📚 I’ve been told that books light me up. Fiction and non-fiction. Ones that are new to me and ones that I’m rereading.

My daughter has just had her birthday, and it made me think how she tends to receive gifts of books I’d enjoy too. She got this series a couple of years ago, and she let me borrow the fifth book, Katheryn Howard. The Tainted Queen by Alison Weir.

Why did I start with book five of the Six Tudor Queens series?

We’ve seen Six the Musical a couple of times. It’s one of my daughter’s favourites. And I’m a big fan too.

It’s a musical about the six wives of Henry VIII, and the historical research is really detailed and fulsome. After we saw it for the first time (back in December 2021), I did a bit of research myself!

Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.

I suspect that most of us are familiar with the rhyme.

My favourite song (and my favourite choreography) is Katheryn Howard’s song, ‘All you wanna do’. She was the fifth queen – it’s why I started at the fifth book!

Reading a relevant book

When the song was still stuck in my head the morning after the show, I wanted to read a relevant book.

The Alison Weir novel is historical fiction.

Alison Weir is a respected and best-selling historian with nineteen history books under her belt (at the time of writing this blog). Consequently, her novels are known for their accurate period details.

[Tangent: a friend got to see and meet Alison Weir at a talk in London recently. So cool 😎]

Beheaded

It’s clear from the records that Katheryn Howard had more than one relationship before and at the same time as her relationship with Henry VIII – it’s the reason she ended up ‘Beheaded’ as per the rhyme.

Her date of birth is open to some debate. Alison Weir has her aged between sixteen and eighteen for her first relationship and the lyrics of Six the Musical suggest she was thirteen.

Her age has had a big impact on the way she is viewed and has been discussed for historical purposes over the years. Lots to think about as I read this book.

The songs from the musical were still stuck in my head a week after we’d seen it, and I was thinking about how we don’t remember the name of Henry VII’s wife – a good point made during the musical.

What lights me up?

Reading the book gave so much historical, legal and political background. Just what I wanted. I spent ages poring over the timeline and the family trees.

How a musical led me to a book lights me up 💡

#BooksLightMeUp

#Editing

#Proofreading

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📚 I’m Lisa. I’m an editor and proofreader, specialising in business books and fiction. I spent many years as a chartered accountant before retraining as an editor and proofreader. Now I get to embrace my degree in English lit! I’d love to connect with your book too.