Holly Race’s Six Wild Crowns is a fantasy retelling of Henry VIII’s six wives, specifically focusing on the second and third wives, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour. In Race’s retelling, it was decreed by a god that the king of Elben must have six wives in order to keep the kingdom strong and protected, and Boleyn is his newest. In her determination to be the favorite, the greatest, Boleyn strikes up a partnership with the unassuming Seymour, only to discover there is more to the kingdom’s founding legend than the king wants anyone to know.
I think I came at this book with exactly the right level of knowledge about the wives of Henry VIII for me to enjoy this book, which is to say I have a somewhat deeper knowledge than the musical Six and have forgotten at least a quarter of what I know—enough to recognize accurate details and Easter eggs and go “oh, that’s fun,” but not enough to take much note of liberties taken. Race specifically notes several of these liberties in her author’s note at the beginning, and of course a fantasy novel with dragons and God-mandated polyamory is not going to be a completely accurate representation of Tudor history, but as someone who gets very crotchety about inaccuracies myself, I think it’s worth noting that there are some.
I do feel like this book does what Six wants to do, but this is more successful at it (speaking as someone who also enjoys Six!). While this book was specifically focused on Boleyn and Seymour, it did feel like it cares about and respects all six queens. I particularly enjoyed the little moments of “wow, I’ve always heard Queen Howard is silly and dumb, but this is a really thoughtful gift,” or “you know, you don’t hear much about Cleves, but this gardener clearly respects her a lot.” I appreciated the way this book used their reputations and then made something deeper of them, and I loved seeing them build actual relationships with each other. That more than anything is the heart of this book, and I very much look forward to seeing that continue in the next one.
I also thought the naming conventions in this world were really interesting. In this world, the eldest daughter takes her father’s surname as her first name, which is both a clever way to avoid having a book centered around three Catherines and two Annes when the audience is likely just as familiar with their surnames anyway, and it also speaks to the misogyny of the world. In general, in fact, the world-building of this book was great. It’s hard to make a world feel believable that is both misogynist and queernorm, but I thought this book balanced it well. The God-mandated polyamorous king certainly helps.
I’m not entirely sure where the story is going from here (though I hope to a Seymour/Cleves romance, at least), but I certainly intend to read on to find out. For readers who enjoy fantasy court politics, bonds between women, and crave a slightly deeper Six the musical, Holly Race’s Six Wild Crowns might be just what they are looking for.
