Wife After Wife
by Olivia Hayfield, Piatkus
King Henry VIII is the very loose inspiration for this rollicking tale of womanising mogul Harry Rose, number 18 on the Forbes rich list who, as the novel opens, is already salivating over his new (female) assistant. As 54-year-old Harry tries to hide the pains shooting through his leg, the consequence of a crash in his Aston Martin some years before, he also tries to quell his lustful behaviour. Olivia Hayfield has a lot of fun with her modern re-imagining of the Tudor king, who is petulant, entitled, jaw-droppingly hypocritical and still, it seems, irresistible to womankind. But Henry has the #MeToo generation to battle with as his business comes crashing down and his glamorous life unravels. You don’t have to know your Catherine of Aragon or your Catherine Parr to enjoy this slick romantic romp, but if you do it’s even more enjoyable.