The Dead Queen's Club (A Review)

What if Henry VIII’s six wives had a club, and brought their ex to justice? That’s the premise of “The Dead Queen’s Club” by Hannah Capin, which re-imagines the historical drama against the setting of an American High School. And, cheesy as that premise might sound in theory, in action it ends up being one of the best-realized, most engaging, and thoroughly intelligent pieces of Tudor fiction that I’ve ever read.

Anna from Cleveland is our narrator and best friend to jock/songwriter/all-around-charismatic-boy Henry. She’s watched all his girls come and go, and even had two weeks as #1 lady herself. But there’s a tragedy in the past and another in the wings, and a jumble of lies and misdirection keeps Anna’s head spinning until the very last minute. Who does she trust? Her best friend Henry? Or Lina, Jane, Parker, and
Cat? 

The book is both an engrossing social turmoil of intrigue that will appeal to a wide variety of readers and an intricately crafted transposition of the Tudor Court that is chalk full of tiny details. Nearly every major Tudor player is referenced in some form. You don’t need to be a Tudor buff to enjoy the story, but boy is it a feast for us history nerds!

Set in the 21st century and working within a framework of dating rather than divorce/beheaded/died, the book is allowed to move within a modern psychology paradigm. We might know, theoretically, that the historical Henry was a narcissist and emotionally abusive, but it is another thing to encounter it through the eyes of American high schoolers. Put on this stage, the high tragedy of Henry’s queens suddenly becomes accessible and relatable in a bone-chilling way. They’re not royalty—they’re girls—girls enraptured by a charming guy. 

Girls who later suffer broken hearts, Stockholm syndrome, PTSD, and worse. 

In other words, girls like the ones you probably know, or even are. Which is going to have you wondering if there’s any trigger warnings needed and… I don’t want to spoil the ending, but I’ll say this: the book is empowering. Cathartic. 

As for content, there’s several F-bombs, talk of sex (but nothing on-screen, save some kissing and a few clothes coming off), and references to violence (although very little is portrayed on-screen). I’d call it dark CW level, with more of a brain.

Because this book is brainy. In fact, my one quibble with the story is that I can’t buy that 17 and 18-year-olds talk and scheme at this level. It’s not even close to my experience of how teens operate. There’s just a level of functionality and rationality that I don’t quite believe in. I would have accepted the cast as college students, and I also think the stakes would have then worked a bit better from the ‘why is it such a big deal to be dating Henry’ perspective. Sure, you lose the prom king/queen imagery, but I don’t think it added that much to the storyline.

Still, that’s a minor quibble in the grand scheme of things. Other than that, I was really impressed by the book and found it hard to put down. Major kudos to Capin for bringing something truly fresh and thought-provoking to the table here. 

I’d recommend this book for ages 17 and up. Originally, I was going to only recommend it for New Adult and Adult readers, both because of the more mature content and the denser intellectual narrative. However, when I finished the book, I thought that it really was a valuable look into a hard but crucially relevant subject. The Tudors might be long dead, but narcissism and emotional abuse is ripe, and young girls in particular are often tragically unprepared for assessing these traits in their partners. The book is categorized as YA, although I felt it read at a more adult level than most YA I have encountered. 

Summary: A Must-Read for Adult Tudor fans, and a highly recommended read for anyone who likes social drama and intrigue. Potentially recommended for older high schoolers, but personal review advised for more cautious parents. Could be triggering for abuse survivors.