Book Review: Six of One -- A Tudor Riff by JoAnn Spears

“Six of One” — a book review

Reviewed by Claire Ridgway

A fun, rather irreverent, entertaining spoof, is how I’d describe “Six of One” by JoAnn Spears. In Spears’s story, modern day history professor, Dolly, is preparing to marry Henry, a man who has baggage – six ex wives, two daughters and a son. As a Tudor history lover, Dolly finds Henry’s story funny as it seems to mirror that of Henry VIII and even his ex wives’ names are similar to those of the great Tudor King. During her bachelorette party, the night before her wedding, Dolly chokes, lapses into unconsciousness, and then travels to another plane, à la Wizard of Oz!

Suddenly, Dolly is in a Tudor style nightgown and is meeting characters from her studies, women like Elizabeth of York, Margaret Beaufort, Kat Ashley, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Lady Jane Grey, Mary Queen of Scots, Bess of Hardwick and so on and so on. There she finds the real truth about the Princes in the Tower before being granted an audience with Henry VIII’s six wives, who have been charged with talking to brides “facing a treacherous marital decision.”

The wives have already tried and failed with various celebrity brides and now Dolly is in their sights. They ask her questions and then each share one scandalous secret, a secret about them that has never been uncovered by historians, a secret that would rock the Tudor history world if it got out. This is where you need a sense of humor. You need to not mind your favorite wife being made fun of. Can they help Dolly? Will Dolly face up to her past and her true feelings? Will she become Henry’s seventh wife and which historical character does she resemble? All will be revealed in Six of One: A Tudor Riff!

This Kindle book made me laugh. I love spoofs and can handle misrepresentations of historical characters when they are presented in a way which is clearly a spoof and not to be taken seriously. Here, Spears takes the myths that surrounds these wives and takes them to the next level and has a bit of fun with their stories. It is entertaining and will definitely make you chuckle and read bits out to those around you. I do wonder if it perhaps needs a warning to make it clear that the stories about the wives have no basis as we all know what “The Other Boleyn Girl” sparked off!

A wonderful read when you need a bit of light relief.

Details for “Six of One”:

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 611 KB
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B006OPKZE6
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

“Six of One: A Tudor Riff ” is available on the Kindle at Amazon.com and Amazon UK.

This review was first posted at The Anne Boleyn Files, and is reprinted by permission.

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