands with his wife, three children, and a ginger cat.
Fiona Hardingham is a British-born actress, singer, voice-over artist, and AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. On stage, she appeared at the Edinburgh Festival in her comedic one-woman show The Dark Show. She has also starred in the dark-comedy short film The Ballerino. She earned a BA honors degree in performing arts from Middlesex University, London, and also studied at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
Heather Wilds is an award-winning narrator and actress. She has won three AudioFile Earphones Awards for her narrations. She trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the University of Glamorgan and has appeared in numerous plays, receiving critical acclaim. She has also performed in award-winning short films, appeared on television and in commercials, and has worked extensively as a voice-over artist.
Elizabeth Knowelden is an Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator who has been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. As an actress, she trained in London at the Webber Douglas Academy where she received a Sir Laurence Olivier Commendation. Her acting credits include theater, musicals, and national tours in the United Kingdom. Also a film actress, she has participated in BAFTA’s Newcomers Program.
Jayne Entwistle is a voice talent and Earphones Award–winning narrator.
Justine Eyre is a classically trained actress who has narrated many audiobooks, earning the prestigious Audie Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She is multilingual and known for her great facility with accents. She has appeared on stage, with leading roles in King Lear and The Crucible, and has had starring roles in four films on the indie circuit. Her television credits include Two and a Half Men and Mad Men.
Kiff VandenHeuvel, voice talent and audiobook narrator, is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is an alumni of the Second City comedy theater. He is an accomplished improviser and sketch comedy director, and he teaches voice-over, improv, and directing at Second City Hollywood. He has appeared in hundreds of television and radio commercials and is well known in the video game community as the voice of Zachary Hale Comstock in Bioshock: Infinite.
Katharine McEwan is an English-born actress and an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. Her theater credits include Private Lives at Long Beach Playhouse, The Verdi Girls at Laguna Playhouse, Night Mother at Stage Lee Strasberg, and Hamlet at the Next Stage. She has also appeared in numerous independent and Hollywood films.