A Conversation with Olivia Hayfield

What made you decide to undertake a modern-day retelling of Henry VIII and his wives?

I’ve always been fascinated by the story of Henry VIII and his wives. I remember going to see Anne of the Thousand Days when I was a girl, and being outraged at Henry’s treatment of Anne Boleyn. It stayed with me for years. I wanted to take that man down!

More recently, with certain powerful men in the spotlight regarding their attitudes toward women, I was reminded of Henry (something to do with the hair?). I started to wonder, what if Henry VIII lived today—were reincarnated, maybe? How would it play out? Supposing he’d grown up in the sixties and seventies, when feminism was blazing a path. And now, with the #MeToo movement. Perhaps it was time for me to give him his comeuppance by pitching him against modern-day versions of the women in his life, who wouldn’t stand for his behavior this time around.

So that’s what set me off. Except things didn’t play out quite as I’d expected . . .

Henry was a notorious philanderer and tyrant—how did you handle these traits when developing Harry into your hero?

Once I started researching properly, I was surprised to learn that in the context of the times, Henry wasn’t considered much of a philanderer at all (and I think it’s always important to view things in historical context). His French counterpart, François I, was far, far worse (good grief, that man!), as were most of the European rulers. Henry was quite restrained, in his kingly way.

For Harry, I wanted the reasons for his affairs to mirror what may have motivated Henry VIII. Henry’s problems with Catherine of Aragon—the need for a male heir—would have made sex a fraught affair. Things with Anne Boleyn would have taken a similar turn when she failed to produce a boy, but for Harry, I made it more about Ana’s ambition and their problems working together. This also rings true to me—Anne Boleyn was a strong, ambitious woman with forward-thinking views, and while Henry may have found this appealing when he was in the first flush of infatuation, later on, when a male heir failed to materialize, perhaps it was all too much (poor snowflake). In my twenty-first-century version of the story, it’s Ana who calls a halt to their relationship, not Harry. She isn’t willing to stand for his behavior, kicks him out, and gets herself a pit bull of a lawyer.

As for being a tyrant, Harry has a couple of tyrannical moments, most notably his asset-stripping rampage through the industrial north. However, two women—Janette and Terri—make him examine his conscience and look again at his actions, and he changes tack. So again we have women tempering his behavior. Also, without the absolute power and the ongoing health problems, Harry Rose’s temper is a lot better than Henry VIII’s.

Was there a lot of research involved?

Yes, I love research! Antonia Fraser’s The Six Wives of Henry VIII was my go-to reference source. I also read Alison Weir’s books on Henry’s wives, dipped into many history blogs, and watched The Tudors (but seriously, a dark-haired Henry?). I worked in London in the 1980s and ’90s, so the scene setting (and pubs) is mostly from memory with a little help from Google Maps. I joined several Facebook groups devoted to the Tudors and am amazed at the size of the fan scene out there. So many people are fascinated by this period in history. With good cause!

The big surprise to me was how drastically Henry VIII changed over the course of his life. When he became king at the age of seventeen, contemporary reports describe an outstandingly handsome, charismatic, intelligent, well-read guy who wrote poetry and music and excelled at sports. He was known for his ability to put people at ease and to get on with everyone, and was a deep thinker. He was undoubtedly changed by having absolute power, and his health problems. Take those two factors away, put him in the twenty-first century, and what would he be like?

Were there many challenges along the way?

My main challenge was deciding how Henry VIII’s second chance at life would end—karma, or redemption? I set out to give that man his comeuppance. But once I’d taken away those influences that turned him into the tyrannical monster of the sixteenth century, I was left with someone I couldn’t help liking. Rather a lot.

And I wanted his wives to be strong women, so I had to give them good reason to love this man, to stick with him. Therefore I wanted the reader to empathize with Harry, to love him a little, to want to shake him by the shoulders and tell him to pull himself together, to confront his conscience, because he was worth saving. I hope readers will be glad he’s spared by fate and given the chance to make things right with the women in his life.

