The title of Nicola Cornick’s latest novel, The Fourth Queen, refers, as you may have guessed, to the fourth wife of Henry VIII – Anne of Cleves. However, although she does feature in the book, this is really the story of a fictional character, Marris North, the former prioress of Winterhill Priory, who loses her home and her position in 1539 due to the dissolution of the monasteries. When Marris falls in love with Sir William Sharington, the commissioner sent to oversee the closure of the priory, he finds new roles for Marris and her sisters at court in the household of the new Queen Anne (called Anna in the book). Sadly, Anna’s marriage is not a success and when she finds herself in trouble she approaches Marris for help in concealing a secret that could put them both in danger.
Like all the other Nicola Cornick novels I’ve read, this one also has a present day storyline and in this case it follows Jenna Bergin, a woman in her thirties who owns a bookshop in Wantage, not far from Winterhill Hall and the ruined priory. For as long as she can remember, Jenna has been able to remember a former life as Marris North, while her younger sister, Bree, also believes she is the reincarnation of Marris’s sister, Bridget. When Jenna learns that an archaeological dig is taking place at Winterhill, she becomes concerned that Anna’s secret is going to be uncovered after all these years – and she decides that she’ll do whatever it takes to stop that from happening.
I liked the portrayal of Anne of Cleves in this book; of all Henry VIII’s wives, she’s the one who tends to get the least attention, which is understandable as their marriage only lasted a few months before being annulled and was less dramatic than some of the others. She’s shown here as a kind-hearted, loyal, sensible woman who can also be naïve and unworldly at times. Her big secret is something that was rumoured at the time but there’s no evidence that it actually happened; if true, it could have changed history so it’s an interesting idea to explore in a novel. I also liked Marris but found her less convincing as a character as she seemed to adapt far too quickly to the loss of the priory and no longer being a nun. In case you’re wondering, Winterhill Priory never existed but is based on Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, which really was dissolved in 1539 and bought by Sir William Sharington.
In the modern day, Jenna shares a lot of Marris’s character traits and her relationship with Bree mirrors the one between Marris and Bridget. I haven’t mentioned yet that there’s a third sister: Molly, or Rose as she was in her former life. Although Molly is aware of her reincarnation, she doesn’t embrace it the way her sisters do and when you see how her story plays out, both as her present and past self, it’s easy to understand why. There are one or two other characters who also existed in both timelines, but I won’t give any more details as I don’t want to spoil too much (although you’ll probably guess one of them almost as soon as they appear). If you’re someone who doesn’t believe in reincarnation, you’ll need to just suspend your disbelief here and not ask too many questions!
This isn’t one of my favourite Nicola Cornick books, but when you’ve read a lot of an author’s books (this is my eighth) it’s inevitable that you’ll like some more than others. I did enjoy it, particularly the historical sections, and will be looking out for her next one.
Thanks to Boldwood Books for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
She Reads Novels 
Ooh this sounds intriguing. Admittedly I have no idea how I’ll find the reincarnation element in the modern storyline but the historical side of things definitely has me intrigued. Despite loving all things Tudor I don’t think I’ve heard of Anne’s rumoured secret so I really want to read it to discover that. I’m also intrigued by the abbey ties having visited there before. It’s beyond time I started picking up more Tudor reads to be honest too given my fascination. Lovely review.
The Tudor period is fascinating and I’ve read a lot of books with that setting, but very few have included Anne of Cleves so I really enjoyed the historical parts of this book. I hope you enjoy whichever Tudor novels you decide to pick up!
Although I once was very, very active in reading all things Tudor, it’s been some time since I indulged. As you point out, Anne of Cleves hasn’t gotten as much attention as many of Henry VIII’s ill-fated mates, making this novel an interesting addition to the lore!
I read a lot of Tudor novels, although I’m more drawn to other periods that haven’t been covered as often. There are so many books about Anne Boleyn and some of the other wives, it was nice to read about Anne of Cleves for a change!
The historic sections sound better to me in this one, but then I think I’m just a little tired of dual timeline stories. There’s been SO many of them for so many years. I kind of wish the author would just stick to one timeline and focus on that story.
I almost always prefer the historical sections in books with dual timelines. Adding a modern day story as well often feels unnecessary and I agree that there are far too many books written this way!
I’ve always felt that Anne of Cleves was probably a very sensible woman, that she must have gotten the sense of Henry almost immediately and did what she needed to stay alive and on good terms with him, even at that point there was no way to know what he would become.
Yes, Anne of Cleves seemed to have a lot of sense and handled the situation very well. She and Catherine Parr are probably the wives I like best, although some of the others had more interesting stories.
I had some trouble with the reincarnation part and also read many of her books and this is one is not her best in my opinion. But it’s not bad, I just didn’t connect to the story as much
I didn’t connect to it as much as some of her other books either, although I still enjoyed it overall. I hope we both like her next book better.
The reincarnation element puts me off a bit. It seems as if the author has had to work quite hard to connectvthe two timelines together. I’m pretty sure the historical timeline would interest me more than the modern day one. I’ve still to read Alison Weir’s Anna of Kleves which has been in my TBR pile probably almost as long as her marriage to Henry was!
I’ve read the Alison Weir book and found it interesting, although she pads out Anna’s story with fictional storylines as there’s really not enough known about her to fill a whole novel of that length. There’s no reincarnation in that one, though, so maybe a better choice for you!
Helen, wonderful review as always and I hope we don’t have to wait too long for another new Cornick novel! 🤞😊
Thanks! She seems to have a new book out nearly every year so hopefully it won’t be a long wait.