My first book of 2020 was “Six Tudor Queens – Anna of Kleves” by Alison Weir. Alison Weir is in the process of writing a fictional account of the lives of the six wives of Henry the 8th. This is the fourth novel in the series.
It follows a familiar story, but Alison Weir goes into more depth, starting when Anna is 14 years old. The author follows the historic record and provides an imagined account of what it was like for Anna, and what she was like as a person. Some of the things she suggests are her own imagination (for instance Anna has a brief sexual relationship and has a child at the age of 14). There’s no historical record for this, but it is an explanation of why Henry found her body so ‘repulsive’ and was convinced that she “was no maid.”
The story follows what happens to Henry’s firth and sixth wives through Anna’s eyes and you also have glimpses of Henry’s children, Edwards, Mary and Elizabeth.
It’s important to remember that this is not a biography, but a work of fiction based on history. I enjoyed the way Alison Weir brings these historical characters to life.
January Book Club Meeting
In December, Houghton Book Club read “A Boy Made of Blocks” by Keith Stuart.
Alex is the father of an eight year old autistic boy called Sam. The book opens just as Alex is leaving the family home because he and his wife have not been getting on due to the pressure of coping with Sam. Its not until Alex moves out that he finds a way to connect with his son – and that’s through the game of Mindcraft.
Not everyone who joined us for the meeting read the book, but those that did enjoyed it. Its an easy read and entertaining. On a deeper level it reminded me that sometimes you have to take a step back from a difficult situation to see it clearly.
There was no set book for us all to read this month so we decided to do a book swap. I choose Liane Moriarty’s “Nine Perfect Strangers” and “The Invisible Guardian” by Dolores Redondo. Reviews to follow
A Little Help from a Friend
I’m really keen to promote reading by children wherever I can. Reading was a huge part of my childhood and I’ve found a Mini Pixie helper who’s going to do some reviews of her favourite books for me. Here’s what Mini Pixie Ava had to say about “The Cave” by Rob Hodgson:-
It was really funny! I couldn’t stop laughing! My favourite part was when the wolf became the tiny creature. My sister loved it too! She was laughing all the way through. The book was called “The Cave”. This book was about a wolf who really wanted to eat a tiny creature. The wolf tries everything but nothing happens. But one time the creature does come out. The creature is actually a scary bear! And the wolf is so scared that he jumps into the cave.
Ava, aged 7 (aka – the Mini Pixie)
Thanks Mini Pixie – can’t wait for your next review!
Pixie Chronicles 