The Favored Queen: A Novel of Henry VIII's Third Wife

Known throughout history as the third wife of Henry VIII and the only one to give birth to his son, Edward, Jane Seymour begins as a servant to Queen Catherine, and later serves Queen Anne Boleyn. She observes Catherine being set aside and Anne's eventual fall from grace, and sees that nothing will stop Anne as she tries to get her way. In this historical romance, Anne Boleyn is a vicious caricature%E2%80%94conniving, manipulative, psychotic, and prone to wild rages, while Henry is consumed with his desire for a son. Heroine Jane doesn't seem to have much agency, which unfortunately makes her a dull protagonist. While Erickson's (The Last Wife of Henry VIII) prose is competent, there are dozens of more interesting Tudor historicals to attract readers' attention. (Oct.)