Amenable Women

"It’s wonderful, absolutely wonderful. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I know Mavis Cheek, she’s a fantastic author and her books have me creased up with laughter. It’s about Anne of Cleves’ portrait coming to life, intertwined with a story of a woman who’s been widowed—but is actually a merry widow because she’s so pleased to be rid of her boring old duffer of a husband. She sees the portrait and feels a kinship with Anne, who nightly talks to the other woman in the portraits in the room. It’s brilliantly researched. Mavis Cheek came to speak on the historical tours I run and gave a really enjoyable talk. She really knows her stuff. So if you want the history in a very quirky and amusing way, then this is a great book for you. No. But this is so well done. It really packs a punch, calls a spade a spade. Publishers tend to steer you that way. Actually, I’m writing my novel about Henry VIII at the moment. People ask how I’m managing to write from the point of view of a man, but the sources are so rich. I’m overwhelmed with source material, but I’ve lived with Henry for a long, long time. We have so many insights into his character through his letters and reports of conversations with him. So I’m not finding it a problem. I’ve actually wanted to write about men before. During my six-book series, it became a running joke: ‘Oh, Henry has to get his say’—because each book was written from each queen’s point of view. It’s changed a little; it’s still Henry’s story, but it’s not going to focus on the wives so much."