The #MeToo movement has changed the way modern women react to womanizers such as Harry. How difficult was it to weave this into the story sensitively while staying true to Harry’s historical self?

A big challenge! We see Harry at the start of the story as a confused man, and a worried one. He knows he’s behaved badly, and millennial women make him uneasy. But he’s also learned from his experiences, recognizes the harm he’s done, and this is the difference between Harry and Henry. Harry has been positively influenced by the strong women around him—most recently his daughter Eliza—whereas Henry was king and could do what he wanted, and no one dared tell him he was a disgrace.

Who was your favorite wife and why?

I like Clare. Everyone likes Clare. So wise, intelligent, and kind. But also Ana, though she’s quite frosty. I feel that after a couple of glasses of wine I could have a good time with Ana, that she’d thaw. I love poor Caitlyn too; she tries so hard to turn her life around but can’t shake off her past. The story of Catherine Howard is such a tragedy, that poor teenage girl, sacrificed on her family’s altar of ambition to a Henry who by then had nothing to redeem him.

Can you talk a little more about the role of women in the story? How important a role do they play in Harry’s own character development?

The women play a huge part in Harry’s character development. As well as the influence of his wives, we have his daughter Eliza getting him thinking about the #MeToo movement, and Terri, the voice of his conscience, calling him out on his behavior. Right from the start Harry shows respect for the women around him—for Terri’s sharp brain and courage, Katie’s saintliness, Ana’s talent, Janette’s thoughtfulness and sweetness, Caitlyn’s attempts to overcome her abusive background, Clare’s intelligence and kindness—so he’s not in any way a misogynist. These women save him from himself, which is why, in the end, I decided he deserved redemption rather than karma. It’s for their sake as much as his.

Were there many bits of history that you were forced to ignore, take out, or tweak to suit the modern-day setting?

The main one was how to treat the two beheadings. I had to find ways for Ana and Caitlyn to die that Harry could be responsible for, rather than directly causing.

Another problem was longevity—people died young in those days! I decided to keep one or two people alive, notably Harry’s son Eddie. I have him vaccinated, so that was easy (Edward VI died of TB). Harry’s sister Megan (Princess Mary Tudor) survives cancer (she died at age thirty-seven in real life), and Katie has fewer stillbirths and miscarriages than Catherine of Aragon. And of course Harry sorts out his “lifestyle” problems, and his leg heals, so he gets to live on in good health. Slim. Still hot.

To keep up the pace, and to make sure the plot and timeline worked, I massaged the years and also tweaked the birthdates of a few characters. For example, Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII were married for twenty-four years, and his later marriages came and went in a blur, so I’ve shortened and lengthened. In my story, Maria and Eliza are born ten years apart, whereas the age gap between Mary and Elizabeth was seventeen years. I hope die-hard Tudor fans will forgive my playing fast and loose with history in the name of plot and pace.

Henry VIII’s story is familiar to a lot of people. Did this add a weight of responsibility to your writing?

Yes, I have had a few worries about taking liberties with Henry and his wives. However, I hope people will take my tale in the spirit in which I wrote it, which is a what-if reimagining, not to be taken too seriously. I hope readers will laugh, will love Harry in spite of themselves, will adore his wives, and will want to find out what happens next . . .

Are you working on another story at the moment?

I have written the sequel to Wife After Wife. How could I not? I was so swept up in the lives of these amazing characters and wanted to find out what happens to them. This follow-up is written from Eliza’s point of view and centers on her relationships with her sister Maria, the exuberant, twinkly-eyed Rob Studley (Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and love of Elizabeth I’s life), and her intriguing thorn-in-the-side cousin Mackenzie James (Mary, Queen of Scots). Harry is very much still around, but takes a back seat in this tale. However, we see him continuing his journey to redemption through his relationship with Eliza.

We also meet modern versions of some famous Elizabethan characters, notably Eliza’s friends Will Bardington (Shakespeare) and Kit Marley (Marlowe), who write and produce TV dramas for Rose Corp.’s new production arm, RoseGold. This sequel is lots of fun but also had one of my first-draft readers sobbing at the end, which is exactly what I was hoping for!