Author Jillian Laine Reveals the Magic Behind ‘Henry Tudor Must Die’—Plus Her Top Fantasy Book Picks
Get the inside scoop on her debut, plus what she recommends fans read next
Key Takeaways
- 'Henry Tudor Must Die' reimagines Anne Boleyn as a witch seeking revenge on the king.
- Author Jillian Laine honors the memory of history's silenced women by giving them power.
- Top fantasy book recommendations from Laine include Tamora Pierce's 'The Immortals' series.
Looking for your next page turner—something you can crown worthy of your time? Consider the buzzy new book Henry Tudor Must Die by debut author Jillian Laine. “I call this more historical fantasy than historical fiction,” says Laine. The novel is perfect if you’re craving something familiar—with a twist. “It’s a revenge romp. It’s a girl power story. And there is magic.” And it just might be your favorite new read of the year. Laine reveals what inspired her to write Henry Tudor Must Die, and what other fantasy books she recommends people read next.
Inside ‘Henry Tudor Must Die’: A revenge story with magic
Who was this ruler again? Here’s a quick refresher: You don’t have to know much about history to know that King Henry VIII of England famously had six wives in the 1500s. (Kids these days memorize what happened to those wives with the pithy chant: “Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived” from the Broadway musical SIX.) There’s a reason why Henry’s reign is so prominent in our collective memories. “I had to cut out a few wild things that the Tudors did because they just never stopped,” shares Laine of her research process. “They are incredibly dramatic people.”
What is this book about? In Laine’s reimagining of the story, Anne Boleyn is a witch who survives her beheading and decides to team up with other past and future spouses of the king to ensure the tyrannical ruler never hurts another woman again.
For Laine, the story is about reclaiming power. “I really wanted to play into the idea of turning ‘witch as bad’ into ‘witch as power’,” Laine explained about her inspiration for the book on the National Writers Series stage in July. “And also the idea of these women always being lumped together and thought of as rivals rather than as individuals who, if they didn’t have this king in the way, might have been friends.”
How Jillian Laine honors Anne Boleyn and the six wives
“May was the 490th anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s execution, and I cried that day thinking about this woman who was so smart and so driven and had the bad luck of catching the King’s eye and the worse luck of not giving him a son…And then was killed because of that,” says Laine. But she’s proud to be giving a voice now to those voiceless women from the past. “There’s joy to be found in thinking about how we can honor their memory going forward.” She says, ”I need everybody to find the Anne Boleyns of every time period and write their story.”
3 things that inspired ‘Henry Tudor Must Die’
The film ‘Inglourious Basterds’
This 2009 Quentin Tarantino film reimagines history with a plan to assassinate another bad guy from the past: Hitler. “I was lying in bed grousing about Henry VIII not getting what he deserved and [my husband] Craig very simply said, ‘Well, why don’t you just ‘Inglourious Basterds’ him?” explains Laine about the first seed that would grow into this book during the pandemic. “The beauty of what you get to do as an author, especially in historical fiction, is tell a story in a new way—and that’s what I got to do.”
The Broadway show ‘SIX’ (sort of)
“SIX: the musical was sort of happening at the same time I was writing this [book], so I didn’t know it existed. It was making its way across the pond to [Broadway]. And I kind of joked that the queens were speaking to us from the beyond,” recalls Laine. “They were saying ‘It’s time for our story,’ because so many others—even wonderfully done tales of this time, whether TV or movies or stage productions—center on Henry.” She adds, “ That was my opportunity to do something different and to take a side of the story that hadn’t quite been told yet.” So while the musical didn’t inspire the book, they both share a common desire to shift an old story’s perspective to the ladies.
The book ‘My Lady Jane’
This book made the leap to the screen, starring Emily Bader from the book-to-screen adaptation of People We Meet On Vacation. “My number one inspiration was My Lady Jane, which showed me that history can be irreverent and magical,” Laine tells Woman’s World. “I’ve always loved that intersection of reality and fantasy, so authors like Alix E. Harrow, Shannon Chakraborty and R.F. Kuang are auto-buys for me.”
Jillian Laine’s 4 top book picks for fantasy lovers
Laine’s story focuses on powerful queens, so what other authors would she deem as her reading royalty? “Three of my all-time favorites that I recommend to everyone are Tamora Pierce, Laini Taylor and Sabaa Tahir. They are absolute queens of storytelling!” she says. Here are Laine’s book recommendations to add to your “to be read” pile on your bedside table…
The Immortals by Tamora Pierce. This is a medieval young adult high-fantasy series, with book #1 called Wild Magic, that follows a girl who can control nature and talk to animals. “So for any young girl or boy in your life: Tamora Pierce. Every single thing: Tamora Pierce,” Laine recommends. “That would be number one.”
Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race. This is a romantic fantasy series with corrupt rulers plus dragons. “If you love my book, you will love Holly Race’s series. It’s the Six Wild Crowns. And then [the sequel] Six Savage Thrones just came out,” says Laine. “It’s also a Tudor telling, but set in this fantastical world where Henry is doing some magical things that involve his wives without their consent. And they find out. And they also get revenge. There’s a lot of revenge on Henry lately, which I love.”
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. In this epic fantasy novel, a young librarian dreams of a mythic lost city.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. This dystopian fantasy series features an oppressive empire and the chance to win the throne through combat. “This has a new spinoff that’s happening and the second book comes out very soon. It’s a beautiful, fantastic book that sort of draws a little bit of ancient Rome into this fantasy world,” says Laine. “There’s also a lot about class and war that is, I think, really relevant to today.”
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