The Beheading Game
I approached this book, and its wayward premise, with trepidation. But it won me over with its inventiveness, its exuberance and a portrayal of Anne and Henry’s marriage that is more complex and nuanced than many a conventional telling ... My only fear is that this book will spawn copycats with less talented novelists than Lehmann raising all manner of historical heroines from their graves.
Tudor history through Anne’s eyes is a revelation, and though she is no innocent, she does not deserve her fate. This tale is beyond strange, but undoubtedly a compelling read.
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Lehmann combines magical realism with a well-researched historical setting, taking care with the details to create a novel that is both immersive and informative ... While not entirely original, the novel is respectful and expansive of similar literature that sympathizes with Anne Boleyn and exposes Henry VIII’s misogyny and abuse ... A fitting successor to Wolf Hall and The Other Boleyn Girl, with a magical twist that will appeal to fantasy and historical fiction readers alike.
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