Which Queen will Survive the ‘Fatal Throne’

The Fatal Throne follows the lives of each of King Henry VIII’s five wives. The book is written in chronological order for each queen from when their lives began to intersect with King Henry’s. For some queens that interaction began at their wedding and for others it began at the previous queen’s wedding. Readers get a glimpse into King Henry’s mind in-between the queens’ sections, where King Henry describes his thoughts on the relationship with that particular queen. 

I found this a hard book to review. There seem to be two criteria: the historical accuracy and the quality of storytelling. I can’t speak to the historical accuracy of the book, but the storytelling was amazing. Each queen had their own distinct voice. I appreciate the authors’ choice to write each queen’s section a little differently. Writing Anna Cleves’ section as if she is retelling her story and talking to a ghost was an interesting break from the previous section’s format. I found her section the most confusing, but maybe that was the point since she was the only queen to be born German rather than English. Another detail that stuck out to me was the continuous intricate description of Henry VIII. I could easily see the decline of Henry’s physical appearance and emotional stability. I would almost say that in this book Henry VIII is not always the bad guy. Or he is the bad guy that I could sympathize with when he lost his “true love” Jane, though he gained a son. At the beginning of the book, Henry is a mean person who comes off as piteous, jealous, and reactive, especially towards his first wife Katherine of Aragon. Later, we see his loneliness and desperation as he is tricked by Anne Boleyn.

Overall each character was complex in their own way. This style of storytelling is rare in the YA genre, but it is normal in the history genre, so I would say this book found a nice way to balance fiction with history. I have always disliked “period stories”, mainly because authors tend to use “old English” or write the story in a way that does not hold my attention. But Fatal Throne did not act like a period piece. It was written in a modern voice with engaging internal dialogue. 

This book is perfect if you enjoyed books such as Royal Wedding or Step Sister and Netflix series like The Crown or Wolf Hall.