Queen B
ISBN: 9780008660437
Description
It’s 1536 and the Queen has been beheaded. Lady Grace Fairfax, witch, knows that something foul is at play – that someone had betrayed Anne Boleyn and her coven. Wild with the loss of their leader – and her lover, a secret that if spilled could spell Grace’s own end – she will do anything in her power to track down the traitor.
Reviewed on 21st July 2024
Although technically a prequel, this novella totally stands alone and doesn’t need the reader to have any familiarity with the main series. Some knowledge of Tudor monarchy will help, but only as much as is standard primary school curriculum.
We arrive at the court of Henry VIII as he’s updating his marital status, following Grace, a relatively minor noble who has been chosen to serve as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, and learns that her colleagues are more than they first seem.
It’s an interesting story of believable characters of the time, and shows a little bit of the history of this fictional universe in a way that’s very easy to empathise with.
Mostly though I loved how much research must have gone into creating such an authentic setting. There were loads of little references to historic people, places, and events with which I wasn’t familiar, and several times I found myself off reading down a rabbit hole of Wikipedia to learn about something mentioned in passing.